The archery unit has been a very good addition to our physical education program at Lone Oak Middle School. Many students who have not had a lot of success in traditional physical education activities are excelling in archery. One example of this at our school involved a boy with Down Syndrome. He was in a regular eighth grade physical education class. He always did his best no matter what the activity. Archery was no exception. He had never shot a bow before, so this was a new experience for him. I was worried that he might even hurt himself, so I really kept a close eye on him. After a little practice he really started to get the hang of it. The second day that we were doing some shooting we had a class competition and this boy came in third place out of a class of about 25. Seeing his face with a great big smile on it and hearing him say yeah while pumping his fist in the air after hitting a bull’s eye, well that was priceless.
Barry Tidwell
Physical Education Teacher
Lone Oak Middle School, Paducah, KY