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2) It gives a break from the regular mundane school day.
-----...for the people who at least do okay in it.

Comeon...are you serious? In PE, you get a grade on your participation...as long as you actually try in the class. You might do poorly in PE, but that doesn't mean your going to fail!

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ell, it's perfectly sensible to create a Health class separate from PE.

In NY, health is also needed to pass...

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Interact on a different level? That different level, as I have seen it, has been a humiliating level for naturally overweight kids and kids who are not athletically inclined. It's torture. Yes, it lets students interact on a different level but a different level in which they become humiliated and stressed out and intimidated by kids whose butts they could kick in an academic class.

More times than not, kids have a good time in PE and its not like the tv PE...please! You don't do what is shown on TV. You play all sorts of sports, try your best and forget the others. Who cares? As long as your having fun, who cares? HAVE FUN!

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As for a nice break in the day...I didn't view gym as a nice break in the day. I dreaded it. I had it the last period of the day and all day I would pray that we wouldn't have to do anything that would single me out and that I could just get through the period without feeling completely tortured. A nice in break in the day my butt.

Okay, I am a smart kid and that kinda hurt. What a generalization (sp?)! Team sports! Singling out...happens..don't worry about it...Does it mean you are never going to take part in sports? I may sound insensitive, and I am sorry! But this is life, stuff happens. I am smart and not the best at sports, but I try my best. I go into bad situtions with an open mind...not thinking..."This is going to be terrible, I hate Gym!"

Oh and one last thing, PE should count in your GPA. A GPA should show all the parts of a person in school. Colleges should care about extracurriculars and electives. They want to see what the person is like in many areas. Even though Gym may seem like a garbage class to many, it really isn't its very important for the reasons stated before.

aninvertedlove, I hate PE with a passion that is far too intense for me to describe. I am quite possibly envolved in the most random sports, like fencing, tai chi and badminton, and find sports that require running, jumping, catching, throwing or tackling impossible.

Gaaaaaaahhhhhhh, I HATE PE!!!!!!!

i dont have to do PE at my school because i play on the sports team, pe doesnt give you a grade at my school anyway, its only pass fail. what i meant by having an A+ was being the typical overacheiver also. you know all the extracarriculars etc. and yes anything community service will help you get into college

As I see it, the pro-PE people have made only a few points so far:

1) If kids do not participate in gym, they will never lead healthy lifestyles
-----If you force a kid to take PE and they hate it, they might just get traumatized into never wanting to do any physical activity - ever. Health classes are good (though the ones at my school give so much homework I almost cringe at the thought of it, and then realize it's much better than basketball or running)

2) It gives a break from the regular mundane school day.
-----...for the people who at least do okay in it. Other people, as Worth pointed out, dread the class.

3) Without PE, kids who don't exercise at home wouldn't get the exercise they need.
-----I've heard that in many schools, people who don't feel like participating don't really have to. It'll affect the participation grade, but it's not really forced. I sort of have to, but I can halfass it because my heart rate monitor sometimes reads my heart rate incorrectly so I can walk and get in zone.

And as a note to AMF: I heard that most colleges will not count non-academic courses in the actual GPA, such as band or art or PE. It might not give you a perfect 4.0 in school, but it shouldn't hurt your college chances that much. And having an A+ average won't exactly make Stanford jump for joy - a lot of these colleges get a lot of competition in terms of admission and you're going to need a lot of solid extracurriculars - like showing leadership roles, initiative, etc.
Btw: Does anybody know if service trips are viewed positively or negatively when you apply for college?

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Originally posted by bluedemocrat:
I guess that I agree with you in a sense. But is students are learning about a healthy lifestyle at home/school, then where are they going to learn it? It seems like schools are the last place where obesity can be fought.

Well, it's perfectly sensible to create a Health class separate from PE. And then just let students choose. If they want to learn about being healthy in theory (the Health class) or through the practical way (the PE class). Either way would be beneficial and would teach students about a healthy lifestyle.

However, while I would accept this as a compromise, I still feel that both classes are useless. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know and neither did any of my peers. The curriculum for health class is useless and a waste of time.

And, by the way, you don't get obese just by not exercising. I didn't regularly exercise until this year and I, while I was overweight, I was never obese (yes, they are different) and, since I've started exercising regularly, I have seen absolutely no change in my body at all.

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I think that gym should be required in schools. Without gym, some kids never take part in any type of exercise. Also, PE is a chance to interact on a different level in school. In addition, PE is a nice break in the day.

Interact on a different level? That different level, as I have seen it, has been a humiliating level for naturally overweight kids and kids who are not athletically inclined. It's torture. Yes, it lets students interact on a different level but a different level in which they become humiliated and stressed out and intimidated by kids whose butts they could kick in an academic class.

As for a nice break in the day...I didn't view gym as a nice break in the day. I dreaded it. I had it the last period of the day and all day I would pray that we wouldn't have to do anything that would single me out and that I could just get through the period without feeling completely tortured. A nice in break in the day my butt.

i think i may agree with yogore for once in my natural life. i like to workout, i love sports. i am on the crosscountry team, i like to run long distances, and i am on the rowing team. Now sports have opened lots of doors interms of colleges for me. Our rowing season has been one at a national level, and the door to every ivy has been opened by atheletic recruitment, and if i play my cazrds right, i just may be entering one of those doors with a low B average only because of rowing really. Sports have helped me a lot, but i understand that not everyone loves them and people would rather spend time on academics as theit path to sucess.

as i see it pe and sports should not really be compulsory, or at least only minimally. People who want more time to spend studying should get it, because that is how they will get into a good college. Their A+ average will open doors to wherever they want to go, but if made to do pe they would not have the A+ average hence no door. for me i chose to do rowing. of course my average suffered because of practice 6 days a week from november to well september (it aint over yet). During these months i sweated, toiled, lifted, dieted, erged, and was forced to make lightweight. it was unpleasent, but then again so is studying. Studying though pays off when you recive a 98% on something. my rowing paid off when our ltwt 8 medaled at multiple national regattas. those wins right there are a ticket into some great schools, just as an A+ is. I would never normally get into an ivy with a B average, but now with rowing on my side, it is possible. But then again if you chose to focus on academics and have strait A's you have the same shot I do. Either path, academic or atheletic can bring you sucess. BUT YOU SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CHOOSE.

(oh and if you dont know what rowing is you can ask, some people dont, and if you do know what it is and think its a ***** sport i can throw some stats at you)

Some people don't want that break though. PE can be veiwed very easily as a waste of time and money. Excercizing is good, but that's not what going to school is for. i think health class is where healthy life styles need to be taught.

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But is students are learning about a healthy lifestyle at home/school, then where are they going to learn it? It seems like schools are the last place where obesity can be fought.

I think that gym should be required in schools. Without gym, some kids never take part in any type of exercise. Also, PE is a chance to interact on a different level in school. In addition, PE is a nice break in the day.

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Blue, we normally agree, but did you simply not read the points I made? You didn't address them at all and simply repeated the same thing you've been saying.

I really don't have a leg to stand on here. Your points make sense. Even if gym classes don't motivate most kids, some kids are motivated even slightly. That's worth it for me.

I guess that I agree with you in a sense. But is students are learning about a healthy lifestyle at home/school, then where are they going to learn it? It seems like schools are the last place where obesity can be fought.

Our highschoolr equires gym every year for one period. So, 48 minutes for 180 days a year. The state however does not require gym at all, so many people are getting around taking it. I got around it this year by taking Chemistry and because that's where harassment is very previlant in my school.

While it is important to excercze, if you wouldn't do it on your own, you won't do it in gym. I used to skip gym 3 out of 5 days a week and I was passing with a B+ and I'm actually healthier now that I've stopped taking gym all together. i think gym gives stress to many kids because it is so easy to be made fun of in that setting. School is for academics, not who is better at a silly game. It's not my schools job to make me healthy, it's my schools job to give me the information I will need to suceed in a career that I chose.

Those are some weird high-school schedules....we had A and B days in middle school but went to a more normal schedule in high-school.

We have 2 semesters each year, four classes in the first semester (fall), and four different classes in spring semester (spring). But it doesn't switch up classes every other day, just in the next semester. And we only have to have one class/credit of PE our freshman year. If we pass, no more.

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Originally posted by ilovebush:
karate - how do you take it 1 in 4 days? Do yall not have the same class schedule everyday?

At my school, we only have 4 classes a day (each class is 80 minutes long) but we go to the same classes everyday...

At my school we ACE-BDF days or really A and B days. Electives and stuff like that are every other day. 1 in 4 days? wow...hmm...anyway, PE is required by the Board of Regents and the State of NY.

karate - how do you take it 1 in 4 days? Do yall not have the same class schedule everyday?

At my school, we only have 4 classes a day (each class is 80 minutes long) but we go to the same classes everyday...

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Originally posted by benje309:
In New York State, each year you take .5 credit of PE thus equaling 2 full credits. (I take PE every other day)

Every other? Wow, I take it 1 in 4 days. But yeah, each semester is .25, so yeah, you get 2 credits in the end.

Ugh..I gotta tell you, PE was one of the most traumatic times during my adolescent years. Being a more developed gal, it was a never ending source of humiliation...either the guys were making fun, you hated to wear shorts, you started your cycle, I couldn't do the arm hang or someother upper body strength activity or a teacher(who had a crush on me) even teased me in front of a group of guys (my what big thighs you have)...talk about wanting to die! I get the whole needing physical exercise...I later went into sports which was the best thing I could have done...but PE?! Sucked.

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Originally posted by bluedemocrat:
I know gym is hard for non-athletes, but they need to excersise somewhere. Personally, I think that there should be gym for athletes and gym for non-athletes. Simply all students need to excersise.

Blue, we normally agree, but did you simply not read the points I made? You didn't address them at all and simply repeated the same thing you've been saying.

Yes, students need to exercise. But some are not gonna. Gym isn't gonna make them. Refer to my previous response if you have any other arguments.

I know gym is hard for non-athletes, but they need to excersise somewhere. Personally, I think that there should be gym for athletes and gym for non-athletes. Simply all students need to excersise.

As far as I know it's not required at my school, at least I've never had to take PE here.

In New York State, each year you take .5 credit of PE thus equaling 2 full credits. (I take PE every other day)

I like gym, I hate how you get graded on "skill" though. Tha's the only part that sucks for me. I never used to be athletic, but I've almost always loved gym, even if I hated the teacher.