by Ani Grigorova
(Bulgaria)
Some people believe that competitive sports, both team and individual, have no place in the school curriculum.
How far do you agree or disagree?
Competitive sports and P.E. classes have always been a part of the school curriculum. However many people underestimate their importance and even think that team and individual sports should be abolished. My personal opinion is that such activities and sports are a “must” for kids and students and I strongly disagree with the prior statement.
First of all, it is widely known that sports and physical activity provide a wide range of health benefits. Daily exercise prevents obesity and develops the muscles, which is vital for young kids and teenagers, since that is the time they are growing and developing the most.
Along that, playing sports and simply using the body more than the mind, could be an excellent stress-reliever, thus bringing benefits for the students’ mental health. Sitting on a desk all day, studying complex subjects could be stressful and after hours, the brain simply gets tired and further studying is quite counter-productive. P.E. classes provide a great break for the brain, since the body is more used. And after that, students can proceed with their studies, feeling refreshed and with their brains rested. That is significantly more productive than burning out the kids’ brains by non stop studying.
In addition, team sports are great for teaching the students rather useful soft skills, such as communication, team work, leadership and cooperation. Sports such as football, basketball, etc. teach the kids to rely on one another and work together. And the greatest advantage of this is that those soft skills are not only applied in sports, they would be of a great use in offices and the professional field in general, so by playing team sports, students learn a plethora of skills, which can be applied in their future professional lives.
Even though some people underestimate sports at school, I strongly believe that they must remain in the school curriculum. More physical activity means healthier children, both physically and mentally and sports teach many useful skills, which could even benefit the students’ future.
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