The ability to be a physically educated person

When talking about physical education, it is important to make a clear distinction between ability and skill, although both are essential regarding exercise.

Whilst skills can be trained, abilities are innate and put the limit on the degree of acquisition of skills. This means that once again we are influenced by our genes, but not determined because there is certain to be improvement in the skills after training. As I see it, this is quite positive but we should teach children how to deal with this ideas.

First of all, realism is needed. Our pupils should understand that they cannot do all they want, that life has some limits. Not being the best in everything is not synonym of failure. As a matter of fact, this genetic factor makes variety possible and that all of us can we learn from others. In addition, the main goal of physical education is not be the best, but to be a physically educated person, something that not only deals with physical conditions. This leads to the next idea which is that skills can only be acquired through effort. Effort is an attitude and this can (and should) also be trained.

                             

This leads to the next idea which is that skills can only be acquired through effort. Effort is an attitude and this can (and should) also be trained. Pupils ought to learn that in order to become physically educated people, they have to be steady and this can only be done if there is some motivation and some passion about what they do (again, attitudes). As we can see, physical education is not only about being fit, but also about gaining some positive attitudes towards work and sport. And, as I see it, teachers have some part of the responsibility to achieve this.

                

Another important issue relating to this ideas is the way to assess students. Some teachers decide to carry out tests. However, the problem with tests is that they measure abilities, not skills. As I said before, abilities are the ones that support the performance of skills and they are inherited. Therefore, it does not seem very fair to measure an innate condition. Then, what evaluation criteria should be chosen? The best idea would be measuring the effort. As a result, we should evaluate the progression of the skill taking into account the starting point and the effort that the student has made to get to the final point. From my point of view this is not only fairer but also more motivating than the other approach. Moreover, this suggestion would perfectly fit with the responsibility model which I have also defended.

                

Finally, abilities are also very important when talking about high ranked players. In this occasion it is certain the need to find the best sportsmen all over the world, thus, abilities play a very important part in the selection. Nevertheless, this talent detection cannot be confused with the goals of physical education. It is obvious that just a few can be part of that ranking. Regarding high ranked players and talent detection, some things can be said as well. For instance, the way of biasing some children due to their abilities which can or not, be in parallel with their likes and from my point of view this is very cruel. The life of a high ranked player means renouncing so many things and sometimes a four-year-old child is not able to decide it.