Former headteacher Roger Hurn, author of 101 Dance Ideas, goes into schools to encourage the use of dance. He says children can be 25)put off sport by bad experiences, as he was by a strict, rugby-mad PE teacher. “I never played rugby again, the experience under that teacher was so horrible. I won't even watch it. It has a negative effect.”
《101个舞蹈点子》的作者罗杰·赫恩曾经担任过班主任，他再度走进校园是为了推广舞蹈。他说，孩子们会因为一些不好的经历而放弃体育运动，正如他以前被一个对橄榄球无限狂热而且要求严苛的体育老师吓到一样。“我从此再也没玩过橄榄球，在那个老师带领下训练的那段经历实在太恐怖了。我甚至都不会观看橄榄球赛。那段经历带来的负面影响相当大。”
Modern PE is aimed at avoiding the above26)scenarios. A 27)plethora of options have sprung up in recent years. A recent government study found 37% of schools offered cheerleading. At a fifth of schools a child can learn yoga. Individual sports like boxing are on the rise, but traditional team games like rugby, hockey and netball are in decline.
现代的体育课就旨在防止以上的情形再度发生。近年来，各具特色的选择不断涌现。最近一项政府调查结果表明，37%的学校开展了拉拉队课程。五分之一的学校为孩子提供瑜伽课程。诸如拳击这样的个人体育运动项目也呈上升趋势，但是传统的团队项目，如橄榄球、曲棍球、篮球等则在走下坡路。
28)Peripatetic 29)practitioner William Allen, author of Games, Ideas and Activities for Primary PE, will try anything to get children's enthusiasm flaring. Street dance, tri-golf and American football are among the activities he uses. “PE is now a gateway to doing things outside school,” says Mr. Allen.
《小学体育课之游戏、想法与活动》的作者威廉·阿兰兼任多所学校的体育教师，他会尽一切可能调动起孩子们的热情。街舞、迷你高尔夫和美式足球（或称美式橄榄球）是他经常教授的活动项目。“如今，体育课是让学生走出校外的一扇门。”阿兰先生说。
But an older generation of PE teachers also remember great things being done in schools. Now retired, Ray Twentyman taught PE for more than four decades before retiring last year and focusing on coaching young athletes. Starting out in the 60s at a school in Liverpool, he recalls an excellent provision of football, rugby, cross country, tennis, 30)athletics, and volleyball, among others. “It was unusually good, but there were lots of other good schools,” he says.
但老一辈的体育教师们则依旧记得在校园里的那些美好时光。退休教师雷·特文提曼教了四十多年体育课，一直醉心于培养年轻运动员，直到去年才正式退休。20世纪60年代他最开始任教于利物浦一家学校，那里开设的项目一应俱全，足球、橄榄球、越野跑、网球、田径、排球，等等。“那（家学校）实在太棒了，当然，也有其他很多不错的学校。”他说。
But by the 1980s PE teaching was becoming more prescribed, with the National Curriculum meaning many boxes had to be ticked. “You did six-week blocks of a sport. I defy anybody to learn a game properly in six weeks,” says Mr. Twentyman. Teachers also have a more cautious mindset. “I liked kids to 31)get stuck in. I think today, if it's raining or windy, they won't go out and play,” he says. His colleague Chris Sproat, now also retired, was disappointed at the limits the evolving health and safety culture imposed. Instead of just taking a group of children for a run outside school premises, forms had to be diligently filled.
但到了20世纪80年代，关于体育课教学的规定越来越多，有了全国性的教学大纲，那意味着很多时候得照章办事。“一项运动有六周的教学规划时间。我不认为有谁能在六周内准确地掌握一项运动。”特文提曼表示。教师们的心态也愈发小心谨慎了。“我喜欢看到孩子们全情投入。我想今时今日，如果外面下雨或刮风的话，他们是不会到室外去活动的。”他说。他的同事克里斯·斯普劳特如今也退休了，提起现在那以健康和安全为重的体育文化所带来的诸多强加限制，他表示失望。与以前简简单单就可以带学生在校园外跑上一圈相比，如今还必须填上选项细致繁多的表格才行。
Both teachers and children might want things to be a little freer. “There are kids who like structured sport, but for the ones who don't we need to be more creative about encouraging them to be physically active,” says Tim Gill, author of No Fear: Growing Up in a Risk Averse Society. “That might mean introducing more fun, more choice and maybe a little bit of danger.”
无论是老师还是学生，大概都希望能够更自由一点。“有的孩子喜欢正规系统的运动项目，但对于那些不喜欢的孩子，我们则必须想出一些新方法来鼓励他们动起来。”《不是威胁：冒着反社会的风险成长》一书的作者蒂姆·吉尔这样说。“那就意味着我们应该加入更多乐趣，更多选择，或许还有一点点冒险性。”
But whatever happens, the place of the brutal Mr. Sugdens is hopefully gone. With funding cuts to school sports planned, a shift to a more competitive 32)ethos is 33)mooted, but there is likely to be a bitter battle for the heart of PE.
无论如何，希望像粗暴的萨格登先生那样的人不复存在。随着政府缩减对原定学校体育项目的财政支出，体育课教学往竞赛性方向转变的问题也被提出来讨论。但对于什么才是体育课教学的核心，看来还将有一场激烈的争论。
