By Graeme Salt
The positive influence of physical exercise on mental wellbeing is clearly documented. Research studies have shown its link to greater optimism, boosted mood, increased concentration, higher self-esteem and a reduced risk of developing anxiety disorders. Conversely, inactivity is identified as a causal link to mental health problems. Physiologically, exercise positively affects levels of various influential chemicals in the brain. It really is an open and shut case.
Our understanding that sports contribute so positively towards human wellbeing should be enough to ensure exercise features prominently in all students' school curriculum through to the age of 18. Sadly and surprisingly, I see that it does not. Exercise and sports participation is demoted in importance against further sedentary classroom pursuits. This is particularly the case as older students enter high stakes examination years, a time when they need the wellbeing benefits of exercise most.
At Dulwich College Seoul, we expect all students to take regular exercise as part of our curriculum, and additionally through their own volition. Further, we expect all students to participate, compete and develop in team sports. Through team sports competition we enhance the valuable quality of leadership (more to follow) and emphasize honorable behavior when celebrating success and dealing with defeat (developing character).
It may be a surprise that experience of the latter (that is, defeat) is more important to me. Experiencing defeat, failure or disappointment is a part of life, but many students are poorly prepared for this. As you might imagine, schools rarely promote failure as one of their key targets!
Failing to meet expectations is a feature of the many cases of anxiety disorder exhibited by students in this country. In our view, resilience (the ability to bounce back after disappointment) defines a person's quality more than failure itself. However, as with all aspects of development, students need a chance to practice in order to improve, and there is no better way to practice failure than through sports: during just one team match, there are a multitude of opportunities for failure (and success, of course), all of which contribute towards developing character and resilience.
For example, a failed serve in volleyball ― how will you perform at the next opportunity? A goalkeeping error ― will you save the ball next time? A dropped pass ― will you catch the next one? The team lost ― will we win next time? Going through these relatively minor negative experiences paves the way to coping better when more critical failures and disappointments present themselves.
Developing our students as leaders is a core objective in our philosophy. Team sports, again, provide a natural gateway for this goal. Immediate opportunities through sports include visioning beyond self; shaping and influencing a team's performance; trusting in individual strengths within a team of diverse individuals; targeting specific common goals; and, simply, by whatever fair means, getting the job done. These are the same leadership qualities sought by universities and corporations.
Additionally, playing with a team is just great fun: Ask anyone involved in sports and they will confirm that there is nothing better than being part of a successful team.
Whether on or off the field, wellbeing and leadership capabilities are essential for the growth and development of our children. Only by allocating the necessary time for our students to learn and practice these qualities through sports can we prepare them best to enter the world as independent, healthy and influential citizens.
Graeme Salt (Headmaster@dulwich-seoul.kr) is the headmaster of Dulwich College Seoul, a part of the Dulwich College International (DCI) network of schools.
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Our understanding that sports contribute so positively towards human wellbeing should be enough to ensure exercise features prominently in all students' school curriculum through to the age of 18. Sadly and surprisingly, I see that it does not. Exercise and sports participation is demoted in importance against further sedentary classroom pursuits. This is particularly the case as older students enter high stakes examination years, a time when they need the wellbeing benefits of exercise most.
At Dulwich College Seoul, we expect all students to take regular exercise as part of our curriculum, and additionally through their own volition. Further, we expect all students to participate, compete and develop in team sports. Through team sports competition we enhance the valuable quality of leadership (more to follow) and emphasize honorable behavior when celebrating success and dealing with defeat (developing character).
It may be a surprise that experience of the latter (that is, defeat) is more important to me. Experiencing defeat, failure or disappointment is a part of life, but many students are poorly prepared for this. As you might imagine, schools rarely promote failure as one of their key targets!
Failing to meet expectations is a feature of the many cases of anxiety disorder exhibited by students in this country. In our view, resilience (the ability to bounce back after disappointment) defines a person's quality more than failure itself. However, as with all aspects of development, students need a chance to practice in order to improve, and there is no better way to practice failure than through sports: during just one team match, there are a multitude of opportunities for failure (and success, of course), all of which contribute towards developing character and resilience.
For example, a failed serve in volleyball ― how will you perform at the next opportunity? A goalkeeping error ― will you save the ball next time? A dropped pass ― will you catch the next one? The team lost ― will we win next time? Going through these relatively minor negative experiences paves the way to coping better when more critical failures and disappointments present themselves.
Developing our students as leaders is a core objective in our philosophy. Team sports, again, provide a natural gateway for this goal. Immediate opportunities through sports include visioning beyond self; shaping and influencing a team's performance; trusting in individual strengths within a team of diverse individuals; targeting specific common goals; and, simply, by whatever fair means, getting the job done. These are the same leadership qualities sought by universities and corporations.
Additionally, playing with a team is just great fun: Ask anyone involved in sports and they will confirm that there is nothing better than being part of a successful team.
Whether on or off the field, wellbeing and leadership capabilities are essential for the growth and development of our children. Only by allocating the necessary time for our students to learn and practice these qualities through sports can we prepare them best to enter the world as independent, healthy and influential citizens.
Graeme Salt (Headmaster@dulwich-seoul.kr) is the headmaster of Dulwich College Seoul, a part of the Dulwich College International (DCI) network of schools.
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