PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

Southland Times, Issue 17792, 22 July 1916, Page 5

PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

MENS SANG IN CORPORE SAND. Mr Roydhouse and Miss Livingstone, from tiie Physical Branch of the Education Department, have finished their inspection of the physical work in the Southland schools, and leave for Dunedin next week. Yesterday afternoon Mr Roydhouse met several headmasters and assistant at the Board’ room and had a talk over the system. He stressed tthe fact that the scheme of physical education was as definite as the scheme of arithmetic or any other subject. The benefits obtained from the Swedish system are largely due to the careful graduation of the exercises from the very easiest to the difficult movements, and also to the order in which the exercises are taken each day. Tiie grading of the exercises is known as the “progression,” and the arrangement of tiie exercises in eacli day’s table is the “sequence,” and if these are followed as laid down in the syllabus of physical exercises the maximum benefit is gained. The children are to be drilled wherever possible in groups according to their physical condition, and not according to their mental condition, and this will simplify the work of the teachers, and allow the work to be taken systematically throughout the school. Bu the end of the year the work here and in Otago will be in line and each of the squads will work through a given number of tables in the year. In this way making the training continuous throughout the standards. Any child not efficient in his grade at the end of the year will stop and go through the same series again. At the conclusion of the talk, Mr Sproat. headmaster of North Invercargill school, thanked Mr Roydhouse for the information given, and expressed the pleasure and benefits derived by the teachers during the afternoon classes just concluded.