In France, thea Olympic and Paralympic week at school taking place as part of the 2024 Paris Games begins on Monday 24 January. The general idea remains to promote sport among children. Sometimes considered as the fifth wheel of the carriage, sports practice at school is often, in France, considered insufficient. However, there is the “30 minutes of physical activity” device every day. Launched by the government in 2021, it must be generalized to all classes by 2024. Is the situation comparable to the EUnited States, Spain and Germany. Overview.
In the United States, a paradoxical situation
In the United States, the billions of dollars brewed by university sports are the tree that hides the forest. Physical education and sports at school appears to be under-practiced by young Americans. The federal authorities do not dictate the law but only give recommendations: namely, sixty minutes of activity at school or outside, each day. It is then up to the local authorities to set the rules.
In reality, less than a quarter of young people aged 6 to 17 play sports for one hour a day on average. Several reasons are invoked to explain this low level of sports practice. There is, for example, ins the majority of States, the possibility of obtaining dispensations, and even of replacing, in high school, sport with another subject. As for extra-curricular sports activities, they are not accessible to everyone. This is synonymous with strong disparities.
This is obviously a problem while at the same time 20% of Americans aged 2 to 19 are considered obese. The figure has been rising for decades and is higher among African Americans and Hispanics. However, there are government initiatives, such as the “Let’s Move” program created in 2010. This program, very publicized, worn in particular by the former first lady Michelle Obama was intended to drastically reduce obesity in children by 2030.
Since then, however, the situation has worsened. A paradox, in appearance, in a country where basketball or baseball courts are legion and athletes are celebrated from an early age.
In Spain, extracurricular education is widespread
This is what we call here “las extraescolares”, all the activities that come as an extension of school hours. And sport is one of the most widespread activities, both in public, private and subsidized schools. Most children take karate, football, basketball or athletics lessons after their school day but on school grounds, which is very practical for students who do not have to travel to do sports. Moreover, these courses are often taught by teachers who are part of sports clubs and associations in their city, which also guarantees the quality of education.
In Spain, therefore, schools often maintain close links with clubs. Take the case, for example, of the town of Algete, located north of Madrid with more than 20,000 inhabitants. Thanks to the collaboration between the town hall, municipal sports clubs and schools, children can take basketball, volleyball, skating, tennis, football, judo or gymnastics lessons this year in the various public schools. from the city, and the prices are most of the time very affordable. In addition, students can be federated and participate with their club in the championships that take place on weekends. A highly developed system also in private and subsidized schools, which have their own clubs which also participate in these local championships.
In Germany, the end of the model classes in the morning, sports in the afternoon
Sports and musical activities remain very important for German families, even if they are in decline. You should know that in the German grading system, sport and music have the same value as other subjects, such as mathematics, German or English. The equivalent of an 8 out of 20 in sports and music leads to repetition. That says a lot about the importance given to extracurricular activities in the country. And the ideal remains that each child practice a sport and play a musical instrument. In fact, the time spent in school by pupils has been increasing in Germany for more than 10 years. Extracurricular activities suffer.
On a daily basis, the school day no longer ends at noon. Numerous studies have revealed that the traditional model – school in the morning, sport in the afternoon – worsens social inequalities. Children from underprivileged classes were rather left to their own devices in the afternoon. Above all, they spent too little time in school to fill certain knowledge gaps. Another disadvantage of this model: it was largely responsible for the very low rate of female activity since, most often, mothers prepared lunches before driving the children to music school or the football club.
Already in the time of Gerhard Schröder, Germany began to turn its back on its model. With Angela Merkel, the change accelerated. More and more schools now have a canteen, offer a daycare system and support for homework in the afternoon and organize the famous extracurricular activities that are always very popular with parents. Result, in Germany too, the rhythm of the child takes second place.