It used to be that P.E. class meant pegging the unpopular kid during dodge ball and gagging if you had to stand next to him at the free-throw line for basketball practice. Today, P.E. class at Wilshire Elementary in Euless means taking the arm of the unpopular kid and clutching it dutifully while forming a circle with fellow fifth-graders before launching into a spirited merengue. "Be confident!" cheers achioedstructor Gene Willman as 17 pairs of 11-year-ol
It used to be that P.E. class meant pegging the unpopular kid during dodge ball and gagging if you had to stand next to him at the free-throw line for basketball practice. Today, P.E. class at Wilshire Elementary in Euless means taking the arm of the unpopular kid and clutching it dutifully while forming a circle with fellow fifth-graders before launching into a spirited merengue. "Be confident!" cheers mustachioed dance instructor Gene Willman as 17 pairs of 11-year-old feet stomp to a Latin beat. Both boys and girls wiggle their hips in circles and wave their best jazz hands in a move called the "boogie walk," a step that a year from now they'll likely regard as thoroughly silly. Right now, though, in Willman's ballroom dancing class, what's important is counting steps, with each child reciting "one, two, three, four," under his or her breath. In a couple of years, these kids will be driven nearly mad with the thought of touching the popular kid's hand. Now, they're driven nearly mad by the fact that the kid keeps turning the wrong way during the foxtrot. You see, good looks are no substitute for good dancing, something made clear on ABC's brilliant Dancing with the Stars. Week after week on the show, viewers vote off a star until one person is left, crowned as the best dancer. In fact, the show is so popular (consistently number one) that more people watch that than the evening news. Dancing with the Stars takes certain liberties with the term "stars." It casts soap opera actors, former boy-band members, and retired athletes in a reality-slash-game show that requires them to learn to dance with professional dancers. For the dance studios and school gyms here in North Texas where hundreds of folks work each week to master their tangos and waltzes, ballroom dancing is about much more than just putting on a show. At least, that's how Willman sees it. In a smart black suit with neatly coiffed facial hair, Willman looks like the James Bond of ballroom sitting on a child-sized bench beneath a wall plastered with kids' scribblings on colored paper. "This is more than just dance," says Willman. He spends several hours a week at elementary schools in Hurst-Euless-Bedford teaching fifth-graders to dance. Willman is part of a nationalized version of the dance program featured in the documentary film Mad Hot Ballroom, in which inner-city kids learn to waltz, rumba, and boogie. "It changes the kids," Willman says. "It gives them a different perspective." In this Euless school, many students come from disadvantaged areas where role models are drug dealers or dropouts. Ballroom dancing, says Willman, who's been in the business for nearly 20 years now, teaches discipline, poise, and self-confidence. The kids come in squeamish and immature. By week ten of Willman's class, they're grasping hands, counting steps, and acting like grown-ups, hence the polite "thank you" after each dance. Some have even lost weight. "For some kids, it's the only exercise they get," Willman says. adapted from "All the Right Moves" by Andrea Grimes http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-04-12/news/all-the-right-moves/ Notes 1. Dancing can offer some kids who aren't normally active a way to lose weight. 2. Instead of an emphasis on athletics, ballroom dancing teaches discipline, poise, and self-confidence. 3. Dancing with the Stars is a television show that's half game and half reality television show. 4. Ballroom dancing teaches kids to act more mature than they usually would towards one another. 5. The documentary film Mad Hot Ballroom featured inner-city kids learning to waltz, rumba, and boogie. 6. Viewers of Dancing with the Stars can vote off contestants and choose the best dancer. 7. Dancing with the Stars is one of the most watched television shows on the air presently. 1. Which one of these notes would be most relevant for a report about improving students' social behavior? 3 5 1 4
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