Saudi Gazette Physical activities make up an integral part of the educational process. They should not be side-lined as a free class to chit-chat and waste time. Many parents and children consider these classes as less important than other academic subjects. Sports and other physical activities promote both, physical and mental development. Through group play and sports, children learn teamwork, cooperation, perseverance, how to get along with one another, they develop a higher sense of responsibility and self-confidence. Moreover, physical education classes provide an ideal way to release stress and tension and to vent any negative feelings the student may be harboring. Many psychological problems and social hindrances can be resolved through regular exercise and sports, such as irritability, anxiety, extreme shyness, depression, low self-esteem, and being introverted and socially withdrawn. The bonus for those youngsters who are already confident and charismatic is that they can further fine tune their social skills and gain leadership skills. In effect, extra-curricular activities foster creativity and build a child's personality. Despite countless benefits of physical activities, many schools (not all of course) in the Kingdom, especially girls' schools are sorely lacking in sports programs. In most girls' government schools, there are no physical education classes whatsoever and in many of the private schools, the physical education classes are limited to only one or two a week. The absence of such additional school activities will have several negative effects on our students warns Dr. Dhafer Aal-Hammad, Head of the psychology faculty in the Department of Education at King Khalid University in Abha. Aal-Hammad told Al-Watan daily, “Academic activities and sports programs accomplish far more than providing recreation and entertainment. Academic and physical activities can reinforce lessons taught in classrooms, correct bad behavioral patterns, and teach moral values such as taking turns, helping others, being fair, and respecting rules. Children learn much better when all of their senses are stimulated and when they are active participants in the educational experience, rather than passive recipients.” He further added, “The world and national awareness campaigns go a long way in helping children understand and apply complex and very useful information. For example, in recent years the Kingdom's announcement of the Tree Week, the Mosque Week, and the Traffic Safety Week involved students in a wide range of motivating activities. “Young students in the primary grades need to see, hear, touch, and move to fully absorb the subject material. Play, experimenting, group activities, and open discussion are all tools that children use to learn new ideas and expand their understanding of the world around them. In fact, the universal language of children is play and it is amazing how children who do not even speak the same language can play together and enjoy each other's company in a matter of minutes.” According to Aal-Hammad, the traditional rotary method of cramming information into students' heads and asking students to passively recall this information at a later date is not a productive approach to teaching. In addition, he suggests that schools should organize structured field trips on a regular basis and visits to museums, exhibitions, factories, libraries, and cultural and educational events. Such visits enable children to tie what they learned in school with the real world. Extracurricular activities help students think out of the box, discover their strengths and talents, practice their hobbies, and possibly even choose a career. A psychologist, a student guide, and a counselor who works at the Directorate of Education in the Eastern Province, Asaad Al-Nemr, said, “Teachers can incorporate subtle religious lessons, morals, and information related to the curriculum in almost any school activity. Some activities that are fun and also very productive include acting in plays, drawing, painting, sports of all kinds, spelling bees, and other educational contests. We can apply the psychological theory that acting out certain behaviors on stage may cause the actor to internalize these behaviors. Art helps disturbed children express their feelings and it provides a safe and healthy outlet for anger and sadness. Sports encourage cooperation, having a sense of belonging to a larger group, hard work, and sacrificing one's personal good for the greater good of the team. __
