That piece of legislation may be the worst thing to happen to education in the US since public schools were founded (No-think schools.).

It literally hurts to think of the pain that the students in the program must have felt when it was pulled out from under them. They must feel that no one gives a damn about them - and they wouldn't be wrong.

The great news is the research that you mention. I'm eager to see it but the outcomes that you describe are hardly surprising to anyone who has studied dancing.

Thanks for the information.



jj

I've googled Dance Easy and can't find anything about teaching ballroom in the schools. Can you give me more info? I've been trying to teach some basic ballroom to 4-6th graders for a few years now and would like to see what this program is about.

Not sure about Dance Easy but if you would like to see more about the Chicago Public Schools program visit http://www.cpsarts.org/dance/program_information

You wont find any instructions. It just tells that there is a package called Dance Easy in Australia which is a Education Department project and has been runnung for a number of years and has spread from Victoria to all the states in Australia. Your main problem at a school will be seemingly lack of interest by boys. This program handles that part of the problem.
Yourself always push forward the words Dancing is a Social Asset. Once learnt will stay with you forever.Good Luck

I SO agree that ballroom should be taught at part of P.E. I also think that other exercises that can be done well into old age should be taught.

I'd like to see square dance taught as well.

Both ballroom and square dance are good because there are resources all over the country for them. I've lived few places where a space with a sound system and even often a caller were not available.

School: only a few students really benefit from all that money that goes into sports. A more comprehensive health and wellness based exercise class would be more in order considering most people will have ordinary jobs and need to have learned to do some things that are exercise and not just sports.

I hated PE as a child--but if we had been doing ballroom--I would have LOVED PE as a child--and might have spent fewer years as an adult being too sedentary for good health.