A Charlotte Mason Education

Articles

Physical Education
By, Sonya

So many times as a homeschool parent I find it easy to ignore or at
least minimize the importance of PE (Physical Education, or "gym
class," as we called it when I went to school). Somehow I can't
envision Charlotte Mason teaching the children how to play kick ball or
dodge ball. (Not to mention that those games are a little difficult to
do at home when you have only three or four children involved!) And I
couldn’t reconcile her beautiful educational philosophy with the notion
of compelling children to do mindless repetitions, like twenty-five
jumping jacks and fifty sit-ups.

Therefore, this whole idea of "drilling" (i.e., Swedish drill) that was
used in her schools intrigued me, and I went on a hunt for more
information. Well, the wonderful inter-library loan lady at my local
library found me a gem: "The Swedish Drill Teacher" by M.H. Spalding,
copyright 1910. This little 72-page book (which sold for six shillings
in London details the principles behind and methods of Swedish
drill; and as I read about it, I was struck with how neatly it falls
into step with Charlotte's philosophy of education.

For example, the exercises and movements were used with a view to
improving "the general health of the body rather than towards muscular
development." The drills were done outside whenever possible to allow
for fresh air and deep breathing. The movements were done to command so
the "pupils learn the power of quick and correct response to the
command, and this involves concentration and quickness of thought,
alertness of action, and effort of will. Since fresh commands for new
and more complicated movements are continually being learnt, these
qualities are always being more and more highly and acutely developed."

Those comments dovetail wonderfully with Charlotte's emphasis of a
"serviceable body" as the goal of physical training (School Education,
pp. 102, 103), her encouragement to spend lots of time outdoors (Home
Education, p. 42), and the prominence she gave to the habits of full
attention and mental alertness (Home Education, pp. 156, 185).

So what exactly is Swedish drill?

Swedish drill was a series of movements the students performed in
response to the teacher's vocal instructions. The movements were
performed slowly and gently (for the most part), with an emphasis on
balance and complete muscle control. As students grew more proficient,
the instructions progressed to more complicated postures or movements.

Movements centered around the arms bending and stretching, the arm and
shoulder muscles, abdominal muscles, and legs muscles. Some jumping,
marching, and running were also included, along with breathing
exercises when needed to regulate after a strenuous exercise. Each
drill session began with "introductory movements," similar to what we
call "warming up."

The teachers would start with various fundamental positions in
different combinations. For example, here are some

Fundamental Arm positions: hands on hips, hands on shoulders, hands
behind head with fingers lightly interlocked, arms extended (either up,
down, out, or forward).

Fundamental Foot positions: astride (legs parallel with shoulders but
wider than shoulders), walk (a comfortable step in the direction
indicated), lunge (a long step in the direction indicated);

Fundamental Body positions: standing, sitting, lying, kneeling.

The instruction would be spoken once, with a pause for students to get
a mental image of the position and how to move; then the "execution
command" would be given (like "firm!" or "place!"), at which time the
students would move. So the instruction "With feet astride, hands on
hips (--pause--) firm!" would tell the students to place their hands on
their hips while standing (with good posture, of course).

Simple arm instructions might be "Arms forward, sideways, and downward
-- stretch: 1, 2, 3" (with a change of position on each number).

After the students found those fundamental positions no longer a
challenge, the teacher would start to mix things up a bit with
variations. For example, our first instruction used above could be
expanded from "with feet astride, hands on hips -- firm!" to "Hips --
firm! Feet astride -- place: 1, 2! (Student would move one foot on each
number spoken.) Feet together -- place: 1, 2! Left foot forward --
place! Feet change: 1, 2!" (On "1" the left foot is brought back; on
"2" the right foot is moved forward.)

Or they could increase the complexity of arm movement instructions by
having each arm do a different position: "Left arm upward, right arm
forward -- stretch!"

Next, they could combine arm and leg positions, such as "With left foot
forward, right hand neck rest, left hand hips -- firm! Feet and arms --
change: 1, 2! (One "1" students come back to neutral position, and on
"2" the positions of feet and arms are reversed.)

The possibilities for combinations are endless when you throw in heel
raising, facing different sides of the room, toe standing, knee
bending, "half" positions (doing the movement with one side of the body
only, such as half kneel), knee raising, leg raising, bending or
twisting at the waist, controlled jumping, and marching in patterns. If
you'll pardon the comparison, the whole thing almost reminds me of a
very advanced game of Simon Says.

The teacher was also encouraged to come up with some fun games and
names for certain movements for the younger children (ages 6 to 8). For
example, the "Do as I say, not as I do" game expected the children to
listen carefully to the instructions and follow them even if the
teacher took a different position. She might tell the children "Hips --
firm!" but put her own hands behind her head. Or a fun balance movement
would be "Taking off the shoe," for which each student would bend the
knee up and stand on one foot while taking off his or her shoe and
putting it on again. Small children would also get to do "giant
marching" or "dwarf marching" and "bunny jumps."

There you have it: a quick overview of Swedish drill. I hope the
explanation wasn't too confusing. It's hard to condense a 72-page book
of instructions and physical movements.

Judging from the sample schedules, Charlotte's schools did drill for
about 30 minutes at a time. You can be sure the drill teacher had
thought through the combinations and sequence before attempting to lead
the children for that length of time. Some of us would be challenged
just to think up enough variations to occupy ten minutes if we were
operating off the top of our heads! But as a quick diversion in the
midst of lessons, it might prove to be an enjoyable spontaneous
exercise.

Sonya, author of Spelling Wisdom
http://www.simplycharlottemason.com