PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SPAIN KR Interview Across the Sea We hear that there are many beautiful places to run in Barcelona: along the sea, on special trails and paths, and on the sidewalks that border many beautiful buildings and sculptures. We have seen photos of architecture by Antonia Gaudi which would seem to make the city into an outdoor museum. Barcelona is a place to hope to visit and run in someday. The photos of Barcelona are courtesy of the Barcelona City Council. Please visit their site at www.bcn.es KR Interview Across the Sea PE Professor Enric Mª Sebastiani i Obrador of the Universitat Ramon Llull of Barcelona, agreed to do an inteview with KR about physical education in Spain and more. While Professor Obrador's English is better than my Spanish (which didn't exist until last week), this interview was done all in Spanish. You can find the Original Interview in Spanish at kidsrunning.com/columns/krcolumnsbarcelonaes.html. With the help of Catalina Haayen, Diane Hutton, Crisie Koplin, a few 'Learn Spanish Overnight' dictionaries, and an online translating program, I have tried to do my best in putting this together. I am hoping that the essence of his message has been captured. KR: Do all young children in Spain have physical education classes in school? PROFESSOR: Yes. They normally have P.E. twice a week for one hour. By law and general ordinance the system requires a curriculum for P.E. for ages (6-12), (12-16) and (16-18). This law applies to both private and public schools. KR: Which values should a teacher of physical education instill in their students? PROFESSOR: The values that a P.E. teacher instills in students are cooperation and acceptance as well as responsibility. Here are the most common topics worked in physical education: hygiene and health, physical activities and its rules: sports rules, training rules, instructional rules and group rules, respect for yourself, your classmates, the environment, and respect for the community. There are many developmental stages that children normally pass through as they become athletes. 1. Noncompliance: Student refuses to do what is asked. I don't know how to do it and I don't want to know. 2. Acceptance: Student obeys rules imposed by teacher but doesn't really understand the reason. 3. Conformity: Student obeys rules and understands why, but may or may not agree. However the student reflects, evaluates and complies. 4. Autonomy: Compliance isn't always necessary. At this stage certain rules and procedures can be questioned. If the student does not consider them suitable, the student can make his/her own decisions to change the rules or the decision can be made by the consensus of the group. Example: Kids decide as a group, the number of laps they need to run. KR: Does the curriculum extend to children with special needs? life? PROFESSOR: Yes, our curriculum does extend to NEE (Necesidades educativas especiales). We want children with special needs to become independent and achieve. We combine different criteria to carry out the educative process with these children. Here are the criteria: (Adapted from Puigdellívol (1993), L. Brown) a. Compensation: We prioritize learning the help compensate for individual deficits. b. Independent Functioning: Prioritize learnings so the student can participate in activities of choice. Example: teaching hygiene and getting dressed so child can go to summer camp with other children. c. Economy: Prioritize objectives so child can learn things easily within reach. d. Socialization: Allowing children to be as normal as possible and to participate in the least restrictive environment. e. Significant Activities: We make sure that many of the exercises needed for teaching are significant to learning. We use specifc exercises. To teach postural balance and dynamic coordination we have activities as turning jumps, throwing, sprints, several activities using equipment such as balls. We also use backyard (patio) games. These are familiar activities that are playful and meaningful in nature to the children. f. Variablity: We vary the activities so that a child with maturational delays does not have to keep repeating the same activity until it is mastered. g. Transference: We prioritize activities so that they can be similar to peers in the regular classroom. KR: Do many schools have 'running' programs? In the USA, many schools have recess programs where children run and earn tokens for laps. PROFESSOR: At the university we write and sequence curriculum objectives for the schools. They then use and adapt these to meet their needs. I believe that when you speak of 'recess' programs you are speaking of programs led by people who are not P.E. specialists but rather people, either altruistic people or corporate people, from the community who are interested in volunteering to run these programs. In Spain we need to do much to advance to having these type of programs outside of the academic schedule. KR: What do you do for exercise? PROFESSOR: I go to a gym near my home. I do aerobic (dance and step), spinning, and lift weights. I still jog occasionally in the city. I was a 100m sprinter years ago, but stopped training in 1992 during the Barcelona Olympics. I was not in the Olympics, but I did decide at that time to dedicate my time to other things. KR: Do children in Spain walk to school? Do they get enough exercise? Are they overweight? In the USA, they say many children are overweight (too fat). Is it like this in Spain? PROFESSOR: Most children walk to school. Some are transported by their parents. We do not share the problem of obesity in our children at this time. KR: Do you have events or competitive races for children? PROFESSOR: In the university, at this moment, we do not. We are thinking about it. When I taught in the schools I did, but I organized the events for maximum participation, so that all kids would have a 'taste' of the sport. My objective was not to only win, but to enjoy, participate, and to interact with others. These competitions were a celebration that did not exclude anybody. KR: Is it common for women to wear shorts and go running in Spain? PROFESSOR: Yes, for some time it has been a common practice for women as it is for men. KR: If I ever did get to Spain and wanted to go running would there be anything that I would need to know? PROFESSOR: Nothing special. I would recommend that you looked for many of the excellent parks and avenues that are suitable for running. Some cities absolutely are not prepared for runners. Barcelona, where I live, is a beautiful city and is designed so that people can to do jogging and go cycling. There are trails reserved for this purpose as well as excellent parks exist and more pleasant green zones. You can run many miles in view of the sea. Magic Fountain LINKS Personal Web page of Enric Mª Sebastiani i Obrador | Barcelona: www.bcn.es | Architect Antoni Gaudí | More on Barcelona