Plato believed physical education was essential to the development of effective and productive citizens and therefore viewed it as

an integral part of his Academy curriculum. The purpose of physical education was two-fold: (1) prepare citizens for military
responsibilities, and (2) educate the entire body.

In 386 B.C., P.E. began in ancient Greece. Plato is the one who invented physical education, hosting classes at his school titled
Akademia. He understood the importance of teaching children about physical fitness, and students began learning it at age seven.
Plato was a skilled wrestler, and he believed that education and physical activity combined helped one attain perfection.

Physical training helped prepare students for careers as warriors or athletes. Common sports included wrestling, boxing, and
chariot races. Physical education classes helped progress Greek society, and eventually, word of them spread throughout the
world.

Physical Education is "education through the physical". It aims to develop students’ physical competence and knowledge of
movement and safety, and their ability to use these to perform in a wide range of activities associated with the development of an
active and healthy lifestyle. It also develops students’ confidence and generic skills, especially those of collaboration,
communication, creativity, critical thinking and aesthetic appreciation. These, together with the nurturing of positive values and
attitudes in PE, provide a good foundation for students’ lifelong and life-wide learning

Ancient scripture says, “Treat your body like a temple.” That is excellent advice. Treat your body like a temple, like something
you’d take extremely good care of. Not a woodshed, a temple. And here’s why.The mind and the body work together. You’ve got
to have both functioning well. Here’s one of the best ways I’ve come to look at the connection between the two. Your body needs
to be a good support system for the mind and the spirit. Your body must support you with the strength, energy, power, and vitality
to take you wherever you want to go.Here’s a major part of success: vitality. Some people don’t do well simply because they don’t
feel well. Feeling well is a personal responsibility. You need to take care of the temple. Cherish it!Ancient scripture says, “The
spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” That’s a sad combination. It’s hard to think of a much more pitiful combination than a
willing spirit and a weak body. You wake up in the morning and the mind says, “Let’s go get ’em.” And the body says, “I can’t
even get out of bed!” So you have a conversation with yourself, and the mind says, “That’s the last time you’re going to fail me.
Don’t give me the excuse that you can’t get out of bed. I’ll drive you to your knees to do push-ups until you’re exhausted. I’ve got
these plans for fortune and enterprise. And there’s one thing that I’m going to demand: a strong, unbelievably powerful support
system. And from now on, I’m going to have a support system that’ll take me wherever I want to go. It will support me with
power, vitality, strength, and zest. Anything less than that, I will not settle for.”I’m telling you, it’s so important to take care of
your physical self. Be conscious of your support system. Be conscious of yourself. But don’t be self-conscious. Don’t work on it
too much. You don’t have to spend six hours a day to have a good support system. Thirty minutes to an hour a day, and you can
have a strong, healthy body.What is adequate exercise? You can do just a few simple things. Take the stairs instead of the
elevator. When you’re looking for a parking space, don’t look for one that’s right by the front door; park a block away and get in a
little bit of exercise. Pick the exercise program that’ll work for you, one that you’ll perform, one that won’t bore you or hurt you.If
you don’t like to jog, if your joints can’t handle it, go for a walk. If you don’t like to walk, take up swimming half a mile a few
times a week. If you don’t like exercise that seems like exercise, get into a sport like tennis, racquetball, basketball, or softball.
You don’t have to do too much, just enough to give your body a good workout.Here’s what else happens when you participate in a
regular exercise program: you just plain feel better in both body and mind. It’s kind of a paradox, but the more physical activity
you do, the less sleep you need, and the better your mind works.We’ve all heard of the runner’s high. Well, it’s not just a myth.
Twenty to thirty minutes of sustained activity starts releasing endorphins into your bloodstream. And endorphins are your body’s
natural version of morphine! No wonder they call it a runner’s high!Take care of your physical health so you can achieve your
goals. You will then have the muscle, strength, and vitality to take you wherever you want to go and accomplish whatever you
want. Develop a good exercise program, and you can make all your dreams come true.

Conclusion
The physical education discipline has had a long development, incorporating concepts learned and appreciated from
ancient and modern Olympics, exercise and training, physical activity and sport, and the history of physical education itself.
Nevertheless, it continues to evolve as educators improve their instructional methods, medical experts discover better ways for
people to exercise, and technological advances offer new ways to train and improve the human body for all types of physical
activity. Knowing the heritage of physical education allows educators to understand why instruction and curriculum has evolved
and how it will continue to change. Through the study of the historical perspective of physical education, students learn why
present practices have emerged and why they may change with new knowledge. Understanding a historical perspective of physical
education provides adults with the ability to predict future best practices in the discipline and personal best practices for lifelong
health and wellness. Teaching about historical perspectives in physical education can be divided into four areas of focus: the
discipline of physical education itself, exercise and training, sports, and the Olympics. Each of these areas has contributed to the
curricular development of physical education instruction. Additionally, the history or social studies curriculum at each grade level
can be enhanced through physical education history.