Combining "Physical" with "Education"
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime"
What is the purpose of PE lessons? This question is, of course, as old as the subject, but is especially relevant in schools which devote considerable time - within and beyond the timetable - to Games in addition.
Usually delivered indoors, often in short timeframes and to mixed ability classes, what can these lessons achieve? How do they justify their place in a crowded timetable, alongside additional time devoted to (predominantly outdoor) Games?
Certainly, there are some potential outcomes whose value is indisputable. Body management, physical literacy, creative movement and learning to swim well will always be important. However, time allocated to Gymnastics, Trampolining, fundamental movement and Dance is surprisingly low, especially for boys. So, what else is important, especially for teenagers?
There is a divide between Physical Activity (PA) and Physical Education (PE) that is more than semantic. The "Education" dimension of the latter can cause confusion. Are pupils to be educated in skills, rules and basic strategies of a range of games and activities? Is that sufficient value? Or does the "Education" refer to the impact of these? If the time is used for Physical Activity, games of Badminton or classes of Zumba, for example, then its value is limited. There may be some low level skill learning, or exposure to a new activity. Well taught, there may be a level of physical output sufficiently high to create a physiological adaption. But does learning last beyond changing out of PE kit?
It would appear that a principal purpose of compulsory PE should be to educate children of the benefits of activity, the specific impacts and the ways in which these can be achieved. To equip them with the understanding, knowledge and skills to both value health and fitness, but also to be able to achieve its impacts when the teacher is no longer there. To enable pupils to become independent of teacher input, and of compulsion to exercise. To learn enough about exercise to generate intrinsic motivation to be active, to know how to do it and to value its benefits.
The starting point is a cognitive understanding of the impacts of exercise and the positive effects it can have. Familiarity with steady state, VO2 Max, Oxygen Debt and the implications of Heart Rates will be part of this. This understanding is the foundation of learning about the benefits of exercise. This would include the impact on the brain and capacity for learning, as well as the value to heart and circulatory system. Technology has an important role in stimulating this understanding. Heart rate monitors, GPS trackers and other readily available measures of body response enable self-monitoring and promote understanding of long and short term adaptions. Science shows conclusively that higher levels of physical fitness reliably correlate with scores on academic tests. This information is currently sparingly distributed through PE lessons.
Proven benefits are not exclusively physical. The influence - at the cellular level - of exercise on reducing stress and anxiety is widely and conclusively documented. Similarly, Emotional Intelligence is widely regarded as a bigger predictor of life success than IQ. Its principal components - impulse control, persistence, empathy and compassion - can be overtly referenced through physical experience. Qualities such as resilience and grit might be reliably delivered via physical experience, but are far from inevitable outcomes. Education through the physical is not confined to education of the physical.
This is not necessarily a self-contained area of study. Half a term of "Fitness" does not achieve this lasting awareness or motivation. The understanding of impact and benefit has to go through all lessons and all activities. The cardiovascular implications and health benefits of Badminton might be more important than a poorly executed overhead clear - as well as having greater significance for the pupil. The activity then becomes the vehicle through which the principal "education" takes place. Impacts must be constantly referenced in all activities, technology in regular use with measures, energy systems and benefits constantly referenced.
A lifelong love of physical activity is based on a cognitive understanding of the value of exercise, as well as an emotional response: a sense of fun and well-being that has many components. It is through effective Physical Education that love of Physical Activity is stimulated. That way, the impact lasts far beyond the presence of the teacher.