Education includes PE and Sports

Fri, Aug 13, 2010

Editor: Kudos to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Schools’ team for retaining the Windward Islands School Games title held in St. Lucia. This favourable display is no doubt the product of discipline and hard work by the athletes, instilled by their coaching staff.{{more}}

It is heartening to see Kendale Mercury’s footballers and Joan Foster’s netballers ensuring that both titles remain in the Vincentian domain. Special mention must be made of

Coach Marlon Williams’ volleyball teams (male and female) for completing the double.

Performances like these should act as an impetus to galvanize the Sports Department into initiating a more sustained school sports programme. This would not be an easy task, given the present ad hoc school sports programme that stifles sports development, especially at the primary level.

Quite often, Physical Education is viewed by most primary school teachers as a nuisance to education. The fact that the primary school curriculum does not facilitate specialist PE teachers speaks volumes. It is for this reason that we continue to languish in track and field events.

Physical Education

If we are serious about sports development in SVG, more priority must be given to Physical Education in primary schools. This would mean a complete reversal to the way the schools’ PE programme is managed. The practice of posting YES workers (PE teachers) simply to create employment is problematic since it disrupts time-table schedules. This is mainly due to their tardiness and absenteeism as a result of other commitments. Such an unstable nursery is not conducive to the breeding of quality athletes.

I, therefore, propose a more organised primary schools’ Physical Education structure that will facilitate the progressive development of sports. This is made easy since the Curriculum Department has already developed a primary school physical education curriculum. However, its effective implementation hinges on a change in school culture, especially from the old guard. Nevertheless, it is essential that specialist PE teachers be assigned to execute the PE curriculum.

Sports facilities

Another area of concern is the increasing unavailability of sports facilities and or the state of disrepair in most. This has no doubt contributed to the dwindling number of primary schools’ competitions in recent years. What has become of our primary schools’ cricket and football competitions? Has Kiddy Cricket met with an untimely death? What is being done to revitalize primary schools’ netball? Therein lies the urgency for the restructuring of the schools’ Physical Education programme.

The call for the restructuring of PE in primary schools is fortified by the increasing world emphasis on youth sports. As a nursery, the primary school sports structure should, therefore, ensure athletes readiness for the next level. This is evident in the first ever Youth Olympic Games presently taking place in Singapore. It is noteworthy that most of the successful athletes come from countries with traditionally strong youth sports structures. Competitions like these ensure continuity so that promising athletes do not fall through the cracks. They also serve as stimuli for aspiring athletes to aim for the highest possible height.

The Vincentian education paradigm needs to adjust in order to optimize all avenues necessary to prepare the child for the global village. Remember, not all students are academically inclined, and those who are so inclined can also be multi-facetted. The onus is on the Ministry of Education to cater for the holistic needs of the child.

Collin CA$H Haywood