"LaSierra High PE Women's Physical Fitness Program" (B-ROLL, Reel #8, BW, No Sound)

This footage is some of my favorite of all the archives. What we see here was an evening PE class for the mothers of the boys in PE that was taught by the LaSierra PE teachers. Let me explain a few technical and philosophical details. The ladies were doing the same kinds of activities as their sons in PE. What was different was the delivery and the modifications. The teachers took the same exercises and modified them to age-appropriate levels. Here's something important to note and observe in this footage--quality PE is quality PE! Teaching movement fundamentals with quality is good for everyone--not just teens. The ladies did calisthenics, running, swimming, and also monitored their progress in public with the use of the poster boards displayed. Just like their sons in PE, the moms worked on the three major components of physical fitness which was strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. This film footage is a wonderful historical example of community involvement in public school physical education. PE at LaSierra was not just about the boys--it was also about the community. Here's another historical fact related to the use of school facilities. There has been criticism over the decades about the lack of proper use with school facilities during non-student hours. American schools sit idle most of the time. Many have called for evening and weekend use of schools for adult education and for youth recreation programs too. The evening PE class for women was a nice example of better usage of public facilities for the betterment of the community. Many other high schools also opened up gyms for adults to take exercise classes and some also taught evening wood, metal, and auto shop classes or other manual art classes like pottery. We can learn a lot from history and the history of PE programs like LaSierra. What we can learn is the value of teaching PE fundamentals for young and old but with the right modifications and delivery model. We can learn to better use school facilities so that all people can learn--not just K-12 children. We can learn that parents can also benefit by learning "through the physical." We can learn the benefits of evening PE classes taught by qualified PE teachers who are focused on "teaching and education" (not money) as a way to strengthen our families and our communities. Thank you LaSierra teachers and thank you LaSierra moms. You are still an inspiration! This film is part of the Stan LeProtti Family Archive collection on LaSierra High School Physical Education. I am curating the archive collection for the LeProtti family. For more information on LaSierra High PE including the former and current benefits of classical physical education, please see the award-winning documentary film "The Motivation Factor" by filmmaker Doug Orchard. I was the PE historian for the film and provided some of the narration. "The Motivation Factor" http://motivationmovie.com -Ron Jones, MS, Historical Kinesiologist, Physical & Health Educator *For more info on Ron and classical PE methods, visit: http://theleanberets.com/testimonials-rj