An Olympic education

What is an Olympic education? According to Mr Quek Swee Nee, Head of
Department for PE/CCA/Aesthetics at Bukit View Primary School, this goes beyond the traditional emphasis on academic excellence to recognising “a need to prepare our pupils to handle the real world.” Apart from IQ, he stresses that “pupils must also acquire EQ (emotional quotient) and AQ (adversity quotient).”

Launched at Bukit View Primary School this year, Olympism@W4 seeks to impart a holistic education that links sporting activities to ethical principles. The brainchild of a team of West 4 Cluster Heads of Department for PE, the programme includes camps, sports sessions and talks by real-life athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games. These activities help promote Olympic themes, such as peace and goodwill between nations, and the pursuit of excellence and emancipation in and through sports.

During PE and other lessons, pupils pick up the values and ideals behind the Olympic Games.

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well,” noted Pierre De Coubertin, who founded the International Olympic Committee with the goal of promoting peace and universal ethical values through sportsmanship. Following this lead, Olympism@W4 offers valuable lessons in moral development. “Teachers can use the Olympic values to help pupils develop their moral reasoning abilities by discussing experiences which create moral conflicts,” Mr Quek explains.

Through the Games’ international component and its policy of non-discrimination, pupils also learn about other cultures and “understand the need to accept others even though there are differences.” Mr Quek adds, “These lessons expose children to higher-order thinking skills - thinking beyond themselves. It also helps to develop their capacity to understand that everyone sees the world differently.”

Even the low moments of the Olympics, such as the drug cases of Marion Jones and Ben Johnson, illustrate real moral dilemmas and the consequences of bad decisions that can betray one’s integrity. “The teachers make use of this moment and relate it to the school’s core values,” notes Mr Quek. He smilingly reveals out that when the pupils themselves are asked what they would do in such a situation, “most pupils insist they would compete with their opponent on equal ground and integrity is very important in competitions - they want to win fair and square.”

Teamwork and leadership are taught and practiced during Olympism@W4 sessions.

Putting it into practice

Providing a face to the Olympics are local personalities such as Mr C. Kunalan, an ex-Olympian who participated in the Games in 1968 in Mexico City and who was once known as the “fastest man in Singapore”. Holder of the national 100-metre record from 1968 to 2001, Mr Kunalan spoke to pupils about his involvement in the Games and motivated both pupils and PE teachers to develop their passion for an Olympic Education.

Inspired by the Olympic values of Friendship, Respect and Excellence, Bukit View Primary pupils have put into practice the message of the Games. “The pupils are more motivated and focused when carrying out their work as they want to demonstrate the value of excellence and doing their best in whatever they do,” says Mr Quek. Pupils have also carried out research on the history of the Olympics and interesting facts about the different sporting events.

Bukit View Primary School is developing an Olympic Gallery to help other schools conduct learning journeys on Olympism. The theme of the school’s Annual Sports Carnival is also based on the Olympic spirit and its opening ceremony features a torch relay by pupils from each level.

Mr Quek believes Singapore’s hosting of the Youth Olympic Games will help drive Olympic Education in schools. His committee now plans to contribute to the Olympic Education Package which will be launched by MOE's PE unit in September. “We look forward to having more schools joining us in this project,” says Mr Quek. “We hope that schools will tie Olympic Education in with their events such as annual camps, sports carnivals or sports meets, or International Friendship Day.”