Many of us seem to take our overall health for granted, alienating too much on the academic pursuit and career demand. But very little else can have as negative an impact on our society than poor health – low health standards weaken the functioning of communities and, in extreme cases, can lead to its very breakdown.
That is why the Malta University Sports Club regards the importance of good health among students as incalculable and thus promotes the philosophy of ‘sport for all’ as opposed to ‘exclusivity for cut-throat, elite competition’.
Without hesitation, MUSC believes that education can be a leading tool to educate people into adapting a healthy lifestyle that integrates the mental health with the physical wellbeing.
As outlined in the National Minimum Curriculum, the aim is to educate the holistic child and ensure that quality education is available to all, taking into account the diversity of Maltese students.
Unfortunately, I find the NMC quite contradictory in its terms. PE is down on the priority list, so I speculate what is really meant by holistic education. There is no better subject, than PE, that can better cater for the holistic education of a child (NMC, Principle 7, p.34). It is, above all, in PE that the teacher caters for the child’s physical, cognitive, emotional and social development.
Physical activity is one of the most important ways to live healthily in body and in mind. Physical activity increases endorphin levels — the natural “feel-good” chemicals in the body which leave you with a naturally happy feeling. Facts speak loud – anybody with a physically active lifestyle would assert that there is more to sport than physical benefits. The mind benefits too.
In response to this I encourage all students, irrespective of age, gender and cultural differences, to get involved in sport and to benefit from improved physical fitness. Mens sana in corpore sano – to be healthy in mind and body – is one of sport’s long-lasting truths. MUSC will uphold this value and the position of ‘sport for all’.
President Malta University Sports Club