Essay 08 (Drop PE from school)

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Because of the pressure of new subjects such as business studies, many schools have dropped sport or physical education (PE) from the curriculum. How important is sport or PE in a young person’s education.

You should write at least 250 words.

Excluding sport or physical education from school curriculum, I would consider, is an unwise step, even if it is to accommodate professionally relevant subjects like business studies.

The active participation of students in physical education can help them to develop a healthy body which is immune to many common diseases. Child obesity, which is a common phenomenon, especially in western countries is often associated with lack of physical exercise. This can eventually lead to many lifestyle diseases, like diabetes and high blood pressure even at an early age.  School is the best place where a young person can be motivated and initiated into sports. Although there may be other facilities like clubs and gymnasium where children can participate in sports, there are many practical difficulties. If schools avoid sports from its curriculum, many students would not participate in any kind of physical activity, leading to an unhealthy future generation.

Participating in sports can help students to develop sportsman spirit, skills of socialisation and a spirit of competition. It is also an opportunity for them to ease their stress created by spending long hours in classrooms. It is often seen that children who actively participate in group sports have greater ability to handle anxiety and tension-filled situations associated with their studies.

Moreover, the concept of developing the comprehensive personality of a student will definitely receive a setback, if physical education is removed from school curriculum. Again, extraordinary sports talents are usually spotted and nurtured in schools that give importance to physical education along with academic studies.

In the final analysis, although it may sometimes seem that physical education is unnecessary in today’s education system because of the importance given to career oriented subjects, it will definitely hamper the physical and emotional development of children.

You are welcome to post your comments and suggestions...