In my last blog I talked about the irony of the fact that many European countries studied how the United States’ educational system developed such good athletes with a daily regimen of “basic-to-advanced” movement skill education in elementary level students and how this developed a core of young athletes that succeeded in the many events and sports in the Olympic Arena.
The IRONY lies in the fact that at present, those countries that followed our example still educate their K-8 students in movement skill development while we here in the U.S. have reduced physical education and recess time.
In addition, movement skills progressions are rarely taught, and if so, only a limited time is spent with little or NO progression and coordination through the grade levels. Fitness programs have fallen by the wayside.
In contrast, European schools, through skills testing, give 12-13 year old students a good idea of sports they have the most skill and the physical qualities to best succeed in sports or activities of their choice.
In the U.S., parents have turned to “specializing” their children in a sport or two as a way of insuring they get enough physical activity. Sport skills are NOW taught BEFORE youngsters ever acquire the FMS or AMSC skills that would benefit them in any sport regardless of their level of natural talent.
As I have been writing about in many blogs, most of the sports heroes of the past few generations played multiple sports and many grew up playing on playgrounds with other kids before moving on to playing the major sports in their seasons (football, basketball, baseball) on local play fields with neighborhood kids.
I should add to that the fact that there was no ADULT supervision of these neighborhood games. Adult coaching was limited to a child and his/parent throwing, catching, hitting, shooting hoops, dribbling, etc. at home.
Of course, that was before video games, smart phones, MP3’s, etc. Where is FREE PLAY? In many of the backgrounds of successful professional athletes you will find a childhood foundation built upon “finding” a passion for an activity they experienced in free play with other children.
For example, many Pro Cyclists learned to ride a bike as a “playtime” activity and developed an interest in BMX cycling with neighborhood or school friends. This developed into BMX competitions and later into Mountain Biking and/or Road Cycling. THERE IS A PROGRESSION OF SKILLS HERE. Each of the types of cycling provided a base as well as a true desire for another types of cycling skills.
In Australia, you will find that TRACK CYCLING has provided a successful foundation for many of the Australian Pro Cyclists on the World Tour. This is also the case in Great Britain.
Both countries can boast developing cyclists who HAVE WON BOTH Pro Road Races, including THE TOUR de FRANCE and Olympic Gold Medals on the TRACK.
In addition, both of these countries have a physical education system that “educates” children in the basic movement skills and physical skills along with the basics skills of multiple sports.
Specialization in Sport at ages before the ages of 14-16 (sports like gymnastics require early age development) will yield few success stories.
Think of having 7th or 8th graders enroll in Calculus before ever taking Algebra, Trigonometry, etc. YES, there will be a few who have the “genetic” gifts to enable them to make this move successfully, but nowhere near the total of students who can eventually succeed in passing Calculus with the proper foundation of classes and progression in learning skills.
Do we want to become a country of SPECIALISTS with fewer INNOVATORS and well-rounded thinkers?
Do we care about rising levels Obesity and lack of fitness in our population?
Is it a concern when children spend their free time (in front of a screen of some device) playing video games or texting with poor posture? What will be the result of all this time devoted to “screens/devices/social media” and very little, if any on true “physical play”?
Will “free play” disappear from the early childhood years?
PLEASE READ THE ARTICLE ATTACHED from NPR in this blog AND ACCESS THE ARTICLES DESCRIBED WITHIN THE ARTICLE that interest you. Perhaps this will IGNITE some serious thought ON LENGTHENING RECESS, RETURNING “THE EDUCATION” TO P.E. AND, IN AN EVEN EASIER AND LESS EXPENSIVE WAY, getting youngsters outside to play on a daily basis…with other children!
Good parents do not give their children what the children desire, rather, they give their children what they need to grow and mature successfully in all ways physically, mentally and emotionally.
Your child’s success in sports does not indicate what kind of parent you are. BUT, having an athlete that is coachable, respectful, a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient and tries their best IS a direct reflection on your parenting.
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Scientists Say Child's Play Helps Build A Better Brain
When it comes to brain development, time in the classroom may be less important than time on the playground.
"The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain," says Sergio Pellis, a researcher at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. "And without play experience, those neurons aren't changed," he says.
Our friends at MindShift have been looking at the role of play in learning. Play is as much a part of childhood as school and an organic way of learning.
Check out these articles that dig into play:
Let 'Em Out! The Many Benefits Of Outdoor Play In
Kindergarten
Rona Richter/MindShift
How Free Play Can Define Kids' SuccessFree, unstructured play is crucial for children to build the skills they'll need to be happy, productive adults.
Harnessing Children's Natural Ways Of Learning
At a school where free play and exploration are encouraged, children can educate themselves under the right conditions.
Despite Benefits, Recess For Many Students Is Restricted
Many children in public school are getting less and less time outside, despite the documented benefits of free play.
It is those changes in the prefrontal cortex during childhood that help wire up the brain's executive control center, which has a critical role in regulating emotions, making plans and solving problems, Pellis says. So play, he adds, is what prepares a young brain for life, love and even schoolwork.
But to produce this sort of brain development, children need to engage in plenty of so-called free play, Pellis says. No coaches, no umpires, no rule-books.
"Whether it's rough-and-tumble play or two kids deciding to build a sand castle together, the kids themselves have to negotiate, well, what are we going to do in this game? What are the rules we are going to follow?" Pellis says. The brain builds new circuits in the prefrontal cortex to help it navigate these complex social interactions, he says.
For a long time, researchers thought this sort of rough-and-tumble play might be a way for young animals to develop skills like hunting or fighting. But studies in the past decade or so suggest that's not the case. Adult cats, for example, have no trouble killing a mouse even if they are deprived of play as kittens.
So researchers like Jaak Panksepp at Washington State University have come to believe play has a very different purpose: "The function of play is to build pro-social brains, social brains that know how to interact with others in positive ways," Panksepp says.
An added bonus is that the skills associated with play ultimately lead to better grades. In one study, researchers found that the best predictor of academic performance in eighth grade was a child's social skills in third grade.
Another hint that play matters, Pellis says, is that "countries where they actually have more recess tend to have higher academic performance than countries where recess is less."
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