Providing Safe Places to Take Risks
Most of us have never mastered anything without practice. By providing spaces in school where teens can develop and nurture a sense of creativity, where they can be playful and innovative with their learning, and where we reassure them that it's OK to be less than perfect, we are offering them a chance to practice risk-taking.
Reenvisioning physical education class as a place where educators can scaffold activities to provide appropriate levels of physical, social, and emotional challenge to students may be a new approach in many schools, where the goals of physical education are more often structured around increasing student fitness, building skills in specific sports, or simply allowing students to burn off excess energy. But adolescents in the throes of emerging identity urgently need opportunities for healthy risk-taking.
Before self- and peer-assigned labels like "jock" or "geek" become entrenched in adolescents' emerging sense of identity, we should challenge their notions of what they can and cannot do. Students should be learning not only how to build their repertoire of physical skills, but also how to interact with their peers in a playful way and how to practice safe ways to fulfill their developmentally appropriate need to take risks. As physical educators, we can cultivate an atmosphere in which students push themselves to new limits, both physically and emotionally, while feeling supported by their classmates and teachers.
Flying Outside Their Comfort Zone
The circus art of flying trapeze is a love of mine, and I teach beginners on the weekends. For the past two years, I've brought my advisory class to the trapeze school for an end-of-year field trip.
Last year Theo, an energetic and popular 8th grade boy, was looking anxious when he learned about the take-off and subsequent hanging-by-the-knees position. "It's OK," I said, "I know you can do it." He replied, "I'm really nervous." It was a real change from his usual self-assured persona.
One by one, each student climbed 23 feet into the air, jumped off a platform, swung out and then hung upside-down. Most were nervous, but especially Theo, as this pushed him way outside his comfort zone into what we call "stretch" or "risk" in our classes.
The most powerful part of the day was when he slowly, with encouragement, took one hand and then the other off the bar to hang by his knees. His face showed just how hard this was for him. We all learned a lot about him in those few seconds when he had to decide how much he trusted himself and the person on the safety lines and allow himself to be vulnerable in front of his peers.
The idea of having a "shared experience" is what Lightfoot (1997) heard repeatedly when she interviewed teens about risk-taking. By telling and retelling stories about their escapades, they created narratives that became the social glue that held them together. This was true for our group; the students became closer after looking at photos from the day, laughing at their smiling and scared faces, and reveling in the accomplishment of stretching beyond their comfort zone.
—Laura Warner
References
Lightfoot, C. (1997). The culture of adolescent risk-taking. New York: Guilford.
Nakkula, M., & Toshalis, E. (2006). Understanding youth: Adolescent development for educators. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.
Panicucci, J. (2007). Achieving fitness: An adventure activity guide, middle school to adult. Beverly, MA: Project Adventure.
Panicucci, J., with Constable, N., Hunt, L, Kohut, A., & Rheingold, A. (2002–2003). Adventure curricula for physical education series. Beverly, MA: Project Adventure.
Ponton, L. (1997). The romance of risk: Why teenagers do the things they do. New York: Basic Books.
Project Adventure. (n.d.). Glossary of terms. Available: www.pa.org/about/glossary.php
Originally published in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Educational Leadership, 67(4), pp. 70–74.
Keeping Teachers Healthy
by Rick Allen
Staff wellness program yields results
While health education advocates are urging schools to consider the connections between student health and student achievement, some schools are targeting the health of their staff. If teachers, administrators, and other school staff are overburdened with the cares of education to the neglect of their own health, schools can count on low morale, lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and possibly higher insurance costs, say experts.
In Washoe County School District in Reno, Nev., the staff wellness program requires the district's more than 6,000 staff members and retirees to pay $40 a month—$480 annually—into a fund that runs the program.
It's a stiff price to pay, but there are ways to lighten the burden. The district's Good Health Incentive Program allows members to reduce the monthly payment by meeting certain health standards or "taking responsible actions" to meet them, says Aaron Hardy, Washoe County schools' staff wellness coordinator. Each year, employees undergo screenings for blood pressure, weight, and tobacco use. Those who merely show up to get tested pare $10 off their monthly fees.
If they meet particular criteria in the three target areas, the fee is further reduced. Indeed, a teacher could end up paying nothing, says Hardy. Joining one of the district's four weight loss programs or completing a course to quit smoking are "responsible actions" school employees can take to improve their health and reduce their payments. Participation is high: 90 percent of employees and retirees attend the screenings and try to lower their costs, Hardy says.
Responsible Actions
After Washoe officials became alarmed by rising health care costs in the 1990s, district leaders made several attempts to encourage healthy lifestyles among their employees. Although an initial wellness fair brought out 200 people its first year, the next year only 30 showed up. The district then took more drastic action by starting the current wellness program, says Hardy.
"The whole idea is very simple—the district decided to treat adults as adults. When you look at the big picture, 70 percent of health care costs are related to lifestyle behaviors," says Hardy. "The program is completely legal and was approved by the superintendent and teachers' unions. It doesn't cost the district or taxpayers anything."
The success of the program is evident, says Hardy, noting that a 20 percent reduction in staff absenteeism has saved county schools $3 million over six years.
Hardy, who has been coordinating the program for three years, has beefed up the district's Wellness Program Web site (http://www.washoe.k12.nv.us/wellness) with inspiring stories of teachers who have been successful with long-term weight loss, details of incentive programs to encourage gym workouts, and myriad four- to eight-week challenges to get school employees to exercise and eat healthy foods.
Web Is Key
"The Web site is the ticket to getting more people involved. It reminds
