Debrecen4U
February 5, 2025
Smart exercise and back exercises in schools are part of the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative
The school programme of the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative provides free participation in the accredited training programme “Smart PE” (in Hungarian called “OkosTesi”) for coordinators in participating educational institutions.
The Vörösmarty Mihály Elementary School and Primary Art School in Debrecen hosted the training of nearly 30 primary school coordinators on the 4th of February 2025.
In connection with the event, Deputy Mayor Diána Széles, one of the founders of the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative, said that the results of the studies conducted within the framework of the school health programme in Debrecen show, among other things, that due to excessive digitalization, children are moving less and less and spending less time outdoors.
The goal of the school programme of the initiative is to encourage those children who need some movement or skill development. The school administrators are grateful that today, nearly 1,200 children in the city, emphatically not certified athletes, are exercising regularly at school but outside of school hours as part of the movement’s school programme.
The results can already be seen, as according to surveys, the proportion of children with movement problems has decreased by one percent over the past year. The school administrators, programme coordinators, and physical education teachers working in the institutions are doing a lot to ensure the success and popularity of the programme. The initiative’s organisers thank them for this heartfelt work by ensuring their participation in the “Smart Physical Education” training programme. They also thank the teachers for improving their knowledge and keeping up to date, as “Smart PE” is for today’s children.
The “Smart PE” accredited training was created and coordinated by the Health-Developing Association for Quality Physical Education President in Hungary (EMTM), Zoltán Vass. As he explained, “Smart PE” is different from a regular PE class in that, in addition to the movement tasks, there is always some cognitive thinking task that the children have to do, so not only their bodies but also “their minds get tired.”. Since the individual tasks are not repeated often, only two or three times, new and different tasks follow each other frequently, making the movement experience exciting. According to Zoltán Vass, the children and the PE teachers become more motivated, and everyone develops their movement coordination.
As part of the school programme, another initiative called “1 minute for health in everyday life” is currently being run on a trial basis in institutions maintained by the Debrecen Education District Center, such as the Debrecen Vörösmarty Mihály Primary School and Primary Art School. Its goal is to help first-graders learn proper posture, correct movement patterns, and improve their mental health by learning specific relaxation techniques to prevent spinal problems and help them cope with stress more efficiently. The aim is that children in the first grade, with the help of their teachers, will regularly do short, simple, practical preventive exercises before, during, or after lessons and will continue to do them in their daily lives at school in the coming years.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
