3 ms·
"Del Percio argues, is that the brains of athletes are more efficient, so they produce the desired result with the help of fewer neurons. Del Percio’s research
by oostevo 16y ago
"Del Percio argues, is that the brains of athletes are more efficient, so they produce the desired result with the help of fewer neurons. Del Percio’s research suggests that the more efficient a brain, the better job it does in sports. ... but even the most genetically well-endowed prodigy clearly needs practice—-lots of it—-to develop the brain of an athlete. As soon as someone starts to practice a new sport, his brain begins to change, and the changes continue for years."
This is what physical education was supposed to be about. Unfortunately, it's turned into, at best, an incompetent teacher with a whistle shouting at kids, or, at worst, disappeared altogether. I think we, as a society, are missing out on something pretty big.
- jdminhbg 16y agoWhen was this golden age of phys ed? I'll admit that I don't have a ton of knowledge of the history of gym class, but if depictions of phys ed in movies or television are anything to go by, 'incompetent teacher with whistle' pretty much describes it in its entirety.
- sketerpot 16y agoMaybe it was like the golden age of New Math: theoretically supposed to happen, but never really did.
- oostevo 16y agoSketerpot's pretty much right. I'm no actual PE historian (somehow I doubt such a thing exists), but I've heard several times that what the article describes is how it was supposed to work. It probably never did work that way, though. I'm really reaching here, but I'm pretty sure that idea goes back to Plato, if not even earlier.
- jmatt 16y agoI'm no actual PE historian (somehow I doubt such a thing exists) Apparently there is such a thing as PE history: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=physical+education+history&x=0&y=0 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dap... (Ya, I'm surprised too)
- hugh3 16y agoNot quite as far back as Plato, but I was reading Seneca the other day who whines that physical education in Imperial Rome ain't what it used to be: Can we possibly look on this as a liberal accomplishment for the youth of Rome, whom our ancestors trained to stand up straight and throw a javelin, to toss the caber, and manage a horse, and handle weapons? They never used to teach their children anything that could be learned in a reclining posture.
- johnohara 16y agoYou forgot the laminated lesson plans. Perfect for when you spill your coffee during class. Wipe them off and you're good to go.
- rewind 16y agoI agree with you in general, but watch out for the over-generalization. There are gym teachers out there who are as effective, caring, and dedicated as the best classroom teachers, and they impact the lives of some of their students as much as their classroom counterparts do for gifted and/or struggling students in an academic setting. Your "at best" description is way off.