Phil Lawler concedes that he decided to become a physical-education teacher because he didn’t want to grow up.
Lawler, 52, who teaches at Madison Junior High School in Naperville and coordinates the physical-education program at Community Unit School District 203, dreamed of slugging home runs for a major-league team as a youth in Wall Lake, Iowa.
“I probably got into teaching physical education for the same reason that 90 percent of all physical-education teachers do: They liked sports and they wanted to coach,” said Lawler, who also is the pitching coach for Naperville Central High School’s varsity baseball team.
“I’m not proud of that, but that was my driving force. Was it Peter Pan who said, `I never want to grow up?’ I loved sports so much that I didn’t want to go into the real world of work.”
Today, Lawler is helping reshape how physical education is taught across the nation through his work in the district and with PE 4 Life, a non-profit organization that promotes a more active approach to gym class.
He was instrumental in turning the district’s PE program into a model for the nation, a designation it received in 1997 from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta.
In 2000, the district formed a partnership with the Washington-based PE 4 Life so its schools could become a demonstration site for other PE teachers around the country.
The main advantage for the district is that it gets recognition for a quality program, but the main purpose is to share the program with the nation, Lawler said.
The PE 4 Life institute was placed at Madison, which has received visitors from an average of two to three schools every month in the last year. PE 4 Life pays half of Lawler’s salary so he can bring in schools for a visit and answer e-mails about it. He occasionally gives presentations around the nation.
A passion for PE
“Phil is phenomenal because he has a passion for physical education,” said Jim Baugh, founder of PE 4 Life and president of Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods. “He has the model that we want other communities to follow.
During the 2001-02 school year, Lawler first met with Dr. Ken Cooper, President Bush’s physician, and later with Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education, and Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services. He also lobbied Nike and Pepsi officials to support the children’s health movement.
“Phil likes to say that physical education is the Rodney Dangerfield of education–it gets no respect,” said Paul Zientarski, Naperville Central’s PE coordinator. “If anybody has done anything to put pride and respect back into physical education, it is Phil.”
Lawler began playing sports in a town of 900 people, who did baseball, football, basketball and track. After playing football and running track in college, Lawler began teaching PE at a high school in Iowa in 1972.
He moved to Naperville in 1975, becoming a physical-education teacher at Jefferson Junior High School. He switched to Madison in 1977.
Since 1986, he has been the district’s physical-education coordinator, overseeing the programs at two high schools, five junior high schools and 14 elementary schools.
An appreciation for sports and fitness is part of Lawler’s family. His wife, Denise, is a runner, and their three children played sports at Naperville Central.
“I started running 15 years ago because of his enthusiasm for exercise,” Denise Lawler said. “The kids love sports and appreciate the need for exercise–that wasn’t something Phil forced upon them.”
A new approach
In 1990, against a backdrop of national concern for the state of student health, the district’s PE teachers decided to change their approach.
“It probably took about 20 years of teaching before I realized what it was like for someone who had no interest or ability in sports to take a physical-education class,” Lawler said. “That was a huge jump, because I thought everybody enjoyed it.”
In the program, then called “New PE,” the teachers switched the emphasis from playing games to doing cardiovascular exercise regularly. They started by getting their students to run a mile once a week.
“It was a critical paradigm shift from the old days, when everything was `no pain, no gain,'” Lawler said.
“We want the kids to understand that they can exercise very effectively to affect their health and they don’t have to feel large amounts of discomfort. There will be some discomfort, but not to where it has to be painful to be valuable.”
In the mid-1990s, the district joined the fitness wave of incorporating strength training into workouts.
Today, students take a fitness test at the beginning and end of each year, from 6th grade through 12th. The test includes running a mile, sit-ups and push-ups.
The district has fitness centers, with treadmills and weight machines, at the junior high schools and at Naperville Central and North High Schools. Using heart-rate monitors, teachers create routines that help students reach a target heart-rate zone.
Freshmen are given their data, and they use it to design a fitness plan. The data is reviewed each year, and the students can adjust their plan accordingly.
The elementary schools do not have fitness centers, and the pupils only have access to the heart-rate monitors, which are used occasionally.
The monitors are used once or twice a week, though students also will use them if they’re running or doing a cardiovascular activity.
PE 4 Life is offered Monday through Friday in Grades 6 through 12.
In Grades 1 through 5, pupils are introduced to fitness concepts during 20- to 25-minute physical-education classes twice a week.
Kindergartners have PE once a week.
A PE curriculum review committee is studying whether the program should be offered every day at the elementary level; it will be several years before a recommendation is forwarded to the school board.
A student is converted
Sarah Ross, who will be a sophomore at North, didn’t exercise outside of class when she was in junior high school.
In June, she joined a gym and began swimming and running.
She said she changed her attitudes about fitness after participating in a swimming class at the high school.
Instead of just swimming laps, the students did relays in a race. This developed a competitive spirit in her, she said.
“Last year, I had some really great PE teachers and they made it more enjoyable,” Ross said.
“I’ve never been an athletic person, but now I know that once you get going in physical activity, it helps your attitude immensely.”
The junior high pupils, during 40-minute classes, and high school students, during 50-minute classes, participate in cardiovascular activities and team sports such as basketball and volleyball.
“We still think it is important to teach team sports, because no matter who you are or no matter what occupation you enter, you’re going to be part of a team,” Lawler said.
“You’ve got to answer to a boss or on a smaller scale, you’re part of a family and that family is a team.”
In satisfaction surveys the district distributed in recent years, Madison parents rated the physical-education program No. 1.
Dee Donovan, the president of the home and school association for Madison the last two years, praised the PE 4 Life program.
“When it is time to go to the fitness center, the kids run to what they like,” said Donovan, whose son, Trevor, will be in 8th grade this year.
“It is very nice to see kids being excited about PE. The teachers are very receptive to what kids need for fitness, and Phil Lawler is one of the jewels of that school.”
Lawler said he can show, to some extent, that the district’s program is successful.
The number of students with elevated cholesterol levels dropped from 40 percent in 1996, the first year of testing, to 35 percent this year, he said. The screening, which is given to junior high and high school students, is voluntary.
`We have hit upon a winner’
Lawler said a long-term goal is tracking the health of 50 high school graduates over 10 to 15 years.
He is seeking a sponsor to fund the study, which he says could determine if the program is successful:
“We’ll like to know if they stuck with the habits that we tried to develop in the middle school and high school years,” he said. “If the majority of them were doing it–and better than the average citizens across the country, which I think they would be–it would be a true measure of success.
“Professionally, it has been so rewarding to be at the grass-roots level and see the changes in the circular area.
“I sometimes joke that if you have been in education as long as I have, I believe we’re probably in the sixth edition of new math. This is our first edition of PE, and it is truly better, no question about it. We have hit upon a winner.”
For more information on PE 4 Life, call 202-776-0377 or visit www.PE4life.org.
Phil Lawler
Title: Coordinator of the physical-education program in Community Unit School District 203 in Naperville. He also teaches PE at Madison Junior High School, Naperville.
Years in field: 31.
Family: His wife, Denise, is a kindergarten aide at May Watts Elementary School, Naperville. Sons: Scott, 25, assistant baseball coach at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb; Todd, 21, senior at Northern and plays on the school baseball team. Daughter: Kim, 23, model for Emodel.com.
Education: Bachelor’s degree, with a double major in physical education and history, in 1972 at Buena Vista College (now University) in Cedar Lake, Iowa. Earned a master’s degree in education administration at Northern Illinois University in 1987.
Exercise routine: “My alarm goes off during the school year at 4:30 a.m., and I always start with a brisk walk on my treadmill or stationary bike. I wear my heart rate monitor every morning. When I’m shoveling snow, I wear my heart rate monitor. With one bad knee, I’m getting too old for running. I wish I could still run.”
Favorite sports team: “I am sad to say, I’m a Cubs fan. I’m still hoping for a championship. I really became a strong Cubs fan since we moved to Naperville. You step into Wrigley Field and, if you’re a baseball fan, you have to become a Cubs fan.”
What was your career like as an athlete? “I come from a family with six children and out of four boys I was the 4th best athlete. I went to a small high school and I had some fairly good success. I had an opportunity to run on a state championship track team. We had a very successful baseball program. I broke a school record in basketball and scored 40 points one night. I played on a conference championship football team. My biggest thrill was that I was on teams with two brothers in basketball, track and baseball.
What do you tell kids about the importance of team sports? “My favorite baseball player was Pete Rose. I tell them, `Regardless of your ability, play your game hard.’ Pete Rose had more base hits than anybody else who played the game. If he tried out on the major-league level today, he would have been below average. I tell kids, `Regardless of what you’re going to do, whether it is a sport or writing, give it your maximum effort. Even if you’re less talented, you can make up for it through hard work.'”
What conversations do you have with parents about exercise? “In the old days, when we were focusing on improving sports skills, the conversation was about a grade in class. When parents talk to us now, it is about heart-rate monitors and how kids can get their minutes in their target heart-rate zone. The big thing we hear is, `I sure wish we had a program like this when I was in school.'”
Favorite places in Naperville: The high school baseball field. “The Riverwalk is a great place.” Your Neighbor for casual dining and Sullivan’s for a special occasion.
