Now that the time is here for students to enroll in classes for the spring of 2008, they will find that among the basic physical education classes (FRA) available for required credits are a plethora of alternative options.
Many of the alternative classes were first made available when the Morris Recreation Center (MRC) was initially built.
John Hill, assistant director of the Outdoor Adventure Club at the MRC has been teaching FRA classes for the past two years.
“Many of the classes were made available once the MRC opened,” Hill said. “I did my undergrad here for four years and before that, there was a general lack of those classes.”
This semester, Hill is teaching canoeing/kayaking, backpacking/camping and mountain biking classes, among others.
“They are all intentionally very basic classes,” Hill said. “It gives people a chance to get involved with all sorts of classes.”
Sandy Kimbrough, assistant professor in the Health and Human Performance department is the coordinator for all FRA classes and says that there are several courses in the catalog which have not been offered yet.
Since the state-of-the-art MRC opened, several students around campus have taken notice of these different classes.
“A lot more students realize they have extra choices.” Kimbrough said. “Karate is another class we offer.”
The three outdoor classes that Hill teaches, focus on hands-on work and experiences.
“We can continue the educational process out of the classroom,” Hill said. “Three out of four classes are going on the same trip. This allows them to have a broader and deeper experience in the class.”
Although the backpacking/camping class is only offered in the fall, a fly-fishing class will be available in the spring.
“A lot of our classes fill up pretty quickly.” Hill said. “But even if the class is filled up, if students contact me, we can try to get them into one of our outdoor classes.”
A social and popular dance class will also be offered this spring for the first time.
Sandy Kimbrough will teach the class, which will count as one credit hour towards FRA required credits.
“We are going to do Latin, country and western, hip hop, and ballroom dancing.” Kimbrough said. “I will let students give feedback for any other types of dance we might do.”
According to Kimbrough, sailing is another class that may be offered in the future.
“Sailing would be awesome,” Hill said. “We’re very fortunate to have the support of the Health and Performance department for doing these kinds of things.”
Although her FRA credit requirements have already been met, Caylin Taylor says that she would consider taking sailing or snow-skiing if they were offered as classes.
“I would love to learn how to sail even if it was the beginners level only.” Taylor said. “Just the experience of it would be enough to make me sign up.”
For more information concerning the outdoor classes, contact John Hill at 903-468-3174.