Physical education: what is it?

Physical Education and Competitive Activities

Physical education is a discipline in an academic facility that focuses on improving athletic ability and the ability to perform and enjoy daily sporting activities such as swimming, basketball, and baseball. This course also prepares students to be physically and emotionally successful in school. Since the elementary level is a school for students in their first years, where they receive their primary education before moving on to high school, the stage is critical; thus, teaching athletic practices during physical education has both positive and negative effects on the children as they go through their daily lives. (Allender, pp. 826-835) During physical education classes, competitive activities have some positive aspects on the children. The teachers allow students to pick an event that best suits them, mostly team game such as hockey, football, and basketball. During the competition, the students get to learn to be creative and innovative, as each side strives to win the game, a skill that helps throughout their lifetime. They learn to work hard towards their goals just as they worked to succeed in their physical education class and it is from this course that other students discover their talents and capabilities that help them in their future.

Positive Aspects of Competitive Activities

Competitive activities in physical education class contribute to each child’s total development and growth in that the children remain active during class in other lessons, recess, and physical education class. Through the competitive activities, children are taught to work as a team as the students participate in competing teams and to win each team member has to work with the other to deliver, this skill helps the students throughout their lives as they become team players. Another positive aspect is that it provides physical and mental fitness including healthy bones and muscle, increase energy and coordination and reduce risks of getting diseases (Bailey, 397-401)

Negative Issues of Competitive Activities

As much as competitive activities in physical education have its positive aspects, It also has its negative issues that include; demotivation of students who can perform well in the given events as they watch other students excel in the activities they cannot show well. An example of a student who cannot play football that well he or she will feel left out as others play better making them feel demotivated and also when other games that require boys and girls to perform separately. As every student participates in the activities with the aim of outdoing the other students, they are bound to get injuries that may affect them psychologically, in that the next time they play, they do it with caution hence not being able to participate effectively with other students. Other students may witness the injuries, and they may also get affected.

Equality and Tailored Approaches in Physical Education

All students are not equally talented in sporting activities, during physical education class students are required to compete. If not guided by the teacher, the students may pick themselves on how best they can compete leading to discrimination of the students who do not perform that well in sport; as a result, the discriminated students feel left out. Those left out may see the other students as their rivals bringing about unhealthy competition among the children; as a result, the competitive activities in physical education should be avoided to introduce a well-tailored approach to teach the students in the schools according to their specific capabilities and needs. In presenting such method, the cases of depression and disappointments among the young students will reduce as students will all see each other as equal inside the classrooms and outside the classrooms during the physical education classes? Children can develop poor attitude due to the pressure to perform that can lead to cheating and difficulty to getting along with others off and on the field in schools.(Trudeau, 10)

Encouraging Fair Competitions and Individual Choices

Whether it is losing or winning during the competitive activities, physical education can offer more experiences and lessons that also look at the young students’ social, psychological, physical and technical aspects. To encourage the participation of all the students in the competitive activities, teachers should not let the young students’ choose the teams, but they should match the student appropriately and fairly to competitors and activities according to their abilities. The point in this is that no boy or girl plays with peers who are much more developed physically resulting in fair competitions. Students should also be allowed to choose activities that best uniform them whether it is team building activities or individual exercises. Selecting activities prevents harmful actions like cheating and difficulties to getting along with each other among the students as they partake activities that they are comfortable.

The Need for Tailored Approaches in Physical Education

Tailored approaches should be introduced in schools physical education to teach the young students according to their needs and capabilities. Some students are more introverted and less to want to participate in competing activities that should not be the case letting the students shy off due to injuries, disappointments, rivalry and discrimination during the competitions. The young students and the activities taken in schools should be carefully managed to encourage the elements of competition. The critical reason for competitive events is to promote motivation and increase coordination and energy, healthy bones and muscles in the growing students and increase physical and mental fitness through the team building activities and hard work during the competitions. Physical educations prepare the young students to be energetic and creative throughout their lives hence the subject should be well tailored.

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Work Cited

Bailey, Richard. “Physical education and sport in schools: A review of benefits and outcomes.” Journal of school health 76.8 (2006): 397-401.

Trudeau, François, and Roy J. Shephard. ”Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 5.1 (2008): 10.

Allender, Steven, Gill Cowburn, and Charlie Foster. ”Understanding participation in sport and physical activity among children and adults: a review of qualitative studies.” Health education research 21.6 (2006): 826-835.