Developing school sports in Que Phong: Still many difficulties!

(Baonghean) - Physical education and school sports movements play an important role in the comprehensive development of students. However, in Que Phong, countless difficulties have become "barriers" that prevent school sports from being promoted to their full potential...

We arrived at Nam Nhoong Primary and Secondary School right at the time when teachers and students were in physical education and sports class. On a small yard of only about 50 square meters in the school campus, physical education teacher Truong Xuan Nguyen was instructing students in the technical movements of shuttlecock kicking. Teacher Nguyen shared: "Today, the journalist was "lucky", it did not rain so the students were able to go out to practice. A few days ago, the weather was not favorable, so physical education class became play time, self-management time in the classroom." Due to the lack of a multi-functional sports hall, all physical education and sports activities of primary and secondary school students depended on that small, narrow yard. Due to the mountainous terrain, limited land fund and the long, harsh rainy season in Nam Nhoong, most of the students' physical education classes had to be postponed.

Not only do we often have to "look to the sky, look to the ground, look to the clouds" to teach and learn, but the narrow playground and training ground conditions also greatly limit the practice of sports according to the prescribed curriculum. "For example, according to the curriculum standards, there must be 100m running, marathon running, long jump, high jump, ball throwing, badminton, soccer... but the playground is only about 50 square meters wide, teaching any subject is difficult! 100m running is not long enough, students have to run back and forth; marathon running sometimes requires... taking risks to let students run on the inter-commune road, very worried because of the danger of passing vehicles; high jump and long jump do not have cushions, every year we have to mobilize teachers and students to go down to the stream to dig sand to make a temporary landing site; ball throwing is in a narrow playground, afraid of throwing it into the classroom windows, affecting the teaching and learning hours of other students; soccer has no field..." - teacher Truong Xuan Nguyen shared.

Shuttlecock lesson of teachers and students of Nam Nhoong Primary and Secondary School.

And in fact, the only sport that the students learn is shuttlecock. This is a sport that does not require many special conditions in terms of facilities, and can be played in a small area, however, that does not mean that it is free of difficulties. Teacher Truong Xuan Nguyen quickly "counted" that the whole school currently only has a few shuttlecocks, but they are old, affecting the quality of teaching. These shuttlecocks were bought many years ago, from the funds contributed by teachers and students. Now, knowing that the shuttlecocks are broken, at the beginning of the school year, teacher Nguyen continues to mobilize students, each contributing 1,000 VND to buy a shuttlecock!

Even at Chau Thon Secondary School - one of the national standard schools of the Que Phong Education sector, physical education and school sports have not been developed to their full potential for many reasons. Teacher Lo Minh Duc, Principal of the school, shared: “As a national standard school, the factors of playground area, practice ground and some basic facilities for school sports are guaranteed. However, the difficulty comes from the students. Most of the school's students come from poor families, most of them cannot afford to buy shoes and clothes, and often skip breakfast, so they are not healthy enough to exercise. The school is very understanding, and has flexibly arranged physical education classes in the first or second period so that the students can participate in some exercise.”

Currently, the number of physical education teachers is too small compared to the actual needs, due to the limited staffing for the education sector. Mr. Sam Hong Le, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Que Phong district, said: "Currently, 10 secondary schools and 4 primary - secondary schools have enough physical education teachers, but in 18 primary schools, cultural teachers are temporarily taking on additional roles. Because they are not trained in physical education and sports, these teachers can only ensure basic movements for students, but the techniques and knowledge of sports are... lacking!"

Faced with the above situation, schools have promoted dynamism, along with social mobilization, a series of initiatives to overcome difficulties. For example, Chau Thon Secondary School, the school's Board of Directors assigned the Youth Union - Pioneers to organize annual "Golden Book of Donation" sessions, promoting the tradition of "mutual love and support". Accordingly, the 9th grade students before graduating will have a gathering session, teachers and teachers will encourage students to donate unused learning and sports equipment and tools, leaving them for the younger students to inherit and study. Some other schools are flexible in the physical education and sports curriculum, if they have a large playground, they will organize marathons, high jumps, long jumps, etc.; If the playground is narrow, then mobilize the construction of cement table tennis tables, badminton courts, etc. Although it is still far from meeting the playground standards and meeting the teaching and learning needs of teachers and students of schools, it will help students to have a basic understanding of community sports, shortening the gap between students from different regions.

In the coming time, with the dynamism and self-reliance of schools, we hope to receive help from organizations, individuals and businesses to improve the physical education environment for students, towards comprehensive education"./.

Article and photos:Phuong Chi