2011 Streak 76/365: Walk - 9.7 miles, Time 3hrs 10min, Weather - misty grey at first but gradually lifted
On my walk I passed this group of year 6 schoolchildren learning cycling proficiency. At first I was attracted by a line of kids dressed-up with helmets waiting by the side of the road - I thought it looked amusingly odd. I then saw that the instructor walking through the line to take when turning right at a junction, where to look and when to set off. After the demonstration they collected their bikes and one at a time attempted the manoeuvre.
There were three actually three instructors. The one you can see stayed with them when they got on their bikes and oversaw them setting off, another one is on the other side of the junction to double check that it is safe to make the turn, and further along is someone to tell them where to stop and make sure they do it in good order.
Teaching cycling on the roads is obviously labour intensive but I was very impressed by the attentive attitude of the kids, who obviously wanted to learn, and the way it was taught.
In my day cycling proficiency involved weaving in and out of cones on the playground and doing a few hand signals. I say in my day but I actually didn't do it (I think it was something that fell between the cracks when changing schools). But I like the way this is now taught during school hours as a proper lesson.
If we want to encourage people to cycle it is best to start young and the key skill is not bike handling but road sense. So I was most heartened
3 comments:
That's super! I think the closest thing we get to teaching cycling proficiency here in the States is a few turns around traffic cones on school parking lots or playgrounds.
That's great! Good program! I did something similar in grade school. Thanks for sharing!
I used to see something like this in Haringey, but haven't seen anything here yet. Too busy attempting to teach a small boy that 'whizzing down ramps' (dropped curbs) doesn't fit in with my idea of road safety!
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