One of the many innovations of the second half of the nineteenth century was the introduction of physical drill, exercise and calisthenics into the public schools. Deriving from a perceived need to train the physical as well as the intellectual and moral "faculties" of the child, to compensate for the strain of long days in the school room, and to replicate the outdoor exercise that was ideally available to the rural child, the physical education movement was also influenced by the concern to "train" an urbanizing population. Educators developed intricate series of exercises, games and activities to occupy and amuse, to strengthen and discipline city school children. As one educator wrote, "it is admitted that children, in good health, will have exercise of some kind, and, if not restrained, will manage to secure a sufficiency to promote growth and vigor of body... it is also believed that the means of physical exercise may be vastly improved in nature and result, and at the same time be made a strong attracting influence in favor of the school and learning. In this view of it, training rises in importance only secondary to that of the culture of the heart and intellect; and it may, therefore, not be overlooked without detriment to the best interests of the child and society." Different exercises, games and gym equipment were prescribed for boys and girls, as girls were not expected to have the same abilities or needs as boys. In addition, from about the 1860s on, boys were increasingly involved in military drill in the schools. Marching and rifle drill were not only intended to strengthen and discipline, but also to encourage the development of patriotic and martial attitudes among Canadian children. The illustrations appeared in the section "Gymnastics and Calisthenics" of J. George Hodgins, The School House: Its Architecture, External and Internal Arrangements (Toronto: Department of Public Instruction, 1857).
Courtesy: Library, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
