PHYSICAL EDUCATION : LEARNING FITNESS

Educators play an important role in promoting children and youth’s well-being by creating, fostering, and sustaining a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, and accepting. A learning environment of this kind will support not only students’ cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development but also their mental health, their resilience, and their overall state of well-being. All this will help them achieve their full potential in school and in life. Physical education not only teaches children about a wide range of healthy habits but also provides them opportunities to participate in health-enhancing physical activity. This book helps students develop an understanding of what they need in order to make a commitment to lifelong healthy, active living and develop the capacity to live satisfying, productive lives. Healthy, active living benefits both individuals and society in many ways – for example, by increasing productivity and readiness for learning, improving morale, decreasing absenteeism, reducing health-care costs, decreasing antisocial behaviour such as bullying and violence, promoting safe and healthy relationships, and heightening personal satisfaction.