Westbrook teacher shows kids the value of staying active

It's the start of Lori Many's physical education class, and her kindergarten students have turned into dinosaurs.

Some of the dinosaurs run around the gymnasium trying to tag their prey with various objects, like a ball or a foam stick. Others move around on small square scooters, bringing the tagged victims, who sit on the floor, back to life.

After a few minutes, Many yells “freeze!” The students stop moving and then switch roles. The game resumes.

The gym is a blur of motion and sound. The students laugh and yell while “Pop Goes the World,” an upbeat pop song, reverberates through the room.

“My main goal at the start of class is simple — get them moving,” Many said.

Many is the physical education teacher at Westbrook School for Young Learners in Mount Prospect. She has taught there for more than eight years, part of a 27-year career in teaching.

That career has included teaching high school and college, but Many says that she's found her true calling with Westbrook's kindergartners and first-graders.

“My heart and soul is with the little ones,” she said.

Many's unflagging energy and creative approach to physical education have made her a favorite in the Westbrook community, Principal Mary Kalogeropoulos-Gorr said.

“She's revered,” Kalogeropoulos-Gorr said. “She merges expertise in her content area with a genuine love for children. Having such an outstanding P.E. teacher means that all of our students' needs are being met, which is a great thing for the community here.”

Many, who grew up in DeKalb, said she was always interested in fitness and sports — “the tomboy on the block,” to use her words. She enrolled at Eastern Illinois University as a French major, but then decided to study physical education. (She also played on the university's golf team.) She later earned her master's in physical education from Northern Illinois University.

Physical education has changed during the course of Many's career. When she started, the curriculum focused primarily on skills, she said.

“If you were doing a unit on basketball, there was a lot of testing to see how well the students dribbled the ball, how they made shots, that kind of thing,” she said.

Today, while skills are still a part of the curriculum, physical education places a greater emphasis on lifelong fitness and wellness. And that fits well with Many's personal interests and approach.

Lori Many infuses all her classes with a high level of energy. Each session starts with a “locomotor” activity, like the “Jurassic Park Tag” game her kindergartners played, to get muscles and heart rates going. Then she moves forward with that day's specific unit.

During a recent unit on basketball, she split her first-graders into small groups and had them work on shooting technique at the numerous hoops set up around the gym. Students who made successful shots collected the balls and set them aside. After a few minutes, the groups counted their successful shots and then shifted to a different hoop.

Aside from a few moments of instruction, the students were in motion for the entire class.

“I don't want students sitting around,” Many said. “When I first started teaching, you'd often see two teams playing in gym class while two other teams sat down. What's the point of that? I want all the students active throughout.”

Many adds to the energy level by playing music. Music, she said, is a uniquely powerful motivator. She generally chooses current pop songs, though she slips in older tracks from time to time.

“I have some disco songs,” she said. “It's so funny to see their reaction when I play those.”

Many's classes also stress the importance of healthy eating to one's overall wellness. Once a month, a member of the Westbrook Parent-Teacher Organization visits with a healthy treat. During the week before Thanksgiving, the class sampled beets and celery.

Mount Prospect parent Caroline Aldworth has sent three children through Westbrook School. Her youngest is a first-grader there. Aldworth said she's been impressed by Many's approach to physical education.

“It's so different from what I got in school,” Aldworth said. “She has music blasting and she has the kids dancing and moving around. You don't have to have great skills or be a jock to succeed in her class.”

Right now, kindergartners at Westbrook attend P.E. class twice a week, and first-graders attend three days a week. Many said the school plans to have all students attend P.E. class five days a week within the next two years.

“I can't wait for that day!” Many said.

Many said she considers it a privilege to be able to teach virtually every student who moves through Mount Prospect Elementary District 57. After completing first grade at Westbrook, students move on to either Lions Park or Fairview elementary schools, then they finish their District 57 education at Lincoln Middle School.

“I love being the first person who introduces the students to lots of these skills,” she said. “Some of the kids who come through have never dribbled a ball or jumped rope before. I'm so grateful I can be the one to get them excited about exercise and fitness.”

Her message appears to be catching on. As her kindergartners finished a recent class, she asked the group a question.

“What's your homework for today?” she asked.

“Exercise!” they all shouted.