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ENGAGING THE UNENGAGED
by
Isobel Kleinman
 When
I told a school psychologist friend
of mine that I was supposed to write
an article about drugs and alcohol awareness,
she whispered, in surprise, "I
hope you know the drug of choice these
days." Looking somewhat defeated
after her day of interventions, she
continued by saying that the drug of
choice is prescription drugs. I wondered
how her kids - boarding school students
- could get them. That is when the questionable
virtue of modern life reared its head.
"Kids today can get anything, even
prescription drugs," she said.
"They get them on the internet."
Scary, I thought, and what a crying
shame that kids still take drugs to
get high. That is when I decided that
this article should be about helping
kids get something from being involved
that they cannot get from drugs. If
done right, perhaps we can give them
their "high" through activity.
Truthfully, if we do not engage our
unengaged students, we fail doing what
could be our most important mission.
So how do we engage the unengaged?
It is not quick. It is not easy, but
it can be done even when you welcome
kids on opening day who make clear,
in the many ways they have, that they
simply do not want to be there. I can
relate. Even great teachers do not start
out with great classes. Yes, you will
get kids who would rather sit out then
participate, and others who have no
interest passing at all. It is for those
kids that a change in perception is
necessary. It is precisely for the unengaged
kid that we must make gym seem like
an adventure rather than a pain.
How can we gauge when we have done
that? I look for smiles and listen to
the pre and post class chatter. Getting
kids involved will result in all of
that, but it could take a while and
you could have some unhappy movements
along the way. But, when it happens
- and it will - you and your students
will be left with wonderful memories,
memories of the camaraderie and accomplishments
gained from the activity itself. To
get there, though, kids must participate.
That means pushing past their resistance.
That means not only getting them moving,
but getting them to recognize what they
have accomplished on their own and with
others. That means making every one
of them important when they enter your
class.
Each grade level has resistance points,
though some are common on any level.
The big one is the hatred of dressing
for class. Understand and even sympathize,
but when rules make sense you have to
insist. When the rules do not make sense-
during the folk, square and social dance
units and during golf or archery - you
can suspend them and make everyone happier.
The kids will welcome not changing,
will look at you in a different light,
and you will have ten more minutes to
get them loving the activity.
 Speaking
of not dressing for dance, have you
ever taught folk, square, or social
dance? Sorely, it is the most under-represented
learning activity in physical education
though it is aerobic - at all intensity
levels - and can please the non-competitive
student and the kids who would rather
sit out then dress for gym. Dance is
so appealing to the typically unengaged
student that if it is still absent from
your program, you should do what it
takes to include it. Don't think it
is easy, but don't get discouraged.
There is always a student or two in
every class who will pick up what you
are teaching and help you along.
 Teaching
dance is worth it. First you have to
get the kids over the shock that they
are coming to gym and won't be playing
a game. As a first year teacher (in
'67), I introduced a three-week ten
dance unit to my junior high. Pre-title
IX, I had only girls. Surprisingly,
I was warned by one of my leaders that
she would not be cooperating in gym
during dance, she was that upset. Then,
despite those who could not imagine
dancing in gym, who hated dressing for
class, who hated gym in general and
who hated me in particular for "making"
them do what they didn't want to do,
in a lesson or two, they came running
in, asking me to put on the music so
they could dance before class officially
started. It probably helped oodles that
they didn't have to dress in gym clothes,
but I can tell you that those years
were fantastic. There was so much enthusiasm
and it was infectious. The gym was near
the cafeteria so that once the joy of
dance caught on, and because having
more kids on the dance floor was no
problem, kids asked to join us after
lunch and participation swelled. Even
some guys joined in and it was fantastic.
 Almost
magically, I had won over so many students
during that one unit that it did not
matter what I taught after that. I was
with them, and they with me, and no
matter what came next, they were in
the palm of my hand. The boys were another
story. In large numbers, there seemed
to be too much pressure to "be
the man" and what they thought
that meant. Almost to a one, their resistance
was unrelenting. If they went to a wedding,
or a place where they heard some music
that they learned to dance to, they
couldn't stop telling me how they loved
getting on the dance floor.
 Other
than that, and without a male role model
around, those early years were no fun
for anyone. I persevered because it
was important. I eliminated partner
dancing. Then I found a way to fit dance
into the fitness unit. I used some folk
dances, created some line dances to
great songs, and compiled a thirty minute
dance-aerobic routine for each grade
level. In middle school, I used dance-aerobics
as the cardio approach to fitness. Where
strengthening was needed, I added exercises
to music that were specific to those
muscle groups. In ninth grade and up,
students got a choice. Dance-aerobics
with me, or the weight room with a colleague.
With few exceptions, the guys chose
the weight room. Happily, all was not
lost. Years later, as juniors and seniors,
and with rhythms in their background,
the boys were agreeable to learning
some social dance. I can only imagine
how much easier it is now that Dancing
with the Stars is so popular on
TV. I pined for a male role model for
years and found none. Now, when things
get rough I can simply tell my kids
that they have to watch and critique
some famous guy dancing on TV. Dance
is healthy, lots of fun, and a way to
engage the unengaged, but leaving the
negative stereotyping behind is a must!
Did you notice that your more difficult
classes do not follow rules? Can you
think of anything you teach that allows
them to be themselves? I can. It is
Educational
Gymnastics. Would you believe
that the very classes that drove me
crazy during other units turned around
during educational gymnastics? Yes,
my most impossible kids took to Educational
Gymnastics in ways I could never
have imagined. They were focused, active,
and working to meet challenges - my
challenges - and it was a stunning reversal.
It must have been the playground look
of the gym and the approach.
Educational gymnastics encourages
thinking out of the box, being creative
and working on one's own skills level.
There is tons of activity throughout
the lesson, but all the motion reflects
personal choice. And by asking your
class to see how they can, for instance,
be big while they move along the ground,
you will get lots of variety. Ask again,
and each student will try another way
and you will get more variety. Ask again,
and it goes on. Vary your request for
big more, and you get more. Students
all work, in their own space, their
own mindset - until I intrude and ask
them to do more - and their own rhythm.
Yes, my most difficult students were
engaged in a way that they had never
been engaged before. They were learning,
not specific floor or apparatus moves,
but to use what they knew and improve
it, explore it, and exaggerate it until
what they did almost became an art form.
In the process, they learned to appreciate
their own movement and that of others.
How wonderful to teach gymnastics
without fear, yet with lots of activity!
How wonderful to guide movement choice
and watch every student find his or
her own way to work, whether they had
to go fast or slow, move over or
under, move by pushing or pulling, be
big or small, high or low, work in a
small space or a large one, work in
pairs to mirror or duplicate, or
any of the many other themes that had
them challenging what they could do
in different ways. Every day they got
another theme, another way to explore
floor work or the equipment, another
way to think, to move and to shine.
Every day, no matter the theme, they
learned to control their weight, their
flow of movement, their extension, their
timing and their use of space.
To my surprise, my most difficult
classes were also my most creative and
I found myself applauding them continuously.
That appreciation - loud and clear -
not only created a new and wonderful
learning environment for them, but elevated
their sense of self. Finally, they stopped
challenging me and started working cooperatively.
Not only was the miracle of engagement
a way to help them find a place to shine,
but the warmth we all felt during those
lessons endures to this day!
I will end by saying that teaching
physical education is a bit of an art
in itself. We teach something new, and
find weakness as students learn it,
and privately, in the public space of
a gym - we help students overcome their
weakness. We must prod and chastise,
but do it with a smile. We must control
frustration while remembering how important
it is to tell kids when they do something
good, and mean it when we say it. We
must create an atmosphere that is embracing
while pushing for growth. We must make
a disciplined environment fun, too.
We must make activity an adventure,
and make sure that every student feels
an important part of it. We must monitor
competition so that it is exciting,
not threatening, and despite that we
must add programs that engage the non-competitive
and the creative spirits in the group.
In short, despite the politics attacking
our profession, despite classes that
are ridiculous in size, despite shortcomings
in space and equipment, we must perform
little miracles every day. If we are
genuine about our caring, we will create
those miracles.
These things do not happen overnight.
As a student must work, so must their
teacher. That means introducing things
that engage everyone at some point during
the year, and hoping that the feeling
they get from being involved is so powerful
that they will stay involved throughout
the school year and throughout their
adulthood.
By the way, if you need resources
for running the programs mentioned,
and have no time to take a course or
learn about it on your own, get a copy
of my book COMPLETE
PHYSICAL EDUCATION PLANS FOR GRADES
5 – 12. This is not meant
to be a shameless promotion. The reason
I worked to make a second edition with
so much more detail, and so many new
offerings, was so I could make it easier
for you to include dance and Educational
Gymnastics. All the dance instruction
(in fact all instructions for every
skill in each unit) along with a very
detailed - three unit - chapter in Educational
Gymnastics (and Lacrosse and Wrestling)
is right there, clear as a bell, in
the second edition. So, whether you
use your imagination or do it my way,
please do it. Let's help kids get "high"
from activity.
Good Luck!
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