All Ages Physical Education in Techie Times

To some extent, schools have always been about the money but solely because they want their students to have he best, and that of course is understandable, but these days they are only concerned about the money because the budgets are tighter than ever before.

In the past, a lot of schools got a set budget off the government and then if they could make anything else from the teachers or from the parents fundraising then that would be classed as extra funds to buy extra equipment. These days though the budgets are so tight that they have to fundraise in order to just afford the basics and in some cases the education authority will even lower their budget simply because they have a history of making a lot through the local community. How can that be fair?
 
Even in my son's school right now, I can feel how tight the budget of the school is from the frequent need for new teachers because no one seems to be staying long enough, to the asking of voluntary donations from parents in order to buy more chairs or equipment. During the previous school year, parents from each grade level had to donate for the additional stuff needed for graduation ceremony.
 
Seems this is an issue everywhere, or in most countries. It's unbelievable just how much those who govern show scant regard for education. As we would say here in my country, Jamaica, they give you baskets to carry water. If you work miracles through innovation and manage to actually do that, you can bet your bottom dollar they're going to come at the schools again and try to cut the budget even further. Ridiculous!
 
I agree TheaR. It's just really worrisome if you come to think of how the future of education would be if this kind of attitude would continue. Our future generation will be the ones who would suffer from the disregard that most school authorities impose upon their institutions.
 
That's why the schools and the teachers are in a catch 22 situation, and while they need to ask for donations and for fundraising to take place in order to help the schools out, at the same time the more they manage to raise themselves the less the government then gives them as a budget. Gone are the days as I said before where the school gets a set budget and then whatever else is raised is there's to do with what they want.

If it carries on, sooner rather than later the schools are going to be self sufficient and best schools will be the ones that manage to raise the most money. Maybe that's what the authorities want though, and then they can spend that money on other things. I'm not sure hat they regard as more important than education though, although I've no doubt they'll find something.
 
gracer said:
What do you think is the importance of Physical Education in children at a time when technology is their main form of recreation and concentration?
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Children learn a big deal about their own capabilities through physical education. They learn to execute and create new forms of movement with the help of different forms of plays recreation and by participating in sports.

These classes are important so that the child can learn to perform with their bodies, have a space to be creative with physical action and of course show their spontaneity. Such qualities are applicable in their social life.

Physical education is important because many of these benefits that appear naturally with it are not easily achieved in other subjects hence it is a must for all institutes dealing with children to feature it.
 
Sport and physical education classes do often get overlooked and I think sometimes people don't actually realise just how much a child learns simply through competing with others. Winning or losing isn't all that important, but the actual environment of putting yourself up against another individual, and/or learning to play as part of a team can be an important exercise.

A lot of what a child learns on the running track or on the playing field can then be used in the classroom as well, and even though these days it seems that competition and rivalry is being put to one side, I do still think it's important for a child to try and better themselves and that can only happen if they have something to strive for in the first place.
 
Physical Education is indeed a good way of promoting competitiveness among students in a good and healthy way. Learning the art of competition helps students understand what winning and losing means. The promotion of a healthier lifestyle through physical activities is also one of the aspects I appreciate about the subject.
 
Ask a lot of teachers, children and parents about a competitive nature being instilled and they are all for it, it's just the authorities and the way that the curriculum is set out that stops it. There is a 'nobody is a winner and nobody is a loser' approach to education and sports in particular, and I don't think it's healthy, While no child likes losing, they have to realise that there will be times in their life when tey will lose, and if they aren't shown how to deal with failure from an early age, how are they going to deal with it as they get older?
 
Precisely said pwarbi. The introduction of competition among students is not intended towards the negative but towards the positive side of it. Guiding and showing them how to deal properly with losing and winning are essential in helping them cope through life's struggles when they grow up. A child who has never experienced dealing with losing and winning at an early age may find it hard to manage him/herself once he/she encounters failures by the time he/she is an adult.
 
gracer said:
Precisely said pwarbi. The introduction of competition among students is not intended towards the negative but towards the positive side of it.
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Honestly, you'd think that all reasonable people takes this for granted, but -chances are- some of those competing will take it in a very personal way.

Regardless of how much guidance you give to a group, it seems there will always be those who take it to the extreme, either due to genetic factors or environmental ones.

I guess educators should emphasize more on this "positive side" point when they make their students compete.
 
Well I remember that I was one of the kids who would mock the physical education classes and how they were really just a waste of time, but I have come to realize how short sighted I was when I was in first grade. Stupid me. Of course I am only kidding, but I do think that these things have value, and especially when consider the times and the fact that many kids lack exercise. Things were different when I was a kid, so maybe my opinion would have been different if I were growing up in a different era.
 
Speaking from a UK perspective though, and I'll use the Olympics that are on at the moment to back up my case. The GB competitors, even though we are doing quite well in a diverse range of sports, we're still looking like we are happy just to be there in the first place and if we can compete for a medal then even better but it's not what we're there for. Other countries are disappointed when they finish 4th but we see it as an achievement. That to me shows that it's been engrained in to us from school at an early age that competition is a bad thing, and it's the taking part that counts.

If an Australian got 4th they are in tears and are do disappointed they can't even do the interviews afterwards, whereas the GB athletes are proud to come 4th, and I think that mentality needs to change.
 
I think that if they made more games like Pokemon Go kids would get out more. It's been insane the impact the game has had on our youth. Were they would spend hours on end just sitting in front of a TV or computer screen, they now run all over the city. It just shows if you create the right tools you can get our youth moving again.
 
I don't know about in other parts of the world, but here in the UK while Pokemon Go HAS made children get out more, it's also caused a lot of concern about the actual safety of the children and I'm not sure that is something the makers of the game thought about. I understand that isn't their concern, but at the same time I think it's brought to people's attentions just what sort of society we're living in these days and while we all want children to go out and about and get more exercise, is it actually still safe for them to do so?
 
Speaking of Pokemon Go, I've been hearing it a lot from the people who play them too. They say that the game somehow helps them exercise while playing because they have to walk around just to find their Pokemon characters. I couldn't help but question the safety of this game though because there are also a lot of factors to consider. There have been local and international news reports about people meeting accidents because of the game. I also worry about the emergence of robbers who would suddenly snatch the gadgets of these players while they are busy playing their gadgets in public.

If one of the reasons for this game is to promote mobilization on people, I guess the makers of the game succeeded at it but when I also think that they missed something out when it comes to safety.
 
I have heard some weird stories happening to people playing Pokeman Go, but not were I live. I live in on of the safest countries in the world. Portugal was quoted as one of the top five safest countries in the world, so nothing really eventful has happened here in relation to Pokeman Go.
 
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