Olympic lessons in physical education

“Do it right and do it with joy.”

That’s how one of my kindergarten students summarized the Olympic Oath.

The Olympic Games are like Christmas morning to physical education teachers. The Olympics are centered around sports and competition, and there are many broader lessons to be gained. There are powerful examples of personal inspiration, discipline, effort and perseverance. The athletes we are cheering for today have trained with an unparalleled commitment for years, sometimes decades, just for a chance to compete in these Olympic Games.

The Olympics present lessons of history, culture and geography. They provide great opportunities to show how mathematical and scientific principles are used in training and competition, from the choreography of the figure skating program to the technology of the bobsled.

My students are young. They were only a few years old when the Winter Olympics were last held four years ago in Vancouver. It is such fun, and indeed a privilege, to bring this new world to their lives. One group of giggling students thought I was teasing when I explained that Turkey and Hungary were actual countries! The Olympic Flag, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year, is a potent symbol with its five interconnected rings representing the coming together of the inhabited continents of the world. Regardless of the different languages spoken, the diverse cultural practices or the varied local cuisine, we all play by the same rules when we step on the ice or arrive at the starting line.

As a young child, I used to practice handsprings around the house dreaming I was a gymnast and spin in circles on the slick kitchen floor as if I were a champion figure skater. These days, I teach students who have their own Olympic dreams — dreams that just may become reality. In physical education, students learn how to train like an Olympian: set goals, work smart, never give up. They learn about their bodies and the components of health and skill-related fitness that will allow them to achieve success in whatever activities they choose to participate. They discover that competition can push them to greater achievement, whether they win or lose a particular contest.

As a high school track athlete, I sat glued before the television watching one of my heroes, 400-meter hurdler Edwin Moses, take the Olympic Oath during the Opening Ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics. Thirty years later, I listen to my physical education students recite the oath during their own Opening Ceremonies for our Goose Bay Olympic Games. These young athletes have the whole world ahead of them to achieve whatever lies in their hearts. Perhaps these Olympics will serve to inspire them to greater achievements in their own lives.

“Do it right and do it with joy.” Wise words for us all.

Nancy Blake teaches physical education at Goose Bay Elementary School.