Discussion in a parking lot this week:
"Hey, how are you guys going to get into the new high school to do CrossFit?"
Me: "Uh…… we're……not?"
"My son is going there next year. How do I get this kid some real physical teaching, coaching, and challenge? Drive him to CASS?"
The parent was grinning, but I knew what he meant. Ray's doing amazing things in Desbarats with CrossFit, physical education, and just general enthusiasm. Kids are learning about kinesiology and motivation and challenge by choice. On any given Friday, Ray has more kids show up to do CrossFit than for any regular phys'ed class all week.
The Ontario curriculum 'recommends' 20 minutes of exercise daily per child. Recommends. 20 minutes.
Next week, we'll be posting a series of essays on youth, the role of exercise in normal childhood development, and exercise as part of brain function in students. But here's a taste, in advance:
Hunters Vs. Farmers, by Seth Godin. His blog is mostly about business, but this post was his lead-in to the 'industrial model' of our education system (think: labour factories.) You may not agree with everything, but it's a good place to start the discussion.
For consideration after reading: what happens with the food stores are full, and the hunter still wants to hunt? What happens when The Hunt is done for its own sake?