A Lehman HS student shows off what he's learned in class. (photo courtesy of The Daily News)

Teachers are taking it on the chin these days. From Waiting For Superman to budget debates, the value of teachers' time is getting questioned like never before. Physical education teachers are spared this searing, but only because few people regard what they do as important to students' success later in life. We tend to think of them as coaches- people who guide kids through drills designed to show off the most athletically gifted. But standout PE teacher instruct kids of all athletic abilities in patience, method, and analysis.

As testing season approaches, let's look closely at how a few New York City PE teachers are helping students apply critical skills and adapt to challenges. (This is just a sampling of the many PE teachers who are enhancing student life. If you know of one, please give a shout out.)

Up first is Stephanie Loria, who teaches part-time at Manhattanville Community College and is also a roving special-ed teacher for kids with emotional needs. She told me that there are "so, so many" ways to harmonize basic lessons with exercise.   Working with her population, Loria focuses on showing how actions lead to discernible, controllable results.  "I say you can eat as many pretzels as you want but you have to burn off the calories, and kids can learn wow, I've had three pretzels and it takes 45 minutes to burn them off!" <!--more-->

As head of an extensive program at gigantic Lehman High School in the Bronx, Diane Hamilton reminds us that learning an athletic routine means learning to respect, and isolate, the steps that make an activity safe and repeatable.   "Kids who come out of a middle school are not used to remembering the combination to their locks," she told me. "So for five days we teach them this- how to go right, left, right."  Hamilton's main mission is to give kids mental clarity to choose  self-expression, rather than overcrowded gyms where there's rarely time to even stretch. She's recruited partners like the Dolphin Fitness branch nearby and the staff of Bear Mountain to help match students with sports that interest them.

Once you know what you like to do, you're readier to learn by helping others learn. John DeMatteo (who teaches middle-schoolers at PS 126, my daughter's school) emphasizes collaborative play. His kids need to create human chains to move a ball along the gym floor. If someone drops it, everyone goes back to the start- so instead of keeping score, kids learn to analyze flow and isolate problems.

Where does this pay off? Loria thinks some true gains will come when parents see phys-ed as an asset in their family life. "We should have parents and students engage in fitness nights, have parents and teachers use the weight room or play volleyball," she told me.

That resonates with me, and probably with you too. Whatever test you're about to take, it helps to remember that in real life you rarely learn alone.