Skateboarding in P.E.

About time!:

The kids at Douglass Elementary School already had a climbing wall and a zip line in their gymnasium. Then their P.E. teacher learned to skateboard.

So the students are taking up skateboarding too. It's the latest in a trend toward physical education that's fun and tempts kids into staying active outside of school and perhaps years later.

... "Skateboarding is definitely a new activity in school P.E. classes," said Paula Kun, spokeswoman for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. "Not everyone is going to love it, but I'm sure it'll be a fun, new activity."

... Experts say school P.E. programs in America are undergoing a dramatic change -- from competitive team sports and physical fitness testing to a smorgasbord of appealing options like yoga, martial arts and climbing. The changes come amid growing concern over children's sedentary habits, helping fuel childhood obesity. About 34 percent of U.S. children are estimated to be overweight or obese.

Which reminds me, it's time to skateboard again. The only time I ever skateboarded was three years ago. The camera crew from San Francisco dared me to skateboard for the first time, to demonstrate just what I was prepared to do to become Governor of California. It was fun, and captured on video, but I suspect they are using the video in P.E. classes across the country, demonstrating just what not to do....