accordingly.
Authorities just do not seem to grasp the fact that neglected sports pitches are the beginning of a chain reaction. Waterlogged pitches become despised and produce slovenly play. Children lose respect for the game, for one another and all around them. Pitches are abandoned during the wet months and provide little opportunity for any controlled sporting endeavour. The resulting attitude of children is also reflected in their attire, attitude to adults and their approach to life. Without a satisfactory outlet for this energy they resort to activities that give them kicks.
Can we blame the children?
We are seeing a wide divide in children that are not privileged enough to attend private schools where the whole approach is completely different. At these schools proper effort is made to maintain good playing conditions. Sport is held in high regard. Children spend 10 to 20 hours a week on the sports ground. Their respect for each other and all around them shows in their conduct and attitude. They are fortunate to learn the true value of sport and benefit from all that good competition with one another can bring. This attitude to one another and their elders is apparent and they achieve more at school. On the face of it the lack of funds seems to be at the root of the problem - with adequate finance so much can be achieved. But it is not solely that. Children in rural communities where they are encouraged to develop their own activities, or they have
parents with an interest in sport, seem so different. Somehow, authorities seem to have got their priorities out of kilter. Children must expend their daily energy. Every encouragement, together with adequate facilities, must be there if we are to keep children off the streets. Are not physical well-being and attitude to one another and elders of more importance up to the age of 12 than the injection of knowledge? With a sound attitude to life, and those around them, there are enough years ahead to cram in the knowledge they will need later on.
Taking stock
The solution is not a simple matter. We have just got to stop and take stock. What value are modern well-equipped schools if outdoor sports facilities are neglected? How do we expect young children to use up the energy they generate daily? As we ponder on the future it is now, surely, a time to consider what is at the bottom of it all. Homes must produce the correct background and authorities have to realise that young children have bags of energy that must be used up productively if the more sinister attitudes are to be quelled from the start. Parents and authorities have to search out pastimes and endeavours that are of true benefit in the up-bringing of children and, above all, make the maintenance of them a much higher priority than they are at present.
Gordon Jaaback BSc Agric Consulting Agronomist & Project Manager Tel: (44) 1732 350351
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