Assoc. Prof. Jerome A. Porto, DPE of the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics was one of the speakers in an international webinar organized by the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India and the Indian Premier Academy of Sports Science and Physical Education. The October 10, 2020 featured Porto’s presentation, which talked about the crucial roles that the home, school, and community play in addressing physical inactivity that may causes health-related issues.
For the home, Porto stressed that a child’s physical activity (or lack thereof) is guided by the family, who must “create memorable experiences of the family doing physical activities.” It is the home environment that will influence the child to engage in physical engagements and where an active healthy lifestyle will be sustained.
Moving outward, the community, according to Porto, must promote the practice of health and active lifestyle among its constituents. The provision of safe recreational parks/gyms is also part of the responsibilities of the community, which must also support the sports programs of their country from the grassroots. To do this, partnerships between the community and government and non-government organizations are needed.
Finally, schools must orchestrate sound teaching and learning experiences that promote a physically active and healthy lifestyle for children, through the implementation of “quality physical education curricula” and the provision of extracurricular physical activity programs, among others. For such implementation to be done, quality trainings must be conducted for teachers, coaches, and recreation and health staff of the school and even the community.
Porto, who earned his Doctor of Physical Education degree from the Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia in 2019, is the incumbent Chair of the Bachelor of Physical Education major in Sports Wellness Management program of the IPEA.
