lawn onto the faster clay or hard surfaced courts, In every case, they are getting
more difficult. People don't object to difficulty, so long as it interprets
itself as challenge, rather than as drudgery.

I know it isn't one of the sacred cow subjects. I know that some academicians
esteem it rather condescendingly. But as a looker-on in Venice, I venture the
opinion that Physical Baucation in some of ite aspects at least has apparently
realized more of what I am trying to say than any other unit in the curriculun.
With its physiology, its charts and instruments, it had its scientific but dull
approaches. Where it is still obsessed with being scientific, it continues to
be dull and uninspired in most of its health program, for example, or in its
research experiments program, or its solemn body building program. I don't know
why we should feel that we must leave adventure behind to be scientific. Scientific
exploration has in it the essence of intellectual romance. But when we come into
its august presence we seem to resign our sense of humor; we seem to become sus-
picious of inspiration. We seem fatally prone to make drudgery of it. And the
moment we do that, the sense of adventure appears to fly out the window. We don't
have to do that. It's only custom, Playing chess is scientific, but still it's
fun. The physics department of the University of Chicago is doing some interest-
ing exploring in this connection. They are scheduling their laboratories so
students, even in other departments, can come in and perform interesting experi-
ments for the fun of it. They are making the physics laboratory a sort of intel-
lectual recreation center, They are staging scientific verities with something
of dramatic art and appeal.

In part of its disciplines at least, Physical Education seems to the observer
on the sidelines to have been the department which has taken the lead in changing

to that approach. Years ago it had its calculated and cxact calisthenics drills,

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