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Daniel Tedford
February 26, 2010
MONROVIA - With their arms held behind their back as they glide over the ice, Olympic speed skaters make it look so easy.
But when 2006 Olympian Maria Garcia first crouched in that familiar speed skating position, her muscles gave out in about 15 seconds, she said.
It took strenuous muscle training, including crouching for hours at a time, before she was able to summon the muscle power to skate upwards of 30 miles per hour.
On Friday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Garcia and educators from the Silicon Valley Education Foundation gave students at Clifton Middle School a high-tech education about the physics of the human body.
The lesson was built around the NBC Learn and The National Science Foundation's "Science of the Olympic Winter Games."
The new program gives teachers free access to thousands of lesson plans.
"It's a win, win," O'Connell said. "Having the innovation and the fact it is free."
The Foundations "Lessonopoly" program helps teachers organize, plan and create educational activities and lessons.
The program attempts to integrate things such as NBC Learn's `Science of the Olympics' with lesson plans that can be used by teachers to create an innovative learning environment, said Silicon Valley Education Foundation Vice President Brian Kaplan.
"Teachers are the ultimate innovators," Kaplan said. "But they haven't had as many tools available to them that are easy access and free."
Clifton teacher Kyle McClure showed students the organization's "Muscles and Motion" lesson plan, which is built around how Olympic athletes train their muscles to perform at an elite level.
"It gets more interesting to learn about," said 12-year-old student Madeline McGinnis. "You think about how it applies to things."
The goal is connect learning to the real world in an exciting way, Kaplan said.
"The number one thing you hear kids say is `This is boring' or `How does this connect to me?"' Kaplan said.
At a time when schools are being hit hard with budget cuts, any free resource is welcome, O'Connell said.
"Our schools are just trying to keep the lights on," he said.
Monrovia Unified School District Linda Wagner said the program is exciting for teachers and students alike.
"It is high-interest in a format that appeals to (students)," Wagner said. "If you pair a great teacher with a lesson like this, you will grab kids attention, which is the goal."
daniel.tedford@sgvn.com (626) 962-8811, ext. 2730
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