The scene of the symposium.
Red Net Moment News reporter Wu Gongran reported from Changsha
In order to make sports stand on the "C position" of educating people, a group of people are working hard.
On April 17, the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress suggested that the supervision team go to the Provincial Sports Bureau to supervise the key handling suggestions of "youth sports participation", supervise and inspect the handling of the suggestions, and tighten the "responsibility valve" for the handling of the suggestions.
At the provincial two sessions at the beginning of this year, Xia Binhua, Liu Feifei and Peng Ronghong, three representatives of the Provincial People's Congress, respectively put forward the "Suggestions on Improving the Social Support Mechanism for Youth Sports Participation in Hunan Province", "Suggestions on Building Youth Sports Activities Brand IP to Help Students' Physical and Mental Health Development" and "Suggestions on Further Promoting the "Integrated Development of Sports and Education".
Since the two sessions of the provincial people's congress this year, the deputies have put forward more than 1,000 proposals. After soliciting opinions from many parties, the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress determined that 106 proposals of the Provincial People's Congress deputies in 35 categories were selected as the key processing suggestions for 2024.
From the deputies to the people's congress listening to the voice of the people and making suggestions in accordance with the people's opinions, to being listed as a key handling proposal and then supervising it, the importance of "youth sports participation" can be seen.
However, at present, concepts such as "emphasizing intellectual education over physical education", "physical education is a secondary subject", and "having developed limbs and a simple mind" are still rooted in the minds of some people. If this concept is not changed, it will affect the future of the children and the future of the nation.
Sports not only strengthen the body, but also the brain
In November 2023, Xinhua News Agency reported on "the decline in the physical fitness of some college students", which mentioned that "many male students can't do a pull-up".
In this regard, some people think that my child will not do physical work in the future, and it almost doesn't matter if his physical fitness is not good.
In fact, this view could not be more wrong. Because sports are not only for the body, but also for the brain. That is, not exercising not only affects physical fitness, but also negatively affects academic performance.
Screenshot of Xinhua News Agency report.
There is such a phenomenon: children are obviously locked up at home by their parents all day long, but their grades are not up. It should be a sunny and lively age, but it seems listless and sluggish, and parents can't help but wonder: "Is my child too stupid?"
In fact, it's not that your child is too stupid, it's probably that he often stays at home and doesn't exercise like this. Many parents believe that sports can delay their children's learning, but on the contrary, a number of studies have shown that sports may help improve learning.
Back in 2009, a survey of more than 2,200 fifth-graders in Shanghai found that children with exercise habits tended to perform better. In 2017, researchers from Spain, Italy and Chile analysed data from 26 studies covering children aged 4 to 13 years and concluded that physical activity can improve learning, especially in mathematics and reading.
Why do sports make people smarter?
In April 2023, Beijing Youth Daily published an article by experts from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, showing that exercise increases certain chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine, which makes people feel happy and gain an active learning state, serotonin can release stress and improve memory, and norepinephrine can improve reaction speed and concentration.
In the long term, exercise can change the structure and function of the brain. The "Human Brain Project", initiated by the National Institutes of Health, found that consistent exercise can significantly increase the number of nerve cells, making the brain stronger and stronger like muscles.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that regular exercise can improve children's academic performance while protecting their health.
Sports not only strengthen the body and brain, but also "strengthen the heart"
One conclusion that may be disruptive to some people's perception is that the role of sports is not only for physical fitness but also for mental health, but also for mental health.
Affected by factors such as learning pressure, interpersonal communication, and feelings, students' psychological problems are becoming more and more serious, which makes parents and teachers very anxious, and students' mental health has become one of the "Top Ten Keywords of China's Basic Education in 2023".
Mental health is the foundation of children's growth, and there is no problem at all. How can I protect my teen's mental health?
After a hearty exercise, many people seem to feel that some of the things they were anxious about have been put down, and some dark and negative thoughts in their hearts are gone.
Students at the High School Affiliated to Hunan Normal University in motion.
In fact, there is a scientific basis for this feeling.
There is a strong link between physical activity and mental health. Scientific studies have shown that primary and secondary school students who regularly participate in physical activity have significantly better mental health levels than those who do not participate in physical activity or participate less than them.
Yang Yang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), vice chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the mainland's first Winter Olympic gold medalist, said in an interview with the media that exercise can promote the release of endorphins and other neurotransmitters in the brain, effectively relieve stress and anxiety, and improve emotional state. Regular physical exercise can also enhance self-confidence, social skills and teamwork spirit, which plays an important role in cultivating students' resilience to frustration and positive personality traits.
Li Yanhu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and director of the Sports Health Medicine Research Center of the Institute of Sports Medicine of the General Administration of Sport of China, also expressed the same view. He believes that sports is the best education for setbacks, tribulations, and growth, and that children can gradually build a strong personality in the silent competition of sports.
John Reddy, an expert in the field of neuropsychiatry at Harvard University, in his book "Exercise Reshapes the Brain", states that it (exercise) is definitely one of the best ways for us to treat most mental problems. The American Psychiatric Association includes exercise as one of the treatments for mood disorders.
Sports firmly occupy the position of "main subject" in developed countries in Europe and the United States
Due to the weak awareness of the concept of family sports, the accumulation of disadvantages in schools that emphasize intellectual education over physical education has not been fundamentally reversed, and the construction and utilization of sports venues are insufficient, physical education in reality is still in the position of "sub-subject", and our education work still owes sports a "C position".
In fact, sports firmly occupy the position of "main subject" in many foreign countries. In particular, developed countries in Europe and the United States have put the participation of young people in sports in a very important position to create a strong atmosphere.
Zhao Ping, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University, said that in the United States, the concept of sports education is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and various sports activities such as playing ball, swimming, and running occupy a lot of spare time for American teenagers. Generally speaking, the better the university, the more important it is when admitting students, and whether they have a high academic performance and whether they also have a skill in sports or the arts.
At the spring sports day of an elementary school in Tokyo, Japan, students are competing in the Arhat project. (Source: People's Daily)
According to the People's Daily, physical education is an important subject in Japanese school education, especially primary education. Physical education classes in the lower primary grades are generally taught by the class teacher himself, and the main purpose is to let children fall in love with sports through a variety of sports programs. Elementary schools in Japan have two to three physical education hours per week.
In Germany, physical education is compulsory for schoolchildren, with 2 to 3 hours per week. Campus sports festivals, inter-school sports competitions, and sports-themed outdoor activities are also important components of physical education in primary and secondary schools in Germany.
An article published in the Guangming Daily in March this year showed that in the current French education system, physical education is a compulsory subject for primary and secondary school students in France. According to the regulations, physical education classes must reach 3 hours per week in elementary schools and 3~4 hours per week in junior high schools.
In the short term, children's future is to learn, but often in the end, it is physical fitness and physical strength that are fighting.
In the final analysis, the competition between countries is the competition of talents, and the competition between talents is the body and the physical strength. Therefore, in order to realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, sports can only be strong and not weak.
There is an urgent need to promote youth participation in sports
A subject that should be in the "C position", if it is in a marginal position for a long time, education will be in arrears. As for debts, only by working hard to pay off old debts and not to owe new debts can we stop the debts from snowballing.
Nowadays, it is urgent to promote the participation of young people in sports, which is a major event related to the healthy growth of young people and the future of the nation.
Therefore, during the second session of the 14th Provincial People's Congress, Xia Binhua, Liu Feifei, and Peng Ronghong passed a proposal to drum and cheer for "youth sports participation".
Xia Binhua believes that social support from schools, families, communities and businesses plays a key role in youth sports participation. He put forward suggestions such as giving full play to the role of school education as the main channel, opening up full physical education classes, appropriately increasing the number of physical education classes and opening consecutive classes, promoting the construction of multi-functional sports venues and sports complexes, and building a high-level public service system for national fitness.
Teenagers in the classroom. (Source: Visual China)
"In the current social context, in the face of the severity of health problems such as 'little chubby', 'little glasses' and 'little bean sprouts' among teenagers, especially the high incidence of mental health problems at a young age and with a high incidence of 'little glass heart', we must take effective measures to deal with it. Representative Liu Feifei suggested that a unique youth sports brand IP should be created to attract young people to participate, release the pressure of schoolwork, improve physical health, and promote all-round physical and mental development.
Deputy Peng Ronghong said that in the integrated development of sports and education, there are still some shortcomings in primary and secondary schools, such as attaching too much importance to cultural achievements, students' academic burden, and lack of interest in sports. He suggested that the education department and the sports department should establish a working mechanism for integrated development, establish sports base schools in primary and secondary schools, introduce the competition system, training system and professional coaching system of the sports department, and encourage primary and secondary schools to establish an incentive system for physical education teachers and part-time coaches.
According to the relevant regulations, the delegates suggested that the organizers should submit their opinions to the organizers before April 29, and the organizers should reply to the delegates before May 29, and the suggestions involving a wide range of areas and difficult handling can be extended to reply to the delegates before August 29.
During the supervision, the supervision team revealed that it would promote the handling of the deputies' suggestions in a rule of law manner and rule of law thinking, strengthen tracking and supervision, and carry out youth sports legislation in a "small and fast" manner in a timely manner. It is hoped that this proposal will be used as a starting point to explore a "Hunan path" to improve the participation rate of youth sports.