Naperville High School Part 3

Chief Play Officers Posted on by

As promised here comes the MOST ASTOUNDING results from the Naperville High School PE program!

You might have heard of the test administered around the world to students to find the BEST in MATH and SCIENCE.

Are you sitting down?

Naperville High School students were the BEST in BOTH scores of any USA school! They even scored VERY high across the globe!

This all began to happen when they started the new PE – Physical Education – project!

So when did they have PE class?

FIRST thing in the MORNING!

It was determined that they FOCUSED way better if PE was the FIRST class!

The Naperville High School project was soon repeated in a Pennsylvania community that was way below the economic level of Naperville and the results were again ASTOUNDING!

What caught my attention about the Pennsylvania project was the dramatic drop in school fights! So this project was not only leading to top fitness and grades but less violence among the students as they found better ways than fighting!

I have emailed the Naperville High School principal yesterday to get a list of the current PE alternatives.

Keep you posted!

Hugh Simpson
#chiefplayofficer

Naperville High School Part 2

Chief Play Officers Posted on by

In the first post we read about the revolutionary PE – Physical Education at this school.

We also read I was the Poster Child for their previous program, where I was like many kids unathletic and selected last.

Then I concluded at 42 years of age I did my first triathlon and I actually finished last but was hooked on the sport. I did several more triathlons and added several more biathlons finishing at age 50 with the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon.

It was while hosting the syndicated Comcast TV series Today’s Health as both co-producer and co-host that accepted the challenge to become a certified personal fitness trainer through ISSA – International Sports Science Association – at age 50! I had to read a 600 page book on anatomy, physics, chemistry and biology in SIX WEEKS having NEVER studied any of these areas accept biology!

I actually passed the test – written and practical – conducted by “Mister Oak Legs” Tom Platz, a legend in the bodybuilding world (Google him)!

I only wish I had known what you will learn in the next post!

Hugh Simpson
#chiefplayofficer

Naperville High School Part 1

Chief Play Officers Posted on by

As promised here is the REMARKABLE story of how Naperville High School turned around their entire concept of PHYSICAL EDUCATION (PE) that led to 19,000 students not only be being the most FIT in the USA but first in SCIENCE and MATH!

How did just changing the old way of PE or PLAY lead to these people REMARKABLE results?

If you want the entire story read Spark by John J Ratey MD.

What happened in the Cliff Notes (Google) summary is that several pioneering teachers realized that not every student was situated to be on a team sport like football, baseball, basketball, etc.

I was the poster child of this problem myself while in high school at Bolles. I was overweight and definitely out of shape. I was always picked LAST.

Were YOU in the same boat as me?

These two pioneers at Naperville realized this had to change! They began to see if there could be ALTERNATIVES.

Today those alternatives have grown to EIGHTEEN including rock wall climbing, kayaking in the swimming pool, swimming, and even REQUIRED SQUARE DANCING by every ninth grader entering Naperville High!

Why the SQUARE DANCING?

Not only does it require MOVEMENT but it is leads to developing SOCIAL and COMMUNICATION skills, which are unfortunately missing with our tethering ourselves to smartphones and social media.

In your corporation or company have you thought of ALTERNATIVES to gyms or paid gym memberships for your employees? In my case I didn’t pursue REAL physical MOVEMENT until I was 42 and challenged by my friend and West Point grad Charles to do my first triathlon!

More in next post!

Hugh Simpson
#chiefplayofficer

Welcome!

Chief Play Officers Posted on by

I hope that we can keep posting here as WordPress has evidently gone into a MELTDOWN stage! I have used the app to post with since they started with dozens of websites. Now they are saying at the app that this very site I’m now typing on is NOT a WordPress site! GO FIGURE!

Enough ranting!

I created this website because I am SO EXCITED with what I’m learning about PLAY as it applies to our BRAIN as I’m a NEUROSCIENCE Fanatic!

Research is finding that when we PLAY we become MORE FOCUSED on an upcoming project and MORE CREATIVE especially if the PLAY involves MOVEMENT!

In addition to being a serial entrepreneur, I have been a certified International Sports Science Association fitness trainer for now 28 years. I began at age 50 as part of my co-producing and co-hosting Comcast’s Today’s Health. Dr. Oz was my guest three times and what a PLAYFUL guy he was!

So I picked up the book Spark written by John J Ratey MD recommended by Andrew Huberman PhD neuroscientist at Stanford University, who was doing his podcast on PLAY.

In the next blog post I will share with you the Naperville high school project that BLEW MY MIND and hopefully will do the same for you!

Hugh Simpson
#chiefplayofficer