R4F (Riding for Focus)

"I forgot how much fun riding a bike is!"  The Maine snow has departed, and Riding For Focus' spring 2019 session is finally underway! For this session we decided to focus on 7th grade students since their schedule allows them to ride for an hour at the start of the day. What a difference it makes to have more time! We are able to dive deep on the lessons in the curriculum which allows us to move through them more quickly. Once the kids are "road ready" and it's time to leave campus, we will be able to cover some ground. I am already planning routes that will take us to beautiful spots that were previously out of reach because of time constraints.  May is also National Bicycle Month, and today is National Ride Your Bike to School Day. As an incentive, we gave every kid who rode their bike to school a sticker upon arrival and a choice of bicycle related prizes. Everyone who rode to school today  left with a water bottle, a light, a multi-tool or

"Gym Class Is So Bad, Kids Are Skipping School to Avoid It" "Not only does P.E. do little to improve physical fitness, but it can also lead to truancy and other disciplinary problems." This article from The Atlantic popped up on my news feed the other day, and I felt compelled to reply. Having access to bikes and a comprehensive curriculum teaching students how to ride safely has been transformational for our students. It has, in fact, created the opposite effect of the headline above. The sensationalized title of this article caught my eye. It both ticked me off and persuaded me to read on. I wondered, is P.E. class really that bad? Are kids actually avoiding school so they don’t have to go to Gym class? As it turns out, the title is a bit misleading -- its claims are based on the analysis of a single P.E. initiative in Texas from 2007 to 2011 -- and contrary to the sentiment of the headline, the article is not an argument against exercise in schools