Physical Education Doesn't only Address the Physical Health of the Individual

Physical education only addresses the physical components of the individual. This sentiment is debatable for many individuals. My belief however, is contrary to this statement; in fact I strongly disagree with it. According to an article from Education Bureau “Physical education is education through the physical. It aims to develop students’ physical competence and knowledge of movement and safety, and their ability to use these to perform in a wide range of activities associated with the development of an active and healthy lifestyle. It also develops students’ confidence and generic skills, especially those of collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking and aesthetics appreciation”.

On doing physical education activities it directly benefits individuals in many ways such as: It reduces the risk of all the previous illnesses and diseases mentioned previously and many more. It improves ones strength and endurance by building up their bones and muscles. It maintains a good body shape for the individual (you look good and feel good). On doing physical activities it strengthens your immune system and assists in the function of various organs throughout the body to work properly. However, the idea that physical education only addresses the physical components of the individual is a huge misconception as individuals can benefit from it in a number of ways which include a healthy lifestyle, a healthy mind, a disciplined mind and social interactions.

In performing physical education activities, individuals can learn the fundamental basis of what is a healthy lifestyle and how they can develop themselves into healthy, knowledgeable individuals. They then pass this knowledge down to their children and then children’s children and we now have an entire generation of healthy people because of physical education. This links closely with a popular saying “a healthy body makes a healthy mind”.

In taking part in physical education activities it helps to develops individuals mentally and intellectually. It does so by reducing stress, producing a feeling of wellness, improving sleep, helping individuals to be more focused and alert in their daily activities, you will also be full of energy to engage in daily activities. Being mentally strong and stable resulting from doing P.E, no doubt you would perform better academically.

Physical Education aids in improving a child’s ability to focus and perform better academically. By doing P.E it enables individuals to perform these simple actions efficiently by enhancing the way in which the nervous system and muscles work together. Another major benefit in this aspect is the individual’s hand and eye coordination improves hence increasing their reaction time. Their thinking capacity would also increase significantly. If given a problem they would be able to analyze it and come up with a solution in quick time.

Throughout this essay we have looked at how P.E has been beneficial to individuals in many various aspects of their lives. However I believe the most important one of all is good discipline and self discipline. According to an article title Sports and Discipline “Discipline is simply the ability to adhere and conform to the codes of ethics and behaviour and the ability and stamina to concentrate and focus on what you do which is a fundamental quality requirement to achieve success”. By participating in P.E individuals learn essential values. They learn to make good choices because of that self discipline which enables them the desire to do the right thing and not just to avoid punishment. One way in which the individuals learn self discipline is through participating in sporting activities. In any sport you must maintain a high level of discipline and respect for others (good sportsmanship) as well as the rules of the sport.

This discipline can be applicable to us in our everyday lives e.g. you may receive a bad drive from someone on the road, do not pull in front of the person to beat him/her up it’ll save you a lot of trouble if you maintain your self-discipline. Another important value taught in sport which will take you a long way is, respect is due on the field and of the field. There is nothing good that would come out of disrespecting an individual.

Physical education helps develop an individual socially. Physical education consists of many activities one of which includes sports such as football and cricket. In these sports individuals are required to work with others, fostering teamwork through communication and cooperation with others. On doing so they will have to interact with each other and work together hence they develop social skills not only in P.E but also in their everyday life. This is especially present in kids at an early age as stated by theorists John Dewey who spoke about learning through doing.

By participating in P.E we now clearly see that it not only teaches children to be responsible for their health and fitness but also values to make them a respectable member of society and which parent wouldn’t want that for their child.