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Issue
Date: August 13, 2006
Back
to School
Skateboards roll into gym class
Schools hope to get kids on board with a new exercise
option.
Ollies, Indy grabs and kick turns aren't typical P.E.
moves, but skateboarding is the latest activity to roll into gym
classes. Its appeal: Even overweight or inactive children can master
the sport in a few lessons. Schools use boards specially designed not
to mar gym floors, and protective gear is mandatory. "It's about
catering to the 90% of kids who aren't natural athletes," says Eric
Klassen, co-owner of Skate Pass, a Boulder, Colo., company that sells
skateboarding curricula and equipment to schools.
Alternatives to traditional gym sports - like inline skating
and rock climbing - have been part of "the new P.E." for a decade.
"We're always on the lookout for something new. Skateboarding
hopefully will pull in kids who always find that excuse for skipping
gym class," says Lester Green, a P.E. teacher at Kingston (N.Y.) High
School. The school is among several that are adding skateboarding
this fall.
Colorado's Boulder Valley School District and Denver Public
Schools were some of the first on board. The beauty, says Eric
Larson, physical education coordinator for Denver Public Schools, is
that "students get a great workout without knowing it."
Go to top
Green
campuses
Colleges across the country are making higher
education the next institution to go "green." From serving organic
foods in the cafeteria to composting waste, many schools want more
eco-friendly campuses.
"The
national trend is exploding," says Debra Rowe, a senior councilor at
the Portland, Ore.-based Association for the Advancement of
Sustainability in Higher Education. "Our goal is for green to be the
norm."
Some
schools leading the way: Yale University added an all-organic dining
plan. Colorado College in Colorado Springs began a composting program
that diverts 50 to 150 pounds of waste per day from the local
landfill. Harvard completed 13 green building projects, making the
campus more ecologically sound.
Making
these changes is good business practice, says Leith Sharp, director
of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative. Long-term energy savings can
be significant, and schools get creative to offset costs. Harvard
converted campus buses to biodiesel, a fuel made from vegetable oils,
to reduce gas prices (and emissions). At Northland College in
Ashland, Wis., the student body voted to pay an extra $40 per year,
which helped to buy a wind turbine for electricity and a hybrid
vehicle for recruiting trips.
"These
programs foster a greater connection to the campus," says Adrienne
Kmetz, a Colorado College environmental science student who helped
launch her school's composting project. "A small group of students
can make such a difference."
Contributing: Laura Daily, Jodi Helmer
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