In a country that has been voted the European Capital City of Obesity, sport and physical recreation in schools assume major importance.
Gone are the shrill chorus and mirth of children playing games in the streets, the school football and netball leagues of yesteryear as well as the primary school’s sports rally that used to attract thousands of parents and served as the sporting launching pad of many budding athletes.
Sadly the sporting ethos that once characterised our Church schools and private colleges has fizzled out.
At the root of this unhappy situation is perhaps total ignorance of sports education, contributing to the prejudice, misunderstandings, indifference, low esteem, alienation and aversion emanating mainly from parents, a few teachers and head teachers, an exam-oriented educational system and lack of direction and priorities from those who are at the helm of sports organisations.
It is easy for me, nurtured in sport, to wax lyrical on this topic. Sports and education encapsulate the very essence of Classical Western education – the integration of the body and mind in the service of the soul, the kalos kagathos of Ancient Greece.
I witnessed this noble concept of the harmonious development of body and mind at the London Olympic Games in 1948 when the French concert pianist, the virtuoso Michelle Ostermeyes, was gold medallist in the discus and hammer events.
We need to rediscover, starting from primary schools, one of the major pillars of sport and physical recreation, that is, its humanitarian aims, that of making life worth living by improving its quality.
It is interesting to trace the history of sport in our schools. Until the late 1950s our educational system, including sport and physical education, was greatly influenced by the British model of the pre-war period. It was only after independence in 1964 that we emerged from a rigid system of “drill” to “physical training” and finally to the very commendable approach of physical education.
Children’s experience of sport should be a very positive one in order to help them develop sport as an ongoing activity later on in life
The change in the late 1960s to an educational approach to sport occurred when an academically- trained director of sport was appointed to bring about a child-centred approach.
This included not only the physical aspect but also the educational, social and aesthetic aspects, through games, dance and physical recreation in the form of rambling, hiking and other outdoor pursuits.
Although SkolaSport and sports nurseries give added value to sport participation there is no substitute to school PE, which according to the 1988 Education Act is concerned with the balanced education of the “whole child” – mind, personality and physique.
In children’s sport, apart from the physical well-being there are interminable benefits that often go unnoticed. These include the recreation factor: when the brain is tired some form of physical activity, particularly a vigorous game, will restore the child’s mental energy.
There is also the catharsis factor based on the view that competitive active games act as a safety valve for letting off bottled-up emotions. The great philosopher Aristotle envisages sport and drama as a means of purging oneself of hostile or aggressive emotions.
Particularly at the primary stage, children’s experience of and disposition towards sport should be a very positive one in order to help them develop sport as an ongoing activity later on in life. This will help them to face successfully the strains and stresses of modern life.
The primary aim of sport and physical recreation in schools is not to produce high performance athletes, although it is also a step in that direction. Ask the top sprinters of Jamaica and Bermuda or the long distance runners of Kenya and they will tell you that the first spark was kindled at school and nurtured by the teachers.
That is why inter-schools competition is essential for better participation in the international arena. It is a golden maxim that in high performance sports at any level, the competitive edge is of paramount importance.
If we believe otherwise we should not venture into the international arena.
Lino Bugeja is an associate of the Institute of Education, London.