Should high school PE classes teach cycling?

[Roody]

I learned on another forum that high school Physical Education classes still emphasize team sports, just like they did when I was in high school, Class of 1973. It seems like they would be teaching more about healthy lifestyles, and forms of exercise that are fun and beneficial outside the world of organized sports. Are there any schools that teach cycling?

[wethepeople]

Our school does.

But alot of the student dont care or show up when they do.

[sbhikes]

I never liked team sports. I would have enjoyed PE if they had had more individual sports. As it was, I enjoyed running, track and cross country when it was available. And golf, surprisingly (to me - I didn't think I would like it.)

[AndrewP]

My high school had the emphasis on team sports (Rugby, cricket, soccer) but there was also tennis, fencing, gymnastics, cross country running, rowing available to those that wanted to do these things. I diid rowing instead of cricket in my last year. Individual athletic activities are much more difficult to supervise, but I think team sports are a real disincentive to many people for an active lifestyle. There were a group of about 15 who went on high speed rides at the weekends, but this was totally unrelated to the school phys ed program.

[Wogsterca]

I learned on another forum that high school Physical Education classes still emphasize team sports, just like they did when I was in high school, Class of 1973. It seems like they would be teaching more about healthy lifestyles, and forms of exercise that are fun and beneficial outside the world of organized sports. Are there any schools that teach cycling?

Gee, I wasn't far behind you, class of '80, and while there was a lot of team sports, there was also other activities, like X country skiing, cycling, running, and square dancing, these were co-ed activities, and students loved them. Maybe because I was in small town, Ontario, Canada.....

[Roody]

Gee, I wasn't far behind you, class of '80, and while there was a lot of team sports, there was also other activities, like X country skiing, cycling, running, and square dancing, these were co-ed activities, and students loved them. Maybe because I was in small town, Ontario, Canada.....
Were they part of the school curriculum, of after-school clubs and such?

(OT--My mother said that Henry Ford made all the kids in Michigan learn folk dancing when she was in school in the 1930s.)

[hotbike]

This is a highly politicized issue which gets a lot of feathers ruffled. It seems that biking to school is discouraged.
The *******s (guidance counsellors) that run the school get a kickback of about $6,000.00 for every 16 year old who buys a new car.
Never mind that your legs will atrophy. They are all corrupt. If you tell a guidance counsellor that you want a job as close as posible to your house, they will hit you over the head with a brick. Then they will talk to your teachers so you get over three hours of homework every night, and you'll only get minimum wage.
The local high school now has a rule that no bicycles are allowed on campus!
Furthermore, the last time I went by the high school, to see if anyone was interested in working for my bicycle company, they threatened to have me arrested. Then they had the audacity to say that 97% of their graduates go on to college, so there's no use asking if anyone wants a high school job.

[GeoKrpan]

What a good idea. And, how about How to Ride a Bike classes at community colleges and adult education centers.
Can you imagine what the instructor would have to deal with? Clueless people showing up on ill fitting, clapped out bikes unwilling to spend a nickle on them. The instructor would have their work cut out for them, educating those people.
When I was in high school in Orange County, California some of the schools had surfing class.

[wahoonc]

hotbike,
In a way I can relate...my high school would not give us a secure area to lock our bikes up, but they would spend money to repave, restripe AND provide security for the student parking lot...and this was in the late 70's! Today you never see a bike on campus:( Our school frowned on students that weren't interested in going to college and I paid the price for it. Fortunately in some ways the schools where I live today are a bit better in that they still have FFA and other hands on type choices for the students. As far as PE we had team sports and track. I raced bicycles all thru high school but was never given a credit for it I still had to participate in the crap that passed for PE. If you played any of the "approved" sports you were exempt from PE. I agree we would be better served by teaching and enforcing a healthy lifestyle.

Aaron:)

[hotbike]

Furthermore, in the early 1970's, I asked the school if I could get a school color football helmet. It was before bicycle helmets were available. They said absolutely not, unless you join the football team. I was too damn skinny to play football.
Bell had a the first bicycle helmet, but it was five hundred dollars ($500.00).
I was just a kid, but when I tried to make a case of it, some old lady shouted me down and said "there's children starving in Africa! For five hundred dollars each, we could feed all the starving children in Africa!'
So everyone wrote out a check for $500.00 (pick any number, doesn't have to be the cost of a mortgage on a hemet factory.) and sent it off to Africa.

The begging and pleading we had to put up to get bicycle helmets when we were kids.
Kids today don't realize how lucky they are to have bicycle helmets.

[2manybikes]

I learned on another forum that high school Physical Education classes still emphasize team sports, just like they did when I was in high school, Class of 1973. It seems like they would be teaching more about healthy lifestyles, and forms of exercise that are fun and beneficial outside the world of organized sports. Are there any schools that teach cycling?

I ride with a guy who was a high school road racing team coach I believe. He is a couple of classes ahead of me. I think I just missed it. Two big problems these days seems to be money for sports equipment, and the fear of being sued for every little problem by parents.

But it's a great idea to do it. Maybe it could be tied in with driver training too.

[sgtsmile]

In Ontario, we don't teach cycling in school as a gym sport. There are too many liabilities (for one thing, to leave school property, you must get a signed permission form every time and you cannot do much if you dont leave the property; and then there is the issue of poor bike maintenance on the part of the kiddies and who would get "it" when the bike breaks in gym class and the kid gets hurt.) This is a great pity, as it is a wonderful sport that can lead to more then some fast fading high school glory and can be done by most anyone at some level with real benefits to them.

When I was in high school, we had a teacher with the guts to run a cycling club. It lasted 6 months. I dont know but suspect that it died cause of liability issues. We also did a school triathalon one year, which was a lot of fun. It was nice for us skinny runts to kick some sporting ass in a school dominated by (snore) football.

quick edit: I seem to remember that there is some high school level mountain bike racing done out of Toronto - I remember the teams practicing at hardwood hills (back in the days when you could stay at the B and B at the trail head, get up in the morning, eat, kit up, and hit the 88km plus of one way trails for a glorious day of thrashing followed by a dip in the pool and hottub before hitting Barrie for dinner..... DAMN IT!!! I miss that place...)

[Wogsterca]

Were they part of the school curriculum, of after-school clubs and such?

(OT--My mother said that Henry Ford made all the kids in Michigan learn folk dancing when she was in school in the 1930s.)

Was part of the curriculum.....

[TRaffic Jammer]

Running track Keirin!!!! wooohoooo
Single track 101..trials, flatland BMX class. I like it!!!

[dobber]

This is a highly politicized issue which gets a lot of feathers ruffled. It seems that biking to school is discouraged.
The *******s (guidance counsellors) that run the school get a kickback of about $6,000.00 for every 16 year old who buys a new car.
Never mind that your legs will atrophy. They are all corrupt. If you tell a guidance counsellor that you want a job as close as posible to your house, they will hit you over the head with a brick. Then they will talk to your teachers so you get over three hours of homework every night, and you'll only get minimum wage.
The local high school now has a rule that no bicycles are allowed on campus!
Furthermore, the last time I went by the high school, to see if anyone was interested in working for my bicycle company, they threatened to have me arrested. Then they had the audacity to say that 97% of their graduates go on to college, so there's no use asking if anyone wants a high school job.


Umm, err, yeah, ok.

[rajman]

About 5y ago I looked into arranging a cycling tour for my students to get to a field trip. The hurdles were many and onerous. I had to essentially be responsible for personally vouching for the cycle savvy of each student on the trip (a can-bike course would count), and also sign a paper saying I had inspected every student's bike and could vouch that it was mechanically sound ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP. While I can work my way around brakes and stuff - there is no way I could tune up 30 bikes and vouch for their mechanical fitness in the 20 minutes or so that was available. So, we took the bus. Never mind that half of the students interested ride their bikes to school EVERY DAY without my help.

It's actually much easier to take a group of students on a winter overnight camping trip. That I was able to arrange.

In Ontario, we don't teach cycling in school as a gym sport. There are too many liabilities (for one thing, to leave school property, you must get a signed permission form every time and you cannot do much if you dont leave the property; and then there is the issue of poor bike maintenance on the part of the kiddies and who would get "it" when the bike breaks in gym class and the kid gets hurt.) This is a great pity, as it is a wonderful sport that can lead to more then some fast fading high school glory and can be done by most anyone at some level with real benefits to them.

When I was in high school, we had a teacher with the guts to run a cycling club. It lasted 6 months. I dont know but suspect that it died cause of liability issues. We also did a school triathalon one year, which was a lot of fun. It was nice for us skinny runts to kick some sporting ass in a school dominated by (snore) football.

quick edit: I seem to remember that there is some high school level mountain bike racing done out of Toronto - I remember the teams practicing at hardwood hills (back in the days when you could stay at the B and B at the trail head, get up in the morning, eat, kit up, and hit the 88km plus of one way trails for a glorious day of thrashing followed by a dip in the pool and hottub before hitting Barrie for dinner..... DAMN IT!!! I miss that place...)

[Roody]

About 5y ago I looked into arranging a cycling tour for my students to get to a field trip. The hurdles were many and onerous. I had to essentially be responsible for personally vouching for the cycle savvy of each student on the trip (a can-bike course would count), and also sign a paper saying I had inspected every student's bike and could vouch that it was mechanically sound ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP. While I can work my way around brakes and stuff - there is no way I could tune up 30 bikes and vouch for their mechanical fitness in the 20 minutes or so that was available. So, we took the bus. Never mind that half of the students interested ride their bikes to school EVERY DAY without my help.

It's actually much easier to take a group of students on a winter overnight camping trip. That I was able to arrange.
I wish I'd had a teacher like you in high school. Just the fact that you tried to take them cycling says a lot.

I worked with a summer therapy program for emotionally impaired high school students. We took them camping a couple times. It wasn't easy for us leaders, but it was great for the kids. Most of them had never been camping, and most didn't have very good skills at getting along with others for 24 hours a day. I think they learned a lot about both camping and interpersonal skills that summer. They'd be in their 30s now. I wish we could have a reunion, see how their lives are going now.

[Helmet Head]

About 5y ago I looked into arranging a cycling tour for my students to get to a field trip. The hurdles were many and onerous. I had to essentially be responsible for personally vouching for the cycle savvy of each student on the trip (a can-bike course would count), and also sign a paper saying I had inspected every student's bike and could vouch that it was mechanically sound ON THE DAY OF THE TRIP. While I can work my way around brakes and stuff - there is no way I could tune up 30 bikes and vouch for their mechanical fitness in the 20 minutes or so that was available. So, we took the bus. Never mind that half of the students interested ride their bikes to school EVERY DAY without my help.

It's actually much easier to take a group of students on a winter overnight camping trip. That I was able to arrange.
Were you a can-bike instructor? If so, what is the curriculum?

[eubi]

We had a cycling program in High School as an experiment.

At the first class meeting, the coach got us all together, pointed to me, and said, "Follow Rich".

So, I guess, I was the cycling instructor! We did have a lot of fun, just riding around east San Diego. It was almost like ditching school! Wide streets and not too much traffic. I think that was the first and last year we had cycling at PHHS, because I graduated that year.

As to whether cycling should be taught in school... I'm not sure. If there was an instructor that was knowledgeable and believed in the program, fine. Otherwise, no.

I'm a Scoutmaster and Bicycling Merit Badge counselor. Everyone in our troop has a good shot at getting Bicycling Merit Badge. We have the merit Badge Program twice a year. Out of the 75 or so Scouts I've counseled so far, maybe some of them will stick with it?

[genec]

Actually it should start long before high school. We currently teach a multitude of subjects over all the years that kids attend classes; from elementary through high school... many semesters of the same subjects as the students advance in complexity within that subject. Yet driving, and how to deal in traffic, are usually taught in a 6-8 week “seminar” class over weekends.

We teach english over about 6-8 years, math the same, history, about 5 years. Driving, 6 weeks. Does that make sense? Most folks will be driving their entire adult life, but how much algebra or sentence diagramming will they do? Sure, some will go on and build on the foundations of earlier lessons... and go to college and become engineers, rocket scientists, journalists, etc. But nearly everyone will drive for their entire life... based only on that 6-8 weeks of driving instruction.

What I suggest is a basic bicycle class early in elementary school. Later in middle school, at about age 12, teach traffic and safety on bikes. Follow that up in high school at about age 14 with advanced bike skills... then at age 16, after the kids have had 2-3 semesters of traffic instruction and several years of riding a bike, teach a full semester of driving... with emphasis on the responsibilities and ethics of the privilege of driving.

All that instruction can and should include the history of driving, and of the roads, and of the rights that all the users of the road have.

[Roody]

I'm a Scoutmaster and Bicycling Merit Badge counselor. Everyone in our troop has a good shot at getting Bicycling Merit Badge. We have the merit Badge Program twice a year. Out of the 75 or so Scouts I've counseled so far, maybe some of them will stick with it?
Good work eubi. What are the requirements for a bicycling merit badge? Do most kids in your troop already have their own bikes?

[eubi]

Good work eubi. What are the requirements for a bicycling merit badge? Do most kids in your troop already have their own bikes?

Thanks! Here are the requirements:

http://www.meritbadge.com/mb/039.htm

Over the years, I was surprised to find a couple of Scouts that did not own bikes (the economic levels of families in our troop run to both ends of the spectrum). A couple bikes were so thrashed I would not allow them to be used. Others were too small or too big.

Fortunately, between my sons and I, we have a stable of loaners! Anyone that wants to ride gets to ride.

[Da Tinker]

Until the grant ran out, the local schools here taught the LAB Kids II course at the 7th grade level. A full-time instructor went from school to schoo, taking over the PE class for two weeks to present the course. He used a trailer full of bikes, helmets, road signs and such.
As a result, rider injuries around here have been on the decline.

[webist]

I would think that verbal and/or written instruction on bicycle proceedures and laws would suffice to advance the cause of road sharing without the time, equipment and liability of actually teaching cycling.

[genec]

I would think that verbal and/or written instruction on bicycle proceedures and laws would suffice to advance the cause of road sharing without the time, equipment and liability of actually teaching cycling.


Yeah, look how well that method works for teaching driving. :eek:

[webist]

The question referred to teaching cycling in school. Driving is taught by some schools. In our area it is at extra cost and is done outside normal school hours. I do not subscribe to the theory advanced by some educators or union members associated with the education industry or bureaucracy that everything we learn in life needs to be taught in a school. Neither do I think that vaccinatons, medical exams, meals, babysitting and any of hundreds of other "services" need actually be supplied by schools at taxpayer expense. That's my personal view.

[Roody]

The question referred to teaching cycling in school. Driving is taught by some schools. In our area it is at extra cost and is done outside normal school hours. I do not subscribe to the theory advanced by some educators or union members associated with the education industry or bureaucracy that everything we learn in life needs to be taught in a school. Neither do I think that vaccinatons, medical exams, meals, babysitting and any of hundreds of other "services" need actually be supplied by schools at taxpayer expense. That's my personal view.
Well, anti-union sentiments notwithstanding, everybody thinks that schools should teach Phys Ed, and they do in fact teach Phys Ed. When I was in school, Phys Ed centered on team sports. Team sports are great for athletes, schools and parents, but they pretty much end (for most people) at the time of graduation. Also, many students don't want to be in team sports, so they're locked out of Phys Ed in some sense.

There are other non-competetive sports that are easily made part of an active adult life style. Like cycling, obviously. This is an activity that can be continued through adult life. Would it not make sense for schools to offer cycling as an option for students? My hope would be that they would keep at it later in life, something they're unlikely to do with football, for example.

[trackhub]

I learned on another forum that high school Physical Education classes still emphasize team sports, just like they did when I was in high school, Class of 1973. It seems like they would be teaching more about healthy lifestyles, and forms of exercise that are fun and beneficial outside the world of organized sports. Are there any schools that teach cycling?

Well,, I'm class of '75. I went to a large suburban high school. Yeah, they had team sports, but other options as well. I chose gymnastics. Was I good at it? No, not very. But did I enjoy it? Hoo yeah! Why?
It's a no-brainer. Take gymnastics, with a class full of pretty girls in shorts, and a very hot female teacher, or take team sports with a bunch of smelly guys. Nope, no problem with that decision. :D

On a more serious note, what could be wrong with having some stationary exercise bikes? Kids would certainly get a much better workout than they get from standing around while attendance is taken, followed by about 20 minutes of jumping after a ball and yelling a lot.

I think the problems would be...

-Getting school districts to re-design the traditional Phys-Ed class would be a challenge. The kids would not think it was "cool", and there would be strong resistance from macho-dad types. (i.e. "That's not what we did when I went to school!! We played REAL SPORTS!")

-The expense of the bikes. Budgets are a big concern for all but the most affluent school districts.

But basically, I agree.

[sgtsmile]

On a more serious note, what could be wrong with having some stationary exercise bikes? Kids would certainly get a much better workout than they get from standing around while attendance is taken, followed by about 20 minutes of jumping after a ball and yelling a lot.

I think the problems would be...

-Getting school districts to re-design the traditional Phys-Ed class would be a challenge. The kids would not think it was "cool", and there would be strong resistance from macho-dad types. (i.e. "That's not what we did when I went to school!! We played REAL SPORTS!")

-The expense of the bikes. Budgets are a big concern for all but the most affluent school districts.

But basically, I agree.

Well actually....

This is a great idea.

"Spin" classes are in atm. It would not take too long for the cyclists in the school to show up many of the school's more traditional team sport athletes in the fitness department if the classes were done right (proper interval drills to REALLY GOOD dance music with a driving beat you can pedal to) and if it was spun (haha) well when "sold" to the kids - you have to get them on board or forget it. Material costs would be half a class set of good exercise bikes (half does a spin class, half does some other aerobic class, then switch) and a good boom box (zero cost - most schools have those anyway - do the teacher trick and "steal" one from someone not using it...)

Selling it to the powers that be in Ontario would not be too hard. atm, we have DPA in the schools (Daily Physical Activity) which is organized fitness classes for ALL students on days when they do not already have phys ed scheduled; there is a major ministry push to promote healthy living and beat back obesity. I would think that a gym teacher that wanted to do this and was concerned about the fitness of his or her students would be able to convince a school to go for it since minute for minute spent on the classes, spin classes can generate more cardiovascular health and lung capacity than anything I have ever tried. The way I would sell it is as a year long fitness project where they would do spin classes throughout the year while they are working on learning other more traditional sports. The reason behind this is that it takes a while for the benefits of spin classes to be noticeable (I am 6 ft tall, and managed during a 5 month stint of doing some killer spin classes at a local gym to get down to about 8% body fat and 166 lbs - I have never been so fit.) It would not fit in as a typical "unit" in phys ed - and if it was sold that way, good luck getting the investment on the equipment.

[Cyclepath]

Nobody rode a bike to our high school. Everyone "wanted" a car & i believe bike-riding was regarded as a Communist activity. I walked to school as there was no safe place to lock up a bike.

[rajman]

Were you a can-bike instructor? If so, what is the curriculum?

I am not a can-bike instructor, unfortunately. I am not sure about the curriculum either, but you can check their website at http://www.canadian-cycling.com/English/programs/canbike/canintro.htm.

[Bekologist]

the kids in shop class could maintain the bikes, learn how to work on simple mechanical devices like bikes, and the phys ed classes could use those bikes.

it would be a shift in the current auto shop/wood working programs, and perhaps get some of the shop rats into biking as well. Wean high schoolers off cars. Bike maintence and upkeep could taught just as easily, even easier, than car repair. a paradigm shift could be enacted in high school cirriculum.

[genec]

the kids in shop class could maintain the bikes, learn how to work on simple mechanical devices like bikes, and the phys ed classes could use those bikes.



LOL "shop classes" here were eliminated because they were not politically correct. Turns out some parents felt that their kids attending certain shop classes was "stereotyping" and the parents felt that kids took "shop" vice more "academic" classes, so shop is no more. There are movements to bring it back.

Oddly enough, in more affluent areas, shop classes remain. The results of those shop classes can be viewed as beautiful furniture in the State Fair shows.

Personally, I am strongly for shop classes. In fact I wouldn't mind "industry sponsored" shop classes to teach immediately usable industrial skills. Can you imagine Trek sponsored bike mechanic classes? Let's face it, Apple sponsored plenty of computer classes.

[MarkS]

LOL "shop classes" here were eliminated because they were not politically correct. Turns out some parents felt that their kids attending certain shop classes was "stereotyping" and the parents felt that kids took "shop" vice more "academic" classes, so shop is no more. There are movements to bring it ba ack.
I didn't know Shop had been eliminated. My wife's father used to teach shop. I know I didn't enjoy shop since it was the class where they had stuck the FTA members (Future Thugs of America). Its a shame that shop is presented as an either-or thing. When I got to college, one of my instructors suggested that his students try to fit in a shop class! College-bound kids going into robotics, engineering, chemistry, etc. will find being able to make and adjust their own equipment invaluable.

It makes more sense to teach bike mechanics than auto mechanics these days. The way things are going, you will need a PhD to tune a car. The biggest, most expensive problem on 2 of the vehicles we've owned has been the computer :lol:

I'm not sure if I would trust Biking instructors to give good advice. Or worse, advice designed by a committee (like everything is these days): "You! Over there! Get back in the gutter!"

[Bekologist]

Can you imagine Trek sponsored bike mechanic classes? Let's face it, Apple sponsored plenty of computer classes.


Gene, I think you are onto something!!

[sbhikes]

Shop class was required for all of us when I went to Jr. high. Sewing was, too. As far as hands-on skills classes, they still do have them. They are called ROP classes and are outside the curriculum.

I think cycling poses a bit of a logistical problem in that unless you're going to mindlessly ride around in circles, you have to actually go somewhere off campus and far away. But I agree that teaching bicycle mechanics would be great. Then kids would need a bike to work on, and the easiest way to get it to school each day would be to ride it. If it worked, of course.

[genec]

I didn't know Shop had been eliminated. My wife's father used to teach shop. I know I didn't enjoy shop since it was the class where they had stuck the FTA members (Future Thugs of America).

That "FTA" situation was probably exactly why shop was eliminated.

I have several friends that teach and are school administrators... they feel that the loss of shop class is also outlandish.

However the wheels of progress turn slowly... it may be quite a while before shop comes back.

[sggoodri]

Oddly enough, in more affluent areas, shop classes remain. The results of those shop classes can be viewed as beautiful furniture in the State Fair shows.

Personally, I am strongly for shop classes. In fact I wouldn't mind "industry sponsored" shop classes to teach immediately usable industrial skills.

In the 1980s, my high school in New Hampshire had a variety of "vocational education" classes that were electives. I took them instead of the study hall, typing, business, and psychology classes that the other college-bound students preferred.

The one-semester classes I took were:
Drafting
Architectural drafting
Metals (metal fabrication - machining and welding)
Power and energy (mostly engines and applied physics)
Electricity and electronics (electricity fundamentals, household wiring, and some microelectronics)

I feel that these classes prepared me well for my pursuit of a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, specializing in robotics.

Our phys ed classes were awful. The dodgeball episode of Freaks and Geeks says it all. My favorite classes were two days of archery and two days of rope climbing. A bicycling class in high school would have been wonderful - I did a lot of cycling for transportation, and maybe I would have discovered better clothing and technique much sooner.

[Feldman]

Maybe what high schools should do is to stop subsidizing driving--if they alow students to drive to school they should not provide free parking. The parking rate should be equal to the highest prime downtown parking in the region; Portland downtown parking rates in Vancouver high schools, for instance.

[TRaffic Jammer]

I had some shop classes in my school as well.
It does seem to be a travesty that the idea that "trades" are no longer a reasonable career move in most schools. Which is ridiculous. I'd love to a return to the concepts of mentoring, apprenticeships, and becoming a Master at something over the years. Our gym teacher ran a football player to a heart attack once. Gym was a terrible time for a glasses wearing computer/science geek our school was quite athletic.

[slagjumper]

In Pittsburgh, where the average age is 42 there is no money, (very little) for Art, Music or GYM so the kids just walk around the building humming and drawing lines in the dirt. The school board regularly buys out expensive contracts and is fond of de facto segregation. The crappy lunch programs are in full swing as well.

I think that it is a great idea to teach bike skills, but think that the schools just are not the ones to do it. I am not so sure that my schools really are teaching. They mandate tons of homework, much of it new material, and more or less compel parents to help all but the brightest kids, as they puzzle through hours of make work.

I've seen some school officials flat out say that cycling is dangerous and do not want to encourage that kind of risky behavior.

I talked to my kids' elementary principal and she was thrilled at the idea of someone coming in and doing a bike safety thing.

[Keith99]

I had some shop classed in my school as well.
It does seem to be a travesty that the idea that "trades" are no longer a reasonable career move in most schools. Which is ridiculous. I'd love to a return to the concepts of mentoring, apprenticeships, and becoming a Master at something over the years. Our gym teacher ran a football player to a heart attack once. Gym was a terrible time for a glasses wearing computer/science geek our school was quite athletic.

Normal gym class was not always fun for hard core, but wrong body type jocks either. I managed to aviod P.E. class for all of high school. I played football for 2 years and swam for 3. P.E. is ok if you are a quarterback type. That is not me. Pulling guard or defensive end. Protect or destroy quarterbacks, but not be one. But regular P.E. seemed to only care how far you could throw a football, not how far you could throw a quarterback.

[Roody]

Maybe what high schools should do is to stop subsidizing driving--if they alow students to drive to school they should not provide free parking. The parking rate should be equal to the highest prime downtown parking in the region; Portland downtown parking rates in Vancouver high schools, for instance.
Amen. Unfortunately, many school districts are locating new high schools way the hell out in the cornfields. With long travel distances, no bus service and busy rural access roads, students have little choice but to drive.

[genec]

In the 1980s, my high school in New Hampshire had a variety of "vocational education" classes that were electives. I took them instead of the study hall, typing, business, and psychology classes that the other college-bound students preferred.

The one-semester classes I took were:
Drafting
Architectural drafting
Metals (metal fabrication - machining and welding)
Power and energy (mostly engines and applied physics)
Electricity and electronics (electricity fundamentals, household wiring, and some microelectronics)

I feel that these classes prepared me well for my pursuit of a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, specializing in robotics.

Our phys ed classes were awful. The dodgeball episode of Freaks and Geeks says it all. My favorite classes were two days of archery and two days of rope climbing. A bicycling class in high school would have been wonderful - I did a lot of cycling for transportation, and maybe I would have discovered better clothing and technique much sooner.


In the late '60s I took drafting, metal shop and wood shop in junior high school. Later I took electronics and a separate computer class (used 300 baud modems to communicate with a computer in Ohio) while I was in high school in the early '70s.

I was quite angry that my son could not even take wood shop any time during his education. The elementary school offered music.

The funny thing was, later in college (in the 90's), I took a series of CAD classes... which they started with hand drawing on boards... including hand lettering. I laughed knowing that I had "drafting" in jr high (unlike many of the other students) and that I would never do anything by hand while in industry. (I was already working full time in industry while attending college part time)

[MarkS]

I think cycling poses a bit of a logistical problem in that unless you're going to mindlessly ride around in circles, you have to actually go somewhere off campus and far away.Well, they didn't have a problem with making us run mindlessly in circles. I'd way rather ride mindlessly in circles ... do it all the time :)

They could make it more trendy or sports-like by using school-supplied track bikes which should be cheaper to maintain. They could teach skills like bunny-hopping and jumping, which the kids would probably find more interesting than the parallel bars, which I viewed as some medieval torture device.

Funny how cycling is viewed as dangerous. But they can make kids scale a 30 foot rope, swing upside down overhead on parallel and unparallel bars, pole vault, trampoline flips, high dive, etc. and no one even thinks about it. And of course, no one ever gets hurt playing football or basketball. :rolleyes:

[Roody]

I think cycling poses a bit of a logistical problem in that unless you're going to mindlessly ride around in circles, you have to actually go somewhere off campus and far away.
They made us run off-campus in inner-city Detroit when I was a kid. And I still see boys and girls running in the streets around the Lansing high schools. Would cycling be any different?

[Da Tinker]

Hmmm, it's called physical education, isn't it? Can't ever recall anyone getting killed because they did not know how to dribble a basketball or field a hot grounder.

[joejack951]

They made us run off-campus in inner-city Detroit when I was a kid. And I still see boys and girls running in the streets around the Lansing high schools. Would cycling be any different?

For lacrosse, we did our long distance runs off the school grounds around the local town. I think that as long as we were accompanied by a coach, we were allowed to leave and return to campus. I see other local cross country teams running along the main roads where I live now too (which just so happens to be right near my high school).

There have been some really great ideas discussed in this thread about ways to increase cycling at a very impressionable age where kids are usually turning to cars. I would add that in addition to cycling being done as it's own PE class, any student who plays a sport where physical conditioning plays a part (soccer, lacrosse, football, swimming, cross country, etc., NOT baseball :)) could benefit from cycling as well. I wish I had known about the benefits of cycling while I was in high school playing team sports. I loathed running for the sake of running and cycling would have given me a lot of the conditioning I was looking for.

[hotbike]

The Public schools should have a half mile oval track on school grounds for everyone to practice spinning.

I took shop class in junior high school (now middle school) and I was the only one who could tear down a Briggs & Stratton 5 horse engine and rebuild it so it would start when the rope was pulled.

There was a terrible dilemma when an exchange student from Israel got both his hands cut off on the band saw.

Then I went to a Catholic High School, which has no shop class.


Then I went to New York Institute of Technology to study Mechanical Engineering.

Then I built a ramjet and sent a proposal for research and development to NASA, the USAF, and the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (still in business, office was NOT destroyed on 9-11-01).

Then I joined the Navy and went aboard a carrier for over eight months, to conduct a study for carrier launch hypersonic aircraft.
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/SaratogaFlightDeck2.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/SaratogaFlightDeck.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/SkyatDusk.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/CV60.jpg

When I came back stateside, the Soviet Union was kaput, so I let my Daughter have total artistic liscense in the design of an Electric Moped:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/Type9Pink2.jpg

[MarkS]

Then I went to New York Institute of Technology to study Mechanical Engineering.They allow you to take photos like that?

What is the purple/pink stuff on the bike?