High school students that play sports should not be required to take a Physical Education course. I run cross country in the fall, condition all winter, and run track in the spring. It’s a waste of space in my schedule to take P.E. If I had been able to drop my P.E. credit, I would have been able to take physics this year. Honestly, I’m physically fit and healthy. There’s no need for this extra nonsense.
But then comes the question, how does one convince administration that this is excessive? I could promise my counselor that I’ll play sports, but what does that do? It just shows them that I can be persuasive. Without a doubt I’m going to run four seasons of cross country and four seasons of track. It’s inevitable. Other students may not play multiple sports per year, and may not do it every year. Should they still be required to take P.E.? They could prove to their counselors that they have gone through fitness improvements like decrease in heart rate or faster mile time.
From my experience, we learn very similar things in P.E. as we do in health class; one reinforces the other. If one can pass a high school health class, and play a sport they should be exempt from gym.
In some schools, the entire school has sports the same hour, where those who need P.E. credits take P.E. classes, and those who play a sport are able to participate in that, while not losing more time during the school day.
Other after school activities, like theatre and marching band, are physically and mentally stimulating and could be counted as some form of credit. Students involved in these activities give up time after school and weekends regularly to participate in these activities, usually in addition to class time. Their efforts should be counted for at least an elective credit.
I’m not saying all P.E. classes are worthless and should be eliminated, because some students do enjoy P.E. class. Many find it a relaxing way to get out of the everyday stress from their hard classes to talk with friends and play games. For students who don’t want to give up after school time for sports and aren’t interested in playing competitive sports, they can take P.E. during the day.
And what about kids who play sports outside of school, like at their local rec center? They may not play competitively, or maybe they just go with family for fun, but it’s still physical activity outside of school that should be counted. These students could have a parent signature to confirm to their counselor that they actually are getting physical activity.
But there’s a line that needs to be addressed by administrators. Students who play two or three sports a year definitely should have the option to take P.E. in school.