
JANUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016, 7:41 AM
BY KARA YORIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The teenager’s green Nikes bounce up and down on a big rubber band attached to the desk as teacher Kaitlyn Brock talks about continents and hemispheres. Nearby another student swings his legs on the bands. Their upper bodies remain still, they are taking notes and appear focused.
It had been two weeks since Brock had brought the Bouncy Bands to her Paterson classroom where she teaches about 120 seventh- and eighth-graders social studies each day at Alexander Hamilton Academy. She had already noticed a difference.
“They seem to be more focused when they can move their feet at the same time and they’re not completely confined to their seats,” said Brock, who is part of a movement among teachers to allow more movement.
The days of teachers yelling “Sit still” to kids in elementary through high school seem to be ending. Educators around North Jersey are realizing the value of a little freedom and physical activity while teaching.
It’s kinesthetic learning, according to Barry Bachenheimer, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District.
“[It’s] the idea that when your body is in motion, you’re firing up endorphins, things are moving and instead of [you] sitting in a singular place the entire time,” said Bachenheimer. “If you’re sitting still for a long time, your brain doesn’t work.”
As more adults are coming around to the idea that “sitting is the next smoking” and working movement into their work routine, the idea of physical activity and education is moving more and more toward implementation instead of simply discussion. It is still not enough, according to Aleta Margolis, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Center for Inspired Teaching.