Mental Health
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Sports and Increasing Academic Performance
Intuitively, most experts had long suspected it and now, there are scientific evidences that being part of a sports team at school increases the likelihood that boys will have good general averages in the classroom.
In any case, this is the result of a study conducted by Marie-Claude Dubuc, a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada. For 3 years, the researcher followed young people from a Montreal high school to try to identify the factors or factors that had the greatest influence on academic performance.
The study first highlights the fact that school productivity differs among girls and boys. For girls, time spent watching TV or on cell phones is the most impactful of educational outcomes. The scientist points out, however, that it is not the fact of looking at the screens that negatively influences the notes, but rather the time that is spent and thus taken away from other activities.
The reality of boys is different. Of course, screen time has an influence that can be harmful in their case as well, but Ms. Dubuc mostly realized that being part of a sports team at school was the first predictor of a good overall average in boys' grades.
The post-doctoral fellow believes that being part of a sports team for boys increases their sense of belonging and motivates them for all the tasks of the school, which is reflected in their grades. The girls do not seem to need this stimulation and find their motivation elsewhere.
Once again, the importance of sports to young people is confirmed, as is the potential harmfulness of spending too much time in front of computers and other screens.
In this troubled period of COVID, when students are often asked to stay at home, take their courses remotely on other platforms and be prevented from playing the sport that unites and excites them, one wonders what the post-pandemic consequences will be. We need to start thinking now about how to get young people back into physical activity when they have spent so much time in front of a screen.
The challenge is great if we are to help an entire generation get back to better lifestyles, achieve better academic results and become responsible citizens. And it's up to us, teachers, coaches and specialists to take up this challenge!
