Brief History of Physical Education
A brief history of physical education in the United States would kick off in the nineteenth century. There was growing popularity of formal physical education programs all across Europe where calisthenics and gymnastics were all the rage. American schools looked to follow the European model by incorporating physical education into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools. And a brief history of physical education would not be complete with a consideration of institutes of higher education that gradually built up extremely successful sports programs.
The modern age
But recent awareness of the need for balanced curriculums particularly given the national concern over the state of obesity and children's attention towards non-physical activities like video games has brought physical education back in the spotlight. The government has re-signaled its commitment to physical education by making it mandatory in public schools in early classes. But it remains an elective at the high school level. One of the most interesting developments in the history of physical education has been how the definition of physical education has evolved. While it only encompassed traditional sports in the beginning, it now includes several less physical activities such as yoga and meditation which are considered critical to helping students develop a sense of control in such a stressful age.
But recent awareness of the need for balanced curriculums particularly given the national concern over the state of obesity and children's attention towards non-physical activities like video games has brought physical education back in the spotlight. The government has re-signaled its commitment to physical education by making it mandatory in public schools in early classes. But it remains an elective at the high school level. One of the most interesting developments in the history of physical education has been how the definition of physical education has evolved. While it only encompassed traditional sports in the beginning, it now includes several less physical activities such as yoga and meditation which are considered critical to helping students develop a sense of control in such a stressful age.
Decline in Physical Education
But this is not meant to imply that the history of physical education has been all rosy. Late in the twentieth century there was certainly a decline in the commitment to physical education. The growing offering of extra subjects and electives in schools means that the shift was focusing away from physical education and towards academics. The country also faced a recession around 1970 and 1980 and the dearth of government funding means that physical education programs were often the first to be cut from schools and universities.
But this is not meant to imply that the history of physical education has been all rosy. Late in the twentieth century there was certainly a decline in the commitment to physical education. The growing offering of extra subjects and electives in schools means that the shift was focusing away from physical education and towards academics. The country also faced a recession around 1970 and 1980 and the dearth of government funding means that physical education programs were often the first to be cut from schools and universities.
Physical Education in college
College athletics received a major stimulus when a National Collegiate Athletic Association was created in the early twentieth centuries. There was a rise in popularity of sports within colleges and universities and funding greatly increased. Colleges took great pride in their athletic programs and sports scholarships became a norm. There was also a surge in people who enrolled in sports education programs to meet the growing demand for professionals in the field.
College athletics received a major stimulus when a National Collegiate Athletic Association was created in the early twentieth centuries. There was a rise in popularity of sports within colleges and universities and funding greatly increased. Colleges took great pride in their athletic programs and sports scholarships became a norm. There was also a surge in people who enrolled in sports education programs to meet the growing demand for professionals in the field.
Of the many contributions made by the Greeks to Classical culture, the notion of a mutual dependence between a sound mind and a healthy body persisted in Rome throughout the republican and imperial periods. Yet the Romans were intent on making practical use of physical training, beyond its favorable impact on general health. Roman political ambition incorporated physical education into a national program for military preparedness. Centering on boys and men, physical education focused on activities that built and maintained warriors.
Republican Period
Upon throwing off the rule of the Etruscan kings in 510 BCE, Rome found herself in a perpetual state of hostility with her Italian neighbors, with secession movements, and later embroiled in a series of Punic and Macedonian wars. Places for exercise and physical fitness were limited to the properties of the patrician class, and only then in the waning days of the republic. These well-to-do Romans built gymnasiums and palaestrae (areas for boxing and wrestling), in keeping with the Greek ideal of mind-body synergy.
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