Physical Education In Prehistoric Times

Wernher-Bel Ancheta (BSIT 2-1) PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN PREHISTORIC TIMES The history of physical education reflects people's attitudes about physicalactivity. From prehistoric times, because survival was related to physical stamina and to people's ability to find food, no separate physical fitness programs were needed. Gradually, ancient societies in China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome adopted physical education as part of military training. As the more developed societies came to value the scholarly life, physical education lost favor. Many developed countries have had to strike a balance between physical and intellectual interests. The history of physical education frequently shows a pattern of military, social, and political influence. In one high point of ancient history, Athenian Greeks came to the forefront in the era 700 to 600 B.C. with their quest for physical and intellectual perfection. In numerous festivals, Athenians celebrated the beautyof the human form in dance, art, religious rites, and athletics. Athenians honored the gods of Olympus, especially Zeus, with the first Olympic Games. The Olympic Games offered a civilizing influence, with social class disregardedand all citizens judged on athletic competition. If a war was being fought,it was halted during the Olympic Games. Many historians regard Athenian culture as the height of early physical education, but like their Chinese predecessors, the Athenians felt the competing influence of intellectualism. The field of physical education has gone through many cycles over its long history. These cycles range from a strict authoritarianism to the liberal democracy of today. This transformation to the democracy has opened the field of physical education up to many new sciences, which are creating many new professional opportunities. If the cycles of physical education continue, these new professions will hopefully pave the way to future discoveries and studies of physical education. The Spartans and Athenians were the first to have a type of physical education. Though very different, both systems served the people and their needs. The Spartan system was similar to a dictatorship. Male children were taken at the age of seven to learn basic military skills while living in barracks. When the children reached the age of fourteen, they began learning group fighting tactics which would allow them to succeed while in the military from the ages of twenty to thirty. Once thirty, the men could then marry a women who had been doing some training of her own in order to make strong babies. The philosophy of the Spartans was basically to allow them to invade other countries if desired, and to prevent other countries from invading them. The philosophy of the Athenians was quite different compared to the Spartans. The Athenian culture was very democratic, and focused on training the mind and body. Reading and writing was a large part of society as well as physical activity which took place in the center of the city where the gymnasium was located. The physical

education philosophy of the Athenians was the high point of physical education for many years. Some other cycles in physical education that we have evolved from are that of the Romans, the dark ages, and the crusades. The Roman era is a bit disturbing, but is nonetheless a cycle of physical education. Physical education for the Romans was about athletics, which was primarily about entertainment. People were forced to fight to the death, and oftentimes fed to lions. During the dark ages, religion viewed physical education as a waste of time and a work of the devil. The dark ages were a very sedentary time for human civilization. Following the dark ages in approximately 1096, were the crusades. The crusades were a time of muscular Christianity, because of the Muslims conquering Jerusalem. Muscular Christianity is basically Christians believing that the more one trained to become good soldiers, the more Christian a person was. In 1270, the crusades ended and so did the thought of physical education being worthwhile until approximately 1400 when the renaissance period began. Physical education during the renaissance period is quite similar to physical education today. It is done to better oneself, not to be doing something for someone else. The development of physical education had another setback in the 1600's when it was very functional and not a priority. People believed that if it did not have a specific purpose, than it was a waste of time. During the 1700's, there was a big change in physical education that can be largely attributed to three people: Rousseau, Johan Simon, and Guts Muths. Rousseau was the first person to promote education for the masses and he also thought of play as being educational. In 1712, Rousseau invented an activity that is still used by millions of children everyday, recess. Johan Simon was the first physical education teacher and believed physical education should be taught along with reading and writing. Simon believed physical education should include a lot of physical labor. Guts Muths developed a series of gymnastic apparatuses and believed physical education developed very important social skills. These people of the 1700's and the things they did began paving the road to where we are today. During the 1800's, physical education programs were finding their way into universities which contributed to many things we have today. New sports were being invented, intramurals were being brought into schools, women began exercising, gymnasiums could be found in most colleges, and many recreational areas and parks were being built in order to decrease the crime rate. This continued on into the 1900's which brought on the creation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association to regulate college athletics, and the golden age of sports during the 20' and 30's. During this golden age of sport, the number of people in sport increased dramatically, the number of teachers increased, and physical education began moving toward the involvement of sport. In 1941, World War II began which brought a big shock along with it. Of the first 2 million males drafted, 45% failed their physical. With this, physical education began to be very strongly pushed in schools in order to improve the health of the American people. PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN PRE-SPANISH TIME IN THE PHILIPPINES In pre-Hispanic times, education in the Philippines was informal and unstructured, without any fixed methodology. Children were usually taught by their parents and

tribal tutors and such education was geared more towards skills development. This underwent a major change when Spain colonized the islands. Tribal tutors were replaced by Spanish missionaries, and education became oriented more towards academics and the Catholic religion. It was also primarily for the elite, especially in the early years of the colony. Later, however, the Educational Decree of 1863 was enacted, providing for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government; and the establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary instruction was free and the teaching of Spanish was compulsory. More significantly, this decree also established the Superior Commission of Primary Instruction, a forerunner of the present Department of Education. Under Aguinaldo’s Revolutionary Government, the Spanish schools were initially closed, but were reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of the Interior. A system of free and compulsory elementary education was established by the Malolos Constitution. The Burgos Institute in Malolos, the Military Academy of Malolos, and the Literary University of the Philippines were also established. During the American occupation, an adequate secularized and free public school system was established upon the recommendation of the Schurman Commission. Per instructions of President William McKinley, the Taft Commission enforced free primary instruction that trained the people for the duties of citizenship, and assigned chaplains and non-commissioned officers to teach, using English as the medium of instruction. The Philippine Commission instituted a highly centralized public school system in 1901, by virtue of Act No. 74, which also established the Department of Public Instruction, headed by a General Superintendent. However, the implementation of this Act caused a heavy shortage of teachers, leading the Philippine Commission to authorize the Superintendent of Public Instruction to bring 600 teachers from the United States to the Philippines. These teachers would later be popularly known as the Thomasites. Later, the Organic Act of 1916 reorganized the Department of Public Instruction, mandating that it be headed by a Secretary, and that all department secretaries should be Filipinos, except for the Secretary of Public Instruction. During World War II, the department was reorganized once again through the Japanese Military Order No. 2 in 1942, which established the Commission of Education, Health, and Public Welfare. With the establishment of the Japanesesponsored Republic, the Ministry of Education was created on October 14, 1943. Under the Japanese, the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine History, and Character Education was given priority. Love for work and the dignity of labor were also emphasized. In 1947, after the Philippine Commonwealth had been restored, the Department of Instruction was changed to Department of Education by virtue of Executive Order No. 94. During this period, the regulation and supervision of public and private schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools. In 1972, the Department of Education became the Department of Education and Culture by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1, and subsequently became the Ministry of

Education and Culture in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1397. Thirteen regional offices were created and major organizational changes were implemented in the educational system. The Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, which later became the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 117 of President Corazon C. Aquino. The structure of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117 practically remained unchanged until 1994, when the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was established to supervise tertiary degree programs , and 1995, when the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was established to supervise non-degree technical-vocational programs. The trifocal education system refocused DECS’ mandate to basic education which covers elementary, secondary and nonformal education, including culture and sports. TESDA now administers the post-secondary, middle-level manpower training and development, while CHED is responsible for higher education. In August 2001, Republic Act No. 9155, otherwise called the "Governance of Basic Education Act", was passed renaming the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field offices, which include regional offices, division offices, district offices, and schools. HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION ALL OVER THE WORLD Historical Timeline (1800’s) Below is a timeline of important historical events of the 1800’s for Physical Education: 776 BC: First ancient Olympiad is held 1814 Denmark’s Bill of 1814 establishes first ever mandatory physical education 1823 Catherine Beecher founds Hartford seminary for girls with American Style Calisthenics (early form of aerobics) 1823 Round Hill School Opens 1825 Charles Beck becomes first Physical Education Teacher at Round Hill School. 1861 The Normal Institute of Physical Education is founded in Boston. 1866 California becomes first state to pass Physical Education legislation 1891 James Naismith invents Basketball 1896 First Modern Olympics is held in Athens, Greece

Sources: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Department_of_Education_(Philippines) www.lakeviewjhs.net/pe/fitness7/q4_1.pdf