I have thought about this too – M is very particular about what he will wear (which is basically all the things in which he CAN move freely and none in which he can't), and I generally let him wear the comfy stuff, but I do have to consciously reduce my expectations of smartness in doing so, and I'd love it if there were more comfy clothes that are also smart! I've noticed the other boys at his school wear jeans most days (we don't have uniform). Why has this become the norm? They're neither smart nor good for running around in!
Totally agree but even more fundamentally we need to teach people to move optimally. In WEIRD countries it is noticeable that people's posture is poor from a very early stage - partly due to too much sedentary behaviour, partly due to wearing badly fitting shoes and partly due to feeling self aware about taking up space/moving too much. I frequently notice young people with poor gait and posture and I guarantee that when they are older they will suffer from back, hip and knee problems. It would be useful if rather than just teaching sports, we also taught young people about what it is to move and walk properly. That would save a lot of problems from developing in the future
You're absolutely right - in education, there is a historic focus on sports rather than on movement and physical fitness. So if you are a child who isn't strong or fit, you'll be bad at virtually all sports, and you won't develop the movement habits that would set you up fora comfortable life...
I have thought about this too – M is very particular about what he will wear (which is basically all the things in which he CAN move freely and none in which he can't), and I generally let him wear the comfy stuff, but I do have to consciously reduce my expectations of smartness in doing so, and I'd love it if there were more comfy clothes that are also smart! I've noticed the other boys at his school wear jeans most days (we don't have uniform). Why has this become the norm? They're neither smart nor good for running around in!
Totally agree but even more fundamentally we need to teach people to move optimally. In WEIRD countries it is noticeable that people's posture is poor from a very early stage - partly due to too much sedentary behaviour, partly due to wearing badly fitting shoes and partly due to feeling self aware about taking up space/moving too much. I frequently notice young people with poor gait and posture and I guarantee that when they are older they will suffer from back, hip and knee problems. It would be useful if rather than just teaching sports, we also taught young people about what it is to move and walk properly. That would save a lot of problems from developing in the future
You're absolutely right - in education, there is a historic focus on sports rather than on movement and physical fitness. So if you are a child who isn't strong or fit, you'll be bad at virtually all sports, and you won't develop the movement habits that would set you up fora comfortable life...