May 2, 2001, Mill Valley, CA - Solutions to reforming America's schools were presented at a unique forum held Friday evening, April 27, at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, hosted by the nonprofit American Sports Institute. Entitled The Call of Sport: A Model for Educational Reform, the forum focused on the pressing issues confronting education, and how the positive aspects of sport culture and a reformed and refurbished physical education can be models for resolving these issues.

ASI president Dr. Joel Kirsch, who moderated the panel, said, "This is the first time ever that sport and a new vision of physical education have been presented as viable solutions to resolving many of the issues confronting our schools today. The panelists did a great job with a topic that has never been explored before in a public setting. And the questions from the audience were right on target."

The eight distinguished panelists included Virginia Strom-Martin, Education Committee Chair in the California State Assembly; Camille Maben, senior advisor to Delaine Eastin, California Superintendent of Public Instruction; social theorist and author George Leonard, winner of 12 national awards for education writing; Robert Kanaby, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA); Roberta Park, professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, and an internationally recognized expert on physical education; Derek Van Rheenen, also from UC Berkeley, a lecturer in the School of Education and a former professional soccer player; Marie Ishida, executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF); and author and researcher Michael Murphy, co-founder of Esalen Institute.

Four school reform areas and the education of the whole child were explored: 1) the role of health and fitness in the total learning process, including cognitive learning; 2) how a reformed and refurbished physical education can be integrated into academic courses such as math, language arts, the sciences, social studies, and international languages to improve students' performances in these core courses; 3) the validity of sport in the educational setting; and 4) how the positive aspects of sport culture offer models for how our schools could be more effective.

An example of how a reformed and refurbished physical education could be integrated into academic courses was presented. It was noted that simple physical movement stimulates the brain and that appropriate forms of physical activity enhance mental alertness, decision making, creativity, and memory. In addition, a University of Southern California study was presented that noted how people who stood at a computer made decisions 20% faster than when they sat. Given that most students sit in chairs for a great majority of the school day, simple physical activities that stimulate the brain and could be done in a regular classroom setting-and that get students out of their chairs-were offered as ways to enhance cognitive learning.

Two examples presented regarding the positive aspects of sport culture had to do with self-paced learning and mastery-based learning. It was noted that in sports, every athlete develops at a different rate, and all athletes are given the time necessary to develop their skills, even though some athletes take longer to do this than others. However, in our schools, all students move at the same pace in their classes, with those who take longer to learn falling behind and those who take less time being held back.

It was also noted that an athlete does not move from one level to the next until he or she has mastered the required skills at his/her current level of ability. However, in our schools, a great majority of students move from one grade level to the next without mastering all the material.

Forum attendee Christine Adams of Berkeley has a daughter who is about to enter the state teacher credentialing program. "I'm intrigued by the body, mind, spirit approach to education. I'm very glad the forum was held, and I'd like to see more advocacy for this approach. I like the sports model because kids can learn to work to their own potential in school and be successful on their own terms."

Gwen Gatson-Long of the Foundation for Family First in Southern California took the day to travel up to the Bay Area for the forum. "This was the most intellectual discussion I've ever witnessed about sports activity. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was well worth the trip. The panel was just great."

Editor: In a few weeks, a written transcript of the forum will be available in hard copy and on the American Sports Institute website at www.amersports.org.

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