Phys-ed obstacle course challenges pupils
Goal is to reinforce skills such as problem solving, teamwork
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

Mix equal parts "American Gladia-tors," "Double Dare" and boot camp and you get Project USE.

Project USE is an obstacle/challenge course at all three of Howell's middle schools that includes a climbing wall, a blind maze and a swaying log. The different challenges are mostly wooden and are called elements.

Students tackle the course during their physical education period. The challenges are meant to reinforce teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills.

Physical education teachers became certified through 18 hours of training on the program and use of the elements.

Two of those teachers, Paul O'Neill and Kimberly Thomas, both of Howell Middle School North, explained the merits of Project USE.

"Everybody can do this; you don't have to be an athlete," O'Neill said. "It gets kids out of their comfort zone."

Thomas noted that since the physical education classes are mixed with students from all kinds of athletic, academic and social backgrounds, the program fosters important lessons.

PHOTOSBYJEFFGRANITstaff Pupils at Howell Middle School North test their physical skills and their ability to work as a team on the Project USE obstacle/challenge course. Above, physical education teachers Paul O'Neill and Kimberly Thomas pull second-grader Pat Holiday over a wall. Lending a hand in the effort is Vice Principal Bob Henig. At left, Kate Smith and Brooke Tierney work together to navigate one of the obstacles.

"It builds certain kinds of leadership, cooperation and teamwork," she said. "It's going great. They love it, they absolutely love it," even if the tasks are decidedly more difficult than they may look.

On the swaying log, for instance, O'Neill said he could only take four steps before falling off.

"I mean, who can do this?" he laughed.

The "whale watch" remains an interesting feat as well. A dozen 2 x 4's are connected and made into a floor that rests on a peaked hinge. (Think of a floor on top of a teeter-totter).

JEFF GRANIT staff Jordan McClain participates on the Project USE obstacle/challenge course at Howell Middle School North.

While piling their entire class onto the board, the students must determine how they can steady the "ship."

"They find different ways to do this every time," Thomas said as she watched a group of students balance the board by having an equal number of their peers lie down on both sides of the board.

Sometimes, O'Neill will throw the youngsters for a loop.

"I'll tell them they need to get the boys and girls on the same side," which tests their problem-solving skills, he said.

Over on the swinging tires, four radials are suspended by rope. The object is for two students to cross from opposite sides. Students quickly learn to work together if they want to get across the obstacle.

As two students grasped that important fact, O'Neill said, "Look, they're grabbing hands, in class you'd never see that," adding that the program imparts important lessons.

Eventually, the two students on the swinging tires made it across.

One of the students, Jordan McClain, came away with the message in hand.

"It's kind of hard, but it's easier when your partner helps you," Jordan said.

As a whole, Jordan loves Project USE.

"It's fun," he said. "I'd rather do this than any work. This is definitely better."

Principal Joseph Isola may not agree with that assessment, but he believes the program remains important.

"It's definitely out of the box," Isola said. "It's a change of pace. I think the lessons that it teaches and the elements it builds will help them in the future. The concepts that exist in the course, they can use in life."

Through the students' work in the classroom, Isola believes the program reinforces those ideals.

"It's a perfect fit for our curriculum," he said. "We are fortunate to have it."