Sports
at School
A Sarah Jones
Looking back, I did enjoy sports lessons at school, even though I think most schools in those days
assumed sports were basically for boys, and girls weren't encouraged to do well at sports. That attitude
really annoys me, because the whole point of sports at school is to help kids develop the right attitudes,
and it doesn't matter really how good you are. If you can't run as fast as an Olympic athlete, that doesn't
matter -what matters is that you run as fast as you can. Schools are highly competitive environments and
sports can teach children the importance of teamwork. To do well in almost everything else at school, like
maths or history, you are rewarded for individual effort, but sports are about working together towards a
common goal. Sports at school give children who are not high achievers a chance to excel at something.
B Matt Brown
My own memories of sports lessons at school aren't particularly good, but that's mainly because of the
type of school I went to. It was very unusual by British standards, with old-fashioned ways of teaching,
and the headteacher didn't really think sports mattered at all. The school rarely organised sports events
and never invested in sports equipment. There was very little emphasis on the importance of eating
sensibly and the benefits of keeping fit and exercising properly. I believe that issues like obesity, anorexia,
nutritional value of food, etc. should be included in sports lessons at school. Children should be
encouraged to take part in competitive sports. Being competitive is part of human nature, and doing
sports can provide an excellent outlet for this aggressiveness. Winning at sports can build up your self-
esteem and confidence. On the other hand, since you can't expect to win every time, sports can also teach
you how to be humble and realistic.
C Ross Wright
There are obvious benefits in having good sports classes at school. Children stay fit and learn the
importance of fair play. Schools can introduce children to sports they would never otherwise have the
opportunity of doing. For instance, I grew up in a big city, and we hardly ever travelled to the countryside
as a family. At school we had a climbing wall in the gym, and we learnt rock climbing in sports class.
When I moved to Europe, I took up rock climbing and was surprised by how good I was at it. Schools
should offer a wide range of sports from the most popular ones, like football and basketball, to the less
popular ones, like table tennis and climbing. Unfortunately, sports are often regarded as a sort of optional
extra by certain schools and this is also reflected in the children's attitude to them.
D Kate Robinson
The main point about sports is that they encourage peaceful competition. I think that's the basis of the
Olympic spirit of Classical Greece, which nowadays is more important than ever before. Sports can teach
you how to discipline yourself, how to remain focused on what you're doing and how to apply yourself to
achieving a goal. I don't think sports are really about the sort of aggression and rage that you see
sometimes in football matches, for instance. I certainly think teachers should discourage any form of
aggression during sports classes. On top of that, we need to be more sensitive towards the feelings of
children who are not fit or good at sports. Taking part in a sports lesson can be a major source of
embarrassment and a traumatic experience for less athletic children.
You are going to read part of an article in which four people talk about the sports lessons they had at school.
For questions 1-10 choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.
1. Which person thinks sports encourage cooperation? ...........
2. Which person believes that experience of losing is important? ...........
3. Which person thinks one benefit of sports is learning to concentrate? ...........
4. Which person compares academic subjects to sports? ...........
5. Which person believes the Olympic spirit is essential today? ...........
6. Which person thinks sports help non-academic pupils? ...........
7. Which person thinks sports can teach objectivity and justice? ...........
8. Which person thinks schools should teach unusual sports? ...........
9. Which person thinks diet and health should be taught with sports? ...........
10. Which person thinks sports can make some children feel uncomfortable? ...........
Answers
1. A
2. B
3. D
4. A
5. D
6. A
7. C
8. C
9. B
10. D
