What Do You Want Your Students to Love?

Presumably, one of the principal aims of school sport is to stimulate in children a lifelong love of physical activity, and an appreciation of its benefits?  Post school participation is an oft-quoted success criterion of PE.

But what exactly do schools want pupils to love?  "Sports" or "physical activity" is too vague a concept.  So what might children learn to love as a result of their experience of school sport?

They might learn to love to win.  A performance driven approach to school coaching will emphasise this, reinforce its value and importance and see vanquishing a hapless opponent as a celebrated goal.  They can learn that celebration and recognition are conditional upon scoring more goals that the opposition.  When this is achieved, it is announced in assembly and lauded on the website. On the occasions that it doesn't happen, it disappears like Soviet history and is never mentioned publicly.  The participants have brought shame on the institution.  But with the love of winning comes the hateful ignominy of losing.

Or they might love the recognition which accompanies the honour of selection.  The "captain's hand on the shoulder" has its modern equivalent: the name on the honours board, distinctive clothing, tea with the headmistress.  But there is no selection without rejection.  Loving selection is a zero sum outcome in all but the smallest schools: for every one selected in the high profile teams, many more are rejected

Or they might learn to love being active.  In a culture which focuses on the benefits of physical activity, and offers a range of possibilities, the joy of movement can be promoted.  It can be linked with the satisfaction of hard, physical work and the feeling of achievement and fitness that results.

That is a benefit available to all.

Or, they might love the satisfaction of sharing experiences with friends.  "Playing with my mates" is the most frequently cited fond recollection of school sport.  Winning comes much further down the list. 

The latter two are intrinsic motivators.  And the science is compelling that extrinsic motivators only last as long as the reward is current.  So, any lasting motivator has to be an intrinsic one.  It has to matter to the individual.

Few of the benefits of school sport are available to all pupils.  However, if they can learn to strive to be their best, to see a value in effort and to love taking part with friends - whatever the standard, and however unpredictable the outcome.  If schools can teach children to love getting involved and loving activity for its own sake, then they can deliver a universal benefit and lifelong value.

That's a much more difficult thing to feature on the website than winning another trophy.  But it has a wider, and longer lasting impact.  What do you want your students to learn to love?