Already one third of students do not practice in PE lessons. Research says that most of them will not play any sports in their adult life. Why do they avoid PE? They are afraid of malicious teachers and their humiliating comments when they cannot perform difficult exercises. And they are ashamed to undress in the cloakroom in front of their peers who make fun of their imperfect bodies.
- Polish children gain weight the fastest in Europe, they also avoid PE classes. 30 percent do not exercise on them. high school students, 23 percent junior high school students, 15 percent elementary school students.
- – The aversion to PE may appear even when the classes are objectively interesting. Children are driven by shame due to lack of physical fitness, imperfect appearance and fear of being the worst player that no one wants to join the team – says Dr. Magdalena Wegner-Jezierska, psychologist
- British researchers studied 45 obese people aged 65-XNUMX and found that most of them became discouraged from sports while still in school because they were forced to do unwanted exercises by a teacher who mocked them in front of the whole class
Dr Anne Elliott, head of British research: – Recollection of PE lessons in participants evoked similar feelings: anxiety, shame, rejection. They were forced to practice which they disliked and ridiculed by the teacher or group. This meant that in the following years they not only avoided physical activity, but also chose sedentary work and hobbies.
Maybe you can say it’s absurd. It is much easier to find a scapegoat than to admit gluttony and laziness, but is it really? After all, each of us had a subject in school that made us get goosebumps. Before the lesson, he felt his stomach clench, and he was completely blank at the blackboard. It’s normal: we don’t like things that make us weak and the teacher’s mission is to change that perspective, and when he fails or worse – puts us at risk – aversion turns into aversion. Will leg of English become a native speaker in the future? No, just like after hours he doesn’t read Shakespeare and watch “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” …
Overweight, diabetes, hypertension
The fact that a PE mobber is able to “ground” for years is evidenced by other studies. Already in 2010, Canadian scientists from the University of Alberta discovered that humiliation, discrimination or simple boredom in physical education lessons can turn movement into a comfortable couch in adulthood. Fortunately, the identifier of “sports crap” does not define it once and for all. According to Dr. Anne Elliot, it is enough to tame negative memories. How? By reconsolidating memory. “The more emotional an event has for us, the more permanently it is stored in our memory. A dozen or so years ago, we thought that the memory trace was saved in the brain once and for all and nothing could be done about it. Today we know that each time it is recalled from memory, it must be re-consolidated, explains the author of the study. In other words, the chance to enjoy the sport is to create positive experiences – the sooner the better. The more that excess kilos carry a number of health complications, such as: insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver or sleep apnea, and obese children grow into obese adults with hypertension. Perhaps the ignored gentleman from PE, has just been promoted to the most important figure of the school staff …
No outfit, left release
Statistics show that our children gain weight the fastest in all of Europe. The question is, how much do physical education classes have to do with it? A lot – most students are not interested in sports education at all, and a wave of avoiding PE has arisen in schools. The audit of the Supreme Audit Office in 2010 showed a whole list of irregularities – starting with the lack of gyms and changing rooms, ending with the failure to train teachers in the field of first aid.
Two years later it was even worse – it turned out that 15% of physical education classes in primary schools were not attended. students, in lower secondary schools – 23 percent, and in secondary schools – 30 percent. The official reasons are the lack of clothing and the dismissal, unofficial reasons: poor infrastructure, a faulty evaluation system, and above all, the programming offer for the king of candles, i.e. boredom. Kids dream of martial arts, swimming and a trampoline, and PE players ignore individual predispositions and preferences, offering everyone team games and gymnastics. If we add to the whole the frequency of spine deformities, the lack of corrective gymnastics classes or comprehensive pro-health activities, we have a recipe for a “sports fiasco”. Let’s listen to what the main people are saying, that is the kids. “Nobody wants me on the team when we play dodgeball. It’s sad to be the last person nobody chooses to be chosen. you can take a shower and you have to stink for the rest of the day. “
It seems that in Poland more often than with an angry PE man, we are dealing with a bore who is not so much tormenting as demotivating. Plus, there’s nothing like a psychologist about him. As emphasized by Dr. Magdalena Wegner-Jezierska, psychologist of children and adolescents: – Reluctance towards PE may appear even in the case of objectively interesting activities. Depending on their age, children may be ashamed of physical disability, imperfect physical appearance, and the changes that adolescence brings. It could be the fear of being the worst player or the nightmare of being left behind in traditional team elections where self-esteem is regularly diminished. Often, many difficult situations are faced by a child in the locker room, when it is necessary to change clothes – this is where they can become a victim of harassment and mockery by their peers. It is natural that children want to avoid unpleasant emotions and one of the ways they use in this situation is to skip PE lessons. The role of the teacher is to anticipate these fears and show students that regardless of the current condition or weight, you can set sports goals or choose sports disciplines. Reduce all forms of discrimination, use modern forms of group integration, investigate the causes of problems and be a support for less able-bodied children. “
Zumba instead of athletics
In the children’s puzzle – PE we cannot ignore the role of the parent. What to do when our child asks us to let go of w-f? Give it from the machine? Not necessarily …
– It’s worth finding out where the reluctance to classes comes from. Together with the educator, PE teacher and other parents, you can try to introduce a “recovery plan” for a specific child or group. Establish a joint program to be implemented (Zumba and basketball instead of athletics?), Introduce a grading system in which each child would have a chance of success, regardless of the starting level. It is worth taking a closer look at your own child. If he is overweight, also focus on diet and the extra amount of exercise every day. If the parent encounters resistance at school and sees that the child has in fact become a victim of peer violence and the only temporary solution is to suspend PE lessons, it is necessary to agree with the child when, where and what sport discipline will be practiced on their own. Nothing encourages sport more than the parents’ physical activity and their treating PE lessons as equally important and necessary as the others – comments the psychologist.
The conclusions of Dr. Elliott’s study are self-evident. As advertising specialists have rightly pointed out, we are slaves of pleasure. And that means that we will be active as long as the PE teachers teach us. How? Showing how amazing endorphins taste, not giving kids reasons to be indisposed. Unfortunately, in a situation where the norm is the lack of exercise balls, swaying benches and leaky mattresses – it won’t be easy.