I did not know very well what title to put in this post and the first thing that came to mind was something like "Great show of stupidity in schools: they change desks for bicycles", but I did not want to be so critical at the beginning and finally opted for something more aseptic. The criticism I will do next.
One of the current complaints is that the school model looks a lot like the duster. If preschool has always been the stage to prepare children for school, the elementary years are the stage that prepares children for work. Similar schedules, the obligation to obey a person in charge, to remain seated, I don't know how many hours and to carry out tasks in a certain time. Jobs have changed a lot and have diversified, but the school remains the same in many ways and in some American schools they have decided to change radically: the desks have been replaced by exercise bikes.
What is "Read and Ride"
They have not done so in the main classes, that is, the children still have their tables and chairs, but yes they have done it with some classrooms where children have a good time every day. There they exercise while reading, because the promoters consider that the activity helps to improve the attention span.
The initiative is called Read and Ride and there are more than thirty schools that have joined it in the last five years. According to the teachers, they have noticed that the children are more attentive and get better results. In the end-of-course reading test, children who had spent most of the time in the program achieved 83% proficiency in reading, while children who were less times only achieved 41% proficiency.
The doubt is: What were the children who were not going to read on the bike? Because if they were going to play with marbles, it would be normal for them to score less. Perhaps the ideal would be to compare the results of children reading on a bicycle and those of children reading at a table, or even that of children who read in groups and then comment on what they read, like a reading club. Because I suspect that third parties would get better scores than those who read alone on the bike or in a chair.
As they comment, thanks to the bicycle, reading becomes fun for many children who do not enjoy reading. It is a possible solution, but I don't think it's the best. If a book seems boring to you, the ideal is to find another one that seems more fun, not to continue reading it while pedaling.
But not everything goes to read more, better or have fun. They do it so that children also exercise, in a society where children (and adults) are moving less and less, even though we know that exercise is very important at all stages of life (sedentary life takes years away from lifetime).
Your son doesn't play sports? Quiet, at school we solve everything
If your child does not eat, rest assured, you leave it in the dining room and there they take care of eating well. If your son ignores you, calm down, you take him to the psychologist and he will take care of guiding you. If your son has a booger, calm down, you will take him to the pediatrician and he will tell you what to do. If at home it does not move and is all day attached to the TV or tablet, quiet, at school they solve everything.
I think you see where I'm going. In a world where parents become less and less parents and the others are "stealing" the functions we delegate to them, even the school is doing our job. Number of children arrive at school without being able to behave minimally in society (I do not speak of sitting and still, but of being able to respect others) and the school has to educate them because at home it has not been done or will be done. Many children have to learn to be autonomous at school because at home their parents do everything and they have never assumed a minimum independence. And now it seems that many children have to burn calories while reading because at home they spend the day on the couch, in the image and likeness of their parents, I imagine.
Well, no, when it's time to exercise, you exercise and enjoy it. You take a bicycle and you go out, to the park, to the mountain. You see nature, you see your city, live, you see the light of day, the sun, the clouds, the sky ... and all in high definition, live and direct. And when it comes to reading, you take a book that you feel like reading, one that you like, and you feel calm in a chair or armchair to devour it, page after page, without nothing and nobody bothers you. Not even a damn drop of sweat.
Enough of 2x1 shabby patches, as it turns out that we are multitasking, we read while we exercise and soon we will be able to make a debate among the children about the price of bread while they pee before going to recess. And at recess, play and run while multiplying tables are heard on the public address system. Enough already. If children have to exercise more, take some classes and exercise more or have community programs for parents and children to go out for sports. And if they have to read, they create a reading club and promote knowledge of books appropriate to their age, for example.
And parents, because they act as parents and take responsibility for them: educate your children, encourage reading and sports and, in short, teach them to be people and let them be autonomous. The funny thing is that it doesn't cost that much either, leading by example is very useful and effective.
