HOW TO PLAY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 14, 12 October 1943, Page 3

HOW TO PLAY

An Object Of Modern Physical Education

WORK IN THE SCHOOLS

Mode'rn physical education in schools aimed at the equipping of every child with the ability to take part in the activities that were its birthright, such as to run and jump and catch a ball, said Mr. P. A. Smithells, superintendent of physical education, Education Departinenr, in an address to the Wellington School Committees and Educational Association last night. ' , , . Those things, he said, were the basts of most sports, and unless a child and those abilities he or she would get no pleasure out of sports. Quite a nunioer of adults even did not know how to catch a ball. A child who was able to do those things had a sense of achievement and conlidence. That sense pt achievement could make every child satisfied that, it could do something in lite and reduce the number of social inishts, for there were some children who shone in the classroom and some who shone on the playing field, but a lot could do neither their class work particularly well nor take part in sports particularly well. Those who could do neither of those two things with satisfaction to themselves were liable to turn to other activir.es. perhaps mischievous, to show themselves that there was something that they could education in schools had as one of its objects the imbuing of .children with a pleasure in the use of their Bodies so that after their school days they would carry on with activities that would keep them fit. Those activities need not necessarily be organized sport, lor one could keep fit merely by walking if one walked so as to get exercise. Too manj people’s joints aud muscles became rusty the modern method of giving children physical education with Hie obsolete system of making a large class do jerky motions to sternly shouted commands, Mr. Smithells said the Education Department now had methods which caused the children to want more. In some centres hundreds of children had voluntarily continued m the holidays what they had been doing through the term. Teachers did not push tlie children about” in large groups as used to be done. Children understood activity in small groups, as the late Lord BadenPowell had pointed out, and so much of the exercise consisted in the . children practising in small groups activities that they bad already ten shown, the children having their own leaders, me work was done very vigorously in halthour periods. Four years ago the Education Department hail had no physical instructors on the road, but now there were 70 specialists.' Last year they had travelled 100,000 miles in an endeavour to covet the ground. The specialists instructed the teachers and teachers taught the children. ‘The curriculum could not succeed without the co-operation of parents, for physical education had three main aspects, rest, exercise and food, and though exercise was the province of. the teacher, rest and food were the province lot the parent.