Juggling skills add up to a class act

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-- Educators nationwide are praising juggling for helping to improve children's reading, writing and arithmetic skills.

Some educators, psychologists and kinesiologists say they think juggling improves concentration, coordination, self-confidence, patience, persistence, handwriting, and sequencing ability and tracking skills in mathematics.

Brittany Baker's a believer. She raised her math grade from a C to a B-plus. At the same time, the Blue Springs fifth-grader worked just as hard to juggle and ride a unicycle.

"I won't give up," said Brittany, a student at Nowlin Elementary School. She said juggling forced her to concentrate better and longer, but "I don't really know why my grades got better."

Brittany's achievements in both juggling and in the classroom are no coincidence, said Greg Goodman, her physical-education teacher.

Brain stimulant

"Juggling stimulates their brains and ... ultimately helps them become better learners," Goodman said. Goodman didn't conjure up this juggling principle, and he isn't the only one who thinks it works.

Terry Davolt of Shawnee, Kan., is a former clown and professional juggler for 18 years. He and his partner, Todd Lagessie of Spring Hill, Kan., have visited many schools in the Kansas City area and the Midwest to teach children and teachers to juggle.

"Lots of folks don't realize it, but a lot of the skills it takes to juggle are basic for improving performance in the classroom," Davolt said.

The work of Carole F. Smith, a physical-education specialist at Lackland City Elementary School in San Antonio, has drawn a connection between juggling and academics. Smith, who has a doctorate in the psychology of motor learning, uses juggling to help pupils develop fine-motor skills. She also found that it "dramatically," improved their handwriting.

Educators in Jacksonville, Fla., have so fully accepted juggling as a tool for boosting achievement that 20 elementary schools use it in the classroom. Teachers break from lessons periodically to let pupils juggle.

"We call it taking a right-brain break in a left-brain day," teacher Jan Tipton said. "Juggling is so powerful. I have watched even kids who are at risk latch on to juggling and ride success to the moon."