Prairie Ridge: The Cost Of Mandatory Physical Education

Physical education classes are not enjoyed by all, in fact, some students do their best to get out of the class each day, but without this class, students would sit in school for seven hours a day with the only exercise being walking from class to class. While changing clothes and possibly getting sweaty may not seem productive for students who have spent an hour doing their hair, or feel awkward changing in front of others, this class provides positive ways of fighting obesity, releasing energy, retaining more academically, and learning discipline. Thus, students should be required to take physical education courses in high school.

No one should have to face humiliation every time they walk through the gym doors. Some students find gym class a fun escape from other academic classes, while others find it absolutely dreadful. Learning physical education can create hatred towards exercise and lower a student’s self-esteem rather than improve it. For athletic students, gym class is a breeze while for less athletic students it can be quite the challenge. Many adolescents have disabilities that can limit their physical activities,

I think that the kids need to learn how to stay fit. The kids get shortage of exercise during their school day. Therefor the students need to get physical movement during their day. Physical education provides the students with varieties of workouts for the kids. The students love to go to PE because they get to be with their friends and they get learning they need to get about their body. Being mobile is vital to these kids they like active and they would be more alert in class.

18% of high school kids are obese and this figure continues to grow. How are they ever going to earn a satisfactory GPA, if they can't participate in gym? Most gym classes grade people on the amount of pushups or sit-ups they can do. If someone misses school for a couple of weeks, they are required to run 8 laps each day just to make up for their absence. This is ridiculous and very unfair for many students. For these reasons, phy ed grades should not affect a high school student’s GPA.

Incontrovertible, physical education programs are getting more attention in the last few years. It is the key to

In college, students tend to spend a huge portion of their day involved with academic activities. The students are pressured to do well in all of their required classes, even if physical education is not involved in their required classes. First semester college freshmen tend to spend most of their day in their room studying or doing homework, when in reality they should spend some of their day in a gym or playing an intense sport. For some students, the transition from high school (where fitness is a mandatory class) to college (where the students can take the classes they want whenever they want) is difficult. Since the classes they take enforce difficult topics, students tend to neglect physical education due to the increase amount of dedication

Lisa Mooney says that physical education raises endorphin levels in ones body which helps reduce stress. Stress can affect behavior, as well as other things such as health problems like high blood pressure. By reducing stress form physical activity, people can avoid health crisis such as heart disease. Kristine Tucker agrees that good health can prevent illnesses such as osteoporosis, cancer, hearth disease, and diabetes. All these illnesses could negatively affect health strongly in not noticed immediately. From this information it is evident that by making gym mandatory. Children can avoid bad health situations. Equally important is the fact that students should get 3 hours and 45 minutes of gym class a week says the Society of Health and Physical Educators. In other words, without PE most kids would not get enough physical activity in a week. PE helps keep students physically on track. Ella Sarwal, a student believes that students should have PE everyday be issue of the health benefits. She also says that many students have other

Physical Education involves encouraging individuals to compete in sports, and sending out important messages to the youth of Australia to live a healthy life. The physical education subject is not only excellent for promoting a healthy lifestyle, but it also assists students to communicate with other individuals and encourages social skills. These capabilities are vital in a person's life, and need to be taught for the workplace such as leadership, teamwork, communication, and resilience. As stated by infoplease.com, Australia is ranked the 13th fattest country in the world, with 69.9% of adults overweight. By completing four years of physical education, knowledge of healthy life choices, and communication in a social environment will allow the youth of Australia to understand how important being healthy is. To ensure the healthy lifestyle of people in the future, making physical education compulsory up to year 11 would be an extraordinary decision.

On the same note, all schools throughout the state occupy the option for a student to be withheld in a fitness course, no matter the age. Matter-of-fact, it is already a perquisite for children to have an activity period each year up until high school, where they only are required one year. A school, according to the dictionary and to all individuals, is "an institution for educating children" and it is imperative for it to remain that way. Regardless of an individuals size, they still have a say in their future and it is absolutely certain that an hour of exercise is not equivalent to an hour in an AP credit course.

If phy ed was more largely based on effort, it would eliminate the need for physical fitness testing for a letter grade. Although phy ed class helps most fit students raise their GPA, some kids are just not athletic and no matter how hard they try, they may never reach a level of physical fitness to achieve a top grade. Furthermore, students that are overweight may struggle to meet the physical qualifications needed to achieve an A. Students that are not as confident in their physical fitness ability may be intimidated to perform required fitness testing in front of other

“Physical education hopes to accomplish, to engage all students, not just the athlete elite, in fun activities that will instill a lifelong commitment to fitness.” (Johnson, 264). Physical education in the classroom can be a vital steeping stone to the way that teenagers think about fitness. Lifelong fitness is something that everyone should be guaranteed, it mainly depends on the experience that a teenager has. Like many other subjects in school, the

“ The average high school gym class only keeps students physically active for an average of 16 minutes! In a class period that is about 45 minutes long, that isn’t a lot of active time,” Pros 1). PE, what is the point when all you have is 16 minutes. What is 16 minutes going to do for a student when it has been proven you need at least 60 minutes a day. Lots of kids do sports, so they get their 60 minutes. For the kids who do not do sports what is 16 minutes going to do when that is all they do? Plus, when kids are in PE,essentially doing nothing, they could be learning more or having a study hall, so they could get more homework done. PE does not help in anyway for students future, and without proper funding or time, does not help do anything daily.

But physical education isn't only exercising. It can be sports too. Even if your school doesn't have a PE program, they will most likely have sports. Some school sports are football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, ECT... Sports keep you active and movind around so they give you exercise. So, whether you spiking a volleyball or shooting some hoops, you are staying active.

For years, students have been playing sports and loving it, but as a result, some peers haven’t been doing well in their academics. Students are too busy playing sports, so they don’t have enough time to do their homework. Therefore, sports should be taken out of school because students will be more focused on their grades, the district won’t have to pay great deals of money, and that America will not lag behind other countries academically.

According to the WebMD, “One third of children in the U. S. is overweight or obese, and this number is continuing to rise” (Obesity in Children 1). This is alarming because these children may grow up with a higher risk of diseases, such as diabetes and heart problems. With such a concern and threat to our society in this country, many schools today offer physical education as part of the school curriculum. However, most schools only require students to take Physical Education once or twice throughout their middle school or high school years, and this is not a mandatory subject to take every semester and school year. Some students may have the perception that physical education is simply an extra class for them to have fun or take a break between classes. Based on research, it has been proven that physical exercise plays a significant role to the success of a student because it provides many benefits in the areas of physical, social and mental health development. With many benefits, Physical Education should be offered as a mandatory subject throughout the seven years of middle school and high school years, so that daily physical activities will become a part of the routine of students’ life and thus carry into their adulthood.