Athletic Education

Proposal:

Schools should include physical exercise, sports, and also the study of exercise and sports. All students should have an opportunity to participate in essential athletic education including how to incorporate some exercise into every day or week to maintain health and fitness.

Discussion:

Athletics is participation in physical exercise or sports, especially in competitive events.

The games and sports practiced or discussed in classes should include things that can be done without any equipment and with minimal equipment. It’s an opportunity to practice improvising, so students can create fun and athletic activities anywhere they might be. It’s also an opportunity to introduce students to other cultures from around the world and to games and sports from different times in history. To the extent such diverse selections are used, they should be used to enhance individual learning and not distract from the learning objectives. Any games or sports that have a high risk of injury to the students, or whose professional practice routinely causes more injuries or more severe injuries than other games or sports, should be noted and discussed with students and if they are used in courses there needs to be an even greater emphasis on safety.

The students who are interested in achieving more athletically should have additional opportunities to train and compete.