When it comes to Physical Education, the enjoyment level is subjective. A sporty
type of person could take pleasure in the class, whereas an indoor student could
despise this certain course. Here in ITMS, Phys. Ed is a “required elective”, an
optional class you only have to take once in the whole school year. Let’s look into the facts to
conclude if this is really the best option.
If we look at the expert’s opinion...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “urges at least 60 minutes of daily exercise for children and adolescents. This totals 420 minutes
weekly of combined aerobic and
muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening routines.”-CDC
The CDC also states that “Students who are physically active tend to have better grades, school attendance, cognitive performance (e.g., memory), and classroom behaviors (e.g., on-task behavior). Higher physical activity and physical fitness levels are associated with improved cognitive performance” (e.g., concentration, memory) among students. ”It’s an easy way to get daily exercise in,” a student tells us.
The Other Side of the Conversation
The top reasons for hating PE included embarrassment. The embarrassment of
being bad at a sport and being made to feel incompetent by other classmates
accounted for 37% of all bad PE associations. ’We should have been learning
about how complicated and capable our bodies were and how to make them healthier. Instead we were playing dodgeball,” says a student. There is also the problem of the locker rooms. Many students questioned expressed their [discomfort] changing out in front of other
people. There is also the danger of bullying or even assault or fights could occur in the dreaded locker room where adults are not supervising students. If it's the division of girls v.s. boys sports or how little of physical education really is in physical education, P.E. may not be the most effective elective.
CONCLUSION
All and all, there are conflicting ideas on whether or not PE is good enough to be
a core class or should stay an elective. These conflicting ideas can be made up
by none other than you.
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