Why Study Physical Education and Sport?

 
In your daily life, you regularly utilize human movement. In fact, if your physical abilities are compromised at all,
on either a temporary or permanent basis, your dependence on physical movement is readily apparent. 

You can study physical education and sport no matter what your interest level - from thorough study of kinesiology
(the study of physiology and human movement) to participation in a particular sport for the purpose of personal
enjoyment. If you are interested in developing your fullest potential through the unique medium of human
movement, you are interested in physical education and sport.

Objectives
Physical education is an important part of every school curriculum and a class every pupil
awaits. Physical education is that segment of the daily timetable that every student eagerly waits
to attend, as it is the only official time when the students can be on the grounds, engaged in their
favorite sports. One of the main objectives of physical education is to bring in this element of joy
to the academic orientation of schools.

Physical education aims at dedicating a daily time for some physical activity for the students.
The physical training class, as it is also called, involves sports, games, exercise and most
importantly, a break from the sedentary learning indoors.

One of the other important objectives of physical education is to instill in the students the values
and skills of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Daily physical activity promotes an awareness of
health and well being among students. It boosts them to engage in physical activities on a daily
basis. It promotes them to lead a healthy life in adulthood.

Physical education classes constitute programs to promote physical fitness in students, train them
in sports, help them understand rules and strategies in playing and teach them to work as a team.
A very vital factor in physical education is to develop interpersonal skills in children. Sports aim
at making them team players, developing a sportsman spirit in them and enhancing their
competitive spirit. Sports that form a part of physical education classes help the students invest
time in fruitful and competitive activities.

One of the other important objectives of physical education is to inculcate in the minds of the
students, the importance of personal hygiene and cleanliness. Physical education classes aim at
teaching the students, the habits of personal cleanliness and the importance of the maintenance of
personal hygiene in life. Physical education classes also impart sex-education to the students,
help them clarify their doubts and find answers to all the questions that occur to their minds.

The sports, which are a part of the physical education class, help in developing motor skills in
children. The ability to hold a racket or a bat, the ability to catch a ball and the ability to swing a
bat are some examples of the motor abilities that can develop with the help of sports. The
physical activity that is involved in physical education helps the students in bringing discipline to
body posture and body movements. Hitting a ball with a bat or a shuttle with a racket as also
aiming a ball for a goal or catching it to get the opponent team out, are some of the commonly
observed actions in sports and are extremely beneficial in improving hand-eye coordination.

The very important objective of physical education is to encourage the upcoming sportsmen and
women of the crowd. Physical education gives the budding sports people a platform to exhibit
their talents. Those with a flair for sports get an opportunity to display their talent. Their small
step on the school playground can eventually turn into a huge leap in the field of sports.

Moreover, sports refresh the students' minds. Physical education class becomes enjoyable for the
kids while proving helpful for their overall growth and development. Physical education is
indeed one of the most fruitful activities of a school schedule.

Definition
Physical Education trends have developed recently to incorporate more activities. Introducing
students to lifetime activities like bowling, walking/hiking, or frisbee at an early age can help
students develop good activity habits that will carry over into adulthood. Some teachers have
even begun to incorporate stress-reduction techniques such as yoga and deep-breathing.
Teaching non-traditional sports to students may also provide the necessary motivation for
students to increase their activity, and can help students learn about different cultures. For
example, while teaching a unit about Lacrosse (in say Arizona), students can also learn a little bit
about the Native American cultures of the Northeast and Eastern Canada, where Lacrosse
originated. Teaching non-traditional (or non-native) sports provides a great opportunity to
integrate academic concepts from other subjects as well (social studies from the example above),
which is required of every P.E. teacher these days.

There are also many different models that have been created as of late that change the face of
P.E. One example of this is the Health Club Model. Teaching with this model is very different
from the "Organized Recess" of 20 or 30 years ago. Spun off the boom in the health club
industry, a P.E. class provides many of the same "classes" that are found at a health club.
Monday a student could be doing kickboxing, the next day is yoga, Wednesday the student is
doing DOTA. This type of program provides a great variety of activity for students, a lot a high
intensity exercise, and helps introduce these activities for use later in life. The Sports Education
model is another example of a new model were the class is run like a sports league, with students
taking the role of coaches, scorers, referees, and reporters as well as players. Using this model,
students practice management skills, mathematic skills, and writing skill all while learning sports
skills and being active.

Another trend is the incorporation of Health and Nutrition to the physical education curriculum.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required that all school districts with
a federally funded school meal program develop wellness policies that address nutrition and
physical activity.[2] While teaching students sports and movement skills, P.E. teachers are now
incorporating short health and nutrition lessons into the curriculum. This is more prevalent at the
elementary school level, where students do not have a specific Health class.,,
Today many states require Physical Education teachers to be certified to teach Health also. Many
colleges and Universities offer both Physical Education and Health as one certification. This
push towards Health education, is beginning in the intermediate level, including lessons on
bullying, self esteem and stress and anger management. In the United States, the physical
education curriculum is designed to allow school pupils a full range of modern opportunities,
dozens of sports and hundreds of carefully reviewed drills and exercises, including exposure to
the education with the use of pedometer, GPS, and heart rate monitors, as well as state-of-the-art
exercise machines in the upper grades. Some martial arts classes, like wrestling in the United
States, and Pencak Silat in France, Indonesia and Malaysia, are taught to teach children self-
defense and to feel good about themselves. The physical education curriculum is designed to
allow students to experience at least a minimum exposure to the following categories of
activities: aquatics, conditioning activities, gymnastics, individual/dual sports, team sports,
rhythms, and dance. Students are encouraged to continue to explore those activities in which
they have a primary interest by effectively managing their community resources.

In these areas, a planned sequence of learning experiences is designed to support a progression of

student development. This allows kids through 6th grade to be introduced to sports, fitness, and
teamwork in order to be better prepared for the middle and high school age. In 1975, the United
States House of Representatives voted to require school physical education classes include both
genders.[3] Some high school and some middle school PE classes are single-sex. Requiring
individuals to participate in physical education activities, such as dodgeball, flag football, and
other competitive sports remains a controversial subject because of the social impact these have
on young children. It is, however, important to note that many school budgets have seen cutbacks
and in some cases physical education programs have been cut - leaving educators and students to
address these needs in other ways.