Principles Values Ideals Of Olympia Theology Religion Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

2.1 Peace Education

The principles, values​​, ideals of Olympia, traveling to centuries, as another Ulysses, after several adventures, returned and formed the solid foundation on which it was relied and then became the ideological framework of the modern Olympic Games.The concept of Olympism was established by the leader of the revival of Olympic Games,Pierre de Coubertin who is also the founder of the modern Olympic Movement. He was influenced by ancient Greek tradition and by trying to combine the Greek civilization with Christian ethos, he gave another dimension in physical education and sport generally referred to a set of proposals-values ​​or, alternatively, humanitarian ethics.Durantez noted, "in his opinion, sports are not only a more convenient, fast and efficient means of configuring the individual, but also the most immediate "vehicle" of communication,understanding and peace of the people ".

However,Pierre de Coubertin, as well as subsequent scholars of the Olympic Movement, failed to give a clear and precise definition of Olympism.

According to Pierre de Coubertin, Olympism is defined as a state of mind that comes from worship of trying (understood as an attempt to overcome) and eurhythmy and is based on five points: Unity of mind and body, skills, impartiality, fair play, peace.

By summarizing the various approaches of scholars, Olympism can be seen as an ideology (in the sense of a system of ideas) of a pedagogical, social and political aspect which is based on strong faith and devotion to a set of rules and practices. It can be seen as a moral, global system of conforming the man, an integrated system of education.At the Olympic Charter, references are cited for the nature and purpose of Olympism, but not its definition. In the second fundamental principle it is stated: "Olympism is a philosophy of life,that promotes and combines at an harmonious ensemble the virtues of body and soul. Linking sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental moral values ​​".

Mastora notes: "Olympism is a universal social philosophy, a set of principles that emphasize the role of sport in society. The main objective of this philosophy

is to contribute to the harmonious development of individuals, particularly to

young people, not only in physical improvement but also in mental and intellectual development. In this context, Olympism is an educational concept and has humanitarian and educational mission".

The international sports and educational community, from the beginning of the modern Olympic movement until today, having many conferences, symposia and books dealing with the subject of Olympism with special emphasis on education and the great educational value of sport. Olympic education is set up as an educational process in many countries and is a strong factor of social education. In Greece, just before the Olympic Games of 2004, the Ministry of Education announced the program"Olympic education" for primary and secondary education. The Olympic Education is defined as an "educational process aiming at shaping behavior patterns of young people, according to the eternal values of Olympism, taking into account the elements of modern culture and the demands of today's society. It connects the

historic past with modern educational and cultural values and combines the cultivation of the body with the spiritual dimension of the man ".

2.2 Coubertin – Olympism and Olympic education

Coubertin suggests that "Athletics and the Olympic Games are the manifestation of the cult of the human being,mind and body, emotion and conscience. Will and conscience, because these are the two despots that fight for domination, the conflict between them often tearing us cruelly apart, because we must achieve equilibrium " (Müller, 1986b:418). Coubertin was reluctant to give a definition of Olympism but he wanted people to think of the value of the human body.

Olympism concerns the value which are much more than the physical strength required to take part in sport (Malter, 1996). This principle forms the basis of athletic / sport education which is anthropologically based (Grupe, 1968, 1984, 1985; Meinberg, 1987, 1991). Deriving from Coubertin, the paraphrase of the concept of "Olympism" is the following:"Olympism combines,

as in a halo, all those principles which contribute to the improvement of mankind" (Coubertin, 1917:20).

Coubertin with its concept Olympism aims at all people regardless of profession, age, sex, nationality and race. Its main focus is to bring good will to all people under the condition that they are committed seriously to the human race. Olympism according to Lenk (1972) is "multi-tolerant" and is not subject and does not allow ideological conflicts.

"Olympic education" works the opposite way from other disciplines, namely it wants to develop the whole individual, therefore, it is based on the basic values that consist human personality. According to Coubertin, Olympic Games are a "celebration of the universal human spring" that takes place every four years and everybody either a participant or a spectator have to be ready for it (Müller, 1986b:288).

His understanding on how to train an athlete that participates in the Olympic Games is based on the following: "In order for 100 people to develop their bodies it is necessary for 50 to practice a sport, and in order for 50 to practice a sport it is necessary for 20 to specialize; but in order for 20 to specialize it is necessary for 5 to be capable of outstanding achievement" (Müller, 1986a:436).

Therefore, sports education included everyone as soon as they wanted to have a personal experience. There was no contradiction between Coubertin’s education model and Olympic games since from the beginning he had already combined them. In 1897, when the second Olympic Congress took place in Le Havre, the attendants found out that they did not deal that much with the organization of the next games but with the promotion of sport education in schools. Although, the Olympic Games in 1900 and 1904 were very unsuccessful, Coubertin insisted and used the 3rd Olympic Congress that took place in 1905 in Brussels to propose models of sport education in schools and in everyday life.

In 1912 at the Stockholm Olympic Games a breakthrough was achieved and Coubertin talked to the Universities by participating on "Psychology and physiology in sport" Congress that took place in Lausanne in 1913.

His colleagues were dealing with the Olympic Games and the international sporting relations however, his participation showed how ambitious his educational mission was (Müller, 1994). His motto was that "We must reach the masses" (Müller, 1986b)

In 1918, he said : "It cannot be enough that this Pédagogie Olympique – of which I recently said that it is based simultaneously on the cult of physical effort and the cult of harmony – in other words,on the taste for excess combined with moderation - should have the opportunity to be celebrated in the eyes of the whole world every four years. It also needs its "permanent factories"(Coubertin, 1918a).

The above sentence is the first one where Coubertin refers to "Olympic education" because he was sure of the need of it as well as of the strength of his ideal.

Olympic Movement was his tool for promoting Olympic Education. In November of the same year he wrote "Olympism is not a system but an attitude of mind" (Coubertin 1918b). He was suggesting that "Olympic education" despite the traditional one where sports were not included in the school curriculum, included everything.

However, in 1921, Coubertin did not gain the support of the majority of the IOC when he tried to include sports education in the workforce.

Before the First World War, Coubertin created the Olympic Institute in Lausanne, which was providing sport education and other subjects to prisoners of war of Belgian and French origin. He was always calling for the building of city sport centres based on the model of Ancient Greek "gymnasia" and he was pointing out that sports are democratic since there is no inequality among people (Müller, 1986b:592-593).

Coubertin want sports to be part of people’s daily life, he wanted people to have the opportunity "to adapt the good and bad aspects of his own nature to exercise"

(Coubertin, 1920:223) and to lead his/her life based on this experience. As he said in his speech in 1925, people should not expect to just watch sporting idols but to be part of sports (Coubertin, 1925).

Coubertin never stopped exploring new educational schemes and this is something he did up to the rest of his life. In 1925, he set up in Lausanne the Union Pedagogique Universelle that was organizing events related to the educational goals of the modern cities. In 1930, he made the draft of a Charter of Educational Reform which was transferred to all Ministries of Education but he did not get any response (Müller,

1975b:75).

In 1926, he launched the Bureau International de Pédagogie sportive (Müller, 1975b:80). The Bureau published various books and an annual bulletin. Coubertin wrote a lot of articles and books (1100 articles and 30 books) (Müller and Schantz, 1991).

Only a few people followed him from the IOC and his main criticism was that sport leaders did not follow the Olympic spirit but were interested only in new records.

The educational point of Olympic ideal became known when sports amateurism was discussed for quite a long time.

Coubertin was interested in the moral part of the athlete, a part that Olympic Education would construct. Coubertin always wanted to have a a Centre

d'études olympiques. This came true in Berlin in 1938-1944 under the direction of Carl Diem and the financial support of the Reich (Müller, 1975b:108-111).

In 1961, the International Olympic Academy (IOA), declared ancient Olympia in Greece as the centre of Olympic education and is committed to Coubertin’s ideals (Müller, 1998).

It is astonishing to notice that Coubertin’s program has survived all these years and nowadays, it exists in many countries all around the world and is well harmonized with the Olympic tradition.

In 1966 National Olympic Academies appeared, 70 in number and their presence gave more emphasis on the Olympic ideals in schools and in public (Müller, 1994, 1997)

In 2000. IOC Charter refers in many occasions in Olympic education.

§ In Charter (Article 2) it refers in the combination of sport with education as the base of Olympism.

§ In Article 6, it is stated that the goal of Olympic Movement is the creation of a better and more peaceful world through sport education

§ In Rules 2,6 and 7 is stated that the IOC is dedicated in sport ethics and fair play and in Rules 2, 14 and 15 it states that the IOC supports IOA and all institutions that are committed to "Olympic education".

§ In Rules 31, 2.1 is stated that the IOC Charter obliges the promotion of Olympism in all educational levels by the National Olympic Committees and through National Olympic Academies the adoption of initiatives such as "Olympic education" is obligatory.

The Fist and Second World War as well as the Cold War impeded the ideal of peace which is a basic ingredient of Olympism. Events such as the boycotts at Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 blurred the Olympic ideal but at the same idea, they showed the need of Olympic education.

The National Olympic Committees recognized the need for "Olympic Education" and a basic reason was that they wanted to increase the credibility of the Olympic Movement which was endangered to the increasing commercialization.

Between 1961 – 1998 various seminars were organized by the IOA on Olympism and these seminars acted as stimuli for many countries to introduce Olympic education.

Among them, in 1966, the National Olympic Academy of the German NOC offered school and university competition on Olympic issues since 1984. Since 1988, it has developed Olympic education programmes of various disciplines.

In 1986, fair play was recognized as an important part of Olympic education and its target groups apart from schools were sport clubs, sport association and the general public.

The Academy also offered seminars for teachers which were supported by education ministers .These seminars aimed at training teachers to transfer the idea of Olympic Education. Teachers have been particularly interested in the Olympic Movement which is a topic that is covered frequently by media.

Despite the fact that Olympic ideas may not be easily attained, the ideas are not obsolete.

2.3 Olympism and Olympic education in modern schools

Coubertin in his essay "L'Olympisme à l'école. Il faut l'encourager!" (1934) writes his thoughts that were dominant at the end of his life. Teaching the concept of Olympism without giving concrete practical examples is needless. His retrospective (1935) "The

philosophical Principles of modern Olympism" can be understood only when the value of Olympic education and its results as a product that lasted for years is shown. If it is needed to define "Olympic education" then Coubertin is the starting point since nothing before Coubertin was existing. Therefore, the IOC Charter embraced Coubertin’s principles. In the case of Olympic Movement, there was the danger that external influences will supervene issues of content. Implementing the Olympic ideal in schools was not difficult since students are aware of Olympic Games. Coubertin’s vision on Olympic ideals should be retained, however, it should follow modern era and be reviewed accordingly.

The features of Olympic Education can be summarized as follows:

1. The concept of developing people harmoniously;

2. The concept for reaching human perfection through a combination of artistic, scientific and sports achievement;

3. Sport activities should be related to the principles of equality of opportunity and fair play. People should be determined to fulfill the above. Amateurism, an idea that was ignored, is also part of it.

4. The ideals of goodwill and peace among nations together with the ideas of respect and tolerance among individuals.

5. Promoting emancipation in sports.

The above educational features stem from Coubertin’s thoughts and writings, however, at first glance they seem to be too theoretical for implementing them in schools. How can these be implemented will be discussed below.

Regarding the first concept of harmonious development, it should be noticed that education of the young people should combine mind and intellect i.e. Olympic education is mental and physical education. Its aim is to convince young people that sport is an integral part of life and by exercising physically enriches life and the balance between body and spirit helps people acquire a sense of identity.

However, according to UNESCO, Coubertin’s vision of making physical education a mandatory part of school curricula has not been applied in 50 countries.

It is also important to see how school sport education is compared to other disciplines and the ways that exist to improve the hours attributed to it and improve its quality. For example, school sport days are important for pupils regarding the promotion of the sense of community.

School sports days are as important as Olympic Games since Olympic games act as a model on a global scale whereas school sports days, if they are organized properly, can become important areas in school life. The idea of harmony can be enhanced if sport activities are combined with music and art in general so as to give an aesthetic sense in sporting competition.

Regarding the second concept of human perfection it should be mentioned that all people want to do their best. Olympic Games are actually a proof of this superior human achievement. Olympic Games can be compared to Nobel Prizes that show human superiority in sciences. However, arts, for example, are not suitable for this type of competition. People want to do their best and compete other people whereas people emulate each other.

Olympic records encourage young people to become better, to exceed their personal boundaries,not to be satisfied with mediocrity and to set a role model.

This strive for human perfection is credible only if perfection is achieved by independent means. Technological advancement such as genetic engineering etc. that is responsible for artificial self-perfection is an exploitation of the young. This is in accordance with Coubertin’s sayings who saw the specialization and regarded it as a danger to the proper development of children according to their age.

Article 2 of the IOC states that Olympic education is addressed to everyone, poor students and handicapped included. The purpose of Olympic education is to promote a lifestyle where physical achievements are an integral part of it. According to the Olympism principles, experiencing such an achievement from the individual, it helps the development of every athlete’s personality and not just the development of top ones.

Olympic values are better understood in the framework of sport whereas fair play is not. Olympism is based on European culture i.e on the culture of Christina West, however, this kind of values exist in other cultures, religions and social systems and they form the foundation of people’s life. Olympic education emphasizes the practice of sports based on fair competition.

Students when practicing sports but also in other disciplines and in their personal life must learn the following:

Rules in life and in sports should not be broken;

They have to practice fair play in all aspects of life;

They have to use fair play in sports and in their personal lives so that the pressure they have in school life and later in their work life will not influence them.

For implementing all these, there is no need to have a supervisor since people have to commit voluntarily and be personally endorsed to fair play. However, for many modern participants of Olympic Games do not have these ideals and in addition the Olympic Charter does not make any provision for it.

Olympic Education teaches people that sports have not lost their primary meaning which is striving for perfection, always in the sense of practicing sports at an amateur level. Modern influence of business and the mass media has reached a point whereas athletes are no longer free and that they are considered as products.

From an educational point of view the idea of practicing sports at an amateur level remains relevant.

Olympic value includes the idea of peace apart from the idea of fair play. Actually, at the idea of peace most of attention is being paid. Olympic internationalism includes the following and can be taught in many different ways. The aspects are:

Olympic internationalism promotes comprehending the various different cultures of nations;

Efforts are made in familiarizing people with the types of sports played by others;

It wants to make people familiar with the culture of the country organizing the Olympic Games;

It aims at promoting and helping sporting contacts as well as contacts on a personal level among individuals.

In Germany almost all schools are multicultural. The school is a miniature of the world whereas all languages are spoken. Olympism is international, is part of the global culture and it is not affected by races, money or religion. The Olympic Games are the biggest global peaceful meeting which takes place every four years. Nowadays, Coubertin’s belief and ideals on global peace and education based on peace is more important and real than ever.

In order to be credible the Olympic Movement needs to commit to an egalitarian and emancipator approach.

Coubertin’s basic principle of "all games, all nations" should be the starting point. This principle promotes equal rights among nations, among sports among races but also among sexes.

The applicants for organizing and hosting the Olympic Games should show that they are committed to environmental protection, but also the issue of equality in sports is also called into question.

In the school environment, some important lesson should be taught and these are the following: acceptance and tolerance for the opposite sex, acceptance of the various different types of physical education and students’ and pupils’ development of their responsibility during sport practicing.

The need to bring "Olympic education" in schools should take into consideration all different school disciplines. Sports education is part not only of club sport but also a part of the practical experience of young people and children. In Germany, for example, the main focus in elementary schools is on acquiring general knowledge, language, music, art and in some cases on religious education. The secondary schools have a broader aspect and in its curriculum includes social sciences, foreign languages and biology. The topics that concern the Olympic Movement can be part of the various school disciplines however, it is better to present them as part or as an educational project that has multiple disciplines.

Olympic exhibition is another way of attracting students’ interest. Students’ interest will increase prior to Summer and Winter Olympics and especially during the Olympic Games. Regarding children, particularly those that are six-to-twelve years old are very attracted to Olympic themes. Pupils should be involved in arguing in a reasonable way about the Olympic Movement and this is particularly desirable when students get older since when they grow older they tend to spend more hours on TV. Therefore, this can be a way to reach an agreement on Olympic values which students should approve.

Many scholars and Gessman, in particular, stresses that Olympic education must be related positively with the Olympic Games. Someone would argue that this can be self-evident but this is not the case since, nowadays, the Olympic Games due to their commercialization and dopping issues are not taken educationally seriously. However, although the above issues are negative examples, these cannot harm Olympic values as an educational idea.

As everyone knows, the ideals cannot be achieved what can be achieved is a compromise of them. Therefore, it should be noted that there should be a re-thinking of the fight for meaning.

The question that is posed has to do with what kind of educational models can be formed by the Olympic Games. People watch the Games, they are part of them as athletes but in either case they are together in a friendly way. The venue of Olympic Games is a symbol of universalism. Olympic records are a symbol of people’s efforts towards physical perfection. This symbol when it is combined with respect among people and fair play then in this case sports people are a role model and an example of people living together in serious and critical situations.

The venue and other ceremonies of Olympic Games give a specific meaning to Olympic Games i.e. Olympic records are particularly important and significant. According to Gessman (1992) and Schantz (1996) Olympic Games, based on the above, should be considered in a critical way. This way, the danger of underestimating "Olympic education" and degrade it to the level of improved sports education is avoided. Some of the values mentioned above, however, are part of teaching sports and can be effective in sports education even without referring to Olympic education.

A typical Olympic curriculum should show what Olympic is and in addition it should present Coubertin’s ideas in a modern way. The educational

Chapter three: Olympic Education

3.1 Teaching Olympism and Olympic Values

It is not easy to teach moral values to children since this is a complicated process that involves every part of children’s life. The key factors in educating children in traditional cultures are the family, the church (religion) and the community. Still, these factors play a key role. However, in most countries nowadays, schools are responsible for teaching these values. This is not an easy task i.e. teaching children positive values since they are under the influence of television, the world wide web, and population movements due to migration.

The school curricula in North America since the 1960s was influenced by the theory on moral development of Lawrence Kohlberg. This theory was further developed and became a manual for teachers that were focusing on teaching children aged 8/9 to 11/12 years old (Hersh et al., 1979). This manual included the information below:

The focus for elementary school children should be on teaching cooperation and fair play. At this age, children develop their ability to comprehend other people’s perception on the world.

Teachers by creating moral conflict they help children to develop their abilities on moral reasoning and reach higher levels of their own thinking. This can be done when children have to face and deal with real and complicated moral problems and conflicts.

According to Binder (1995) there are two learning process that can help children 8-11 years old to develop their own thinking on moral issues and these are the following:

There is a section that involves talking since this is the most important factor in resolving moral conflicts.

The second process concerns the change of roles and be in "other people’s shoes". It is true that children of this age are more selfish, they tend to look the world from their own point of view. By using role playing and games children can develop this ability. Actually, when it comes to games and teaching strategies for exploring fair play there are more than sixty activities. The talking section of each of these activities, according to Romance et al. (1986) encourages pupils to discuss on moral conflicts.

Gibbons et al. (1995) mentioned in their research on the influences on the moral development of children that when a specific educational program is designed on moral development then there are changes on the moral behavior of children. The findings of this research coincide with the findings of other researches that show that the development of moral growth in children is not automatic but a result of continuous and planned school curricula that are focused on it.

Gibbons et. al’s (1995:254) wrote: "Although the products of this study were highly visible, the processes by which these changes occurred were less discernible" (p. 254).

The "less discernible" part is what it has become the subject for the school curricula theory that deals with moral development.