Physical Education (PE) is a requirement for all kids in school. Although, instead of having the kids running laps around a track or playing basketball on the court, an alternative school in Iowa is giving their students the opportunity to earn their PE credits by helping disabled and senior citizens. How wonderful!
Traditional high schools typically allow students to complete their PE course by sports or other after-school activities. However, the students at the Alternative Learning Center (ALC) in Dubuque, are encouraged to fulfill their PE requirements by helping people in the community who can’t do their own yard work.
Tim Hitzler is a social studies teacher who started the program. He was inspired when the school launched its own garden. Since then, every year students have worked with Hitzler for two hours each day on the last two weeks of the school year.
Hitzler said:
Once kids do it once, they wanna do it again. It’s good for them to learn real-life skills. They work hard, it’s not easy. They’re sweating when they’re done.
ALC is specifically geared towards junior and senior high students who have struggled to succeed at traditional schools. These students are most likely at risk of dropping out of school entirely. This learning center provides them with project-based and independent learning opportunities designed to get them back on track towards graduation.
As part of the school’s curriculum, students have the option to choose between a number of activities during the last two weeks of school that will count toward their PE credit. These activities include doing yard work for people in the community, cleaning golf courses or cleaning a river barge. However, 12 out of 29 teens that signed up for the service program chose to do yard work specifically. Hitzler believes that it’s the simple act of helping others which makes the program have such an impact.
The yardwork program, in particular, has proven beneficial both for the students and the community. The students do whatever homeowners need, including raking, pulling weeds, cleaning gutters, cutting bamboo and tending to chicken coops. Not only does it give the students an opportunity to give back to the community but they are also getting a great workout at the same time. Did you know that typical yardwork activities can offer a significant calorie burn, cardio and even strength-building?
Hitzler explained:
The students aren’t typically too excited at the beginning, but once they get involved and start doing the yard work, they become more motivated. They really like giving back to people and meeting the person.
The program has also become a community-building project. Some community members have even invited the students over for dinner and cookouts. Which makes it no surprise that some of the students have even volunteered to continue the service over the summer. That was probably some good dinner they cooked up. “I’ve had students that graduated that have come back to help. There’s something about helping people that really need it,” said Hitzler.
Hitzler even uses his own pickup truck for the efforts, along with his own yard tools and some from the school. We can all learn from Hitzler with this act of helping disabled and elderly people. You don’t have to be a student receiving PE credit to do a good deed, you can do it on your own.
