Concerns about physical education

the teaching of bodily practices in the schools of Rio de Janeiro (1836 - 1850)

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the pioneer experiences of teaching bodily practices, implemented in schools of the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1836 and the 1850´s. The sources utilized were periodicals published in the same state. Conclusion was that the purposes of teaching corporal practices included: to aid the process of disciplining the bodies; contribute to the health and hygiene of students; guarantee the broader formation of the student, in view of their social performance (to forge a national elite). It may be suggested that these pioneer experiences were already clearly proposed as proposals to educate the body, which can be comprehended based on the three dimensions suggested by Vigarello: an adequate model for the use of the body (physical education and its principle of effectiveness); certain desirable public behaviors (education of the spirit and its principle of property); insertion of the individual, in a safe way, into the consolidation of collectivities (principle of identity).