All Ages Taking PE out of schools

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Profit5500

Legacy Member
I could remember when I went to high school back in 2002 PE was a requirement to take in order to graduate. We had to have PE for at least three years. I think you can substitute Drama for the second and third year. Years later when I had gone to Modesto Junior College I talked to one person and they were saying that California school systems were making PE a elective. I was shocked that they had changed this and I could remember this thing happening back in 2009. Looking at this thing now I think this issue would remain the same and not change but yet the school systems would whine about kids getting fat.
 
Here in my country, PE is still a requirement from elementary, to high school and up to college. In elementary, PE is taken in all levels, this goes the same for high school as well. In college, students have to take PE for two years, so that's four semesters. There really isn't any talks about taking PE out in college or other levels. Nor has there been any issues of making it an elective, as far as I know.

I think PE is a vital part of school. Children should at least be able to pick which sport they want to focus on. Because not a lot of kids are athletic and not a lot of teachers actually teach volleyball basics or basketball basics, especially from where I am. My high school teacher just let us get into the game even though we don't know the basics yet. So maybe that's another issue, they need to pick better teachers of PE.
 
Things are a bit different in the school system where I come from. For example, PE is mandatory at primary school level under close supervision by the class teacher. When one graduates to secondary school, things change dramatically. PE becomes an elective and one is free to be active or become a coach potato. The only mandatory sport is cross country. At college or university level, one is completely left to his or her discretion to follow whichever of the myriad of sports to engage in. There is absolutely no requirement or monitoring.
 
Physical education is required at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in the state that I reside in. However, in high school only one semester of physical education is required, and this can be waved if the student is enrolled in marching band at some schools. As a freshman in high school, I dreaded taking physical education, however, I am really glad that I did. I discovered that I was capable of much more than I thought I was, especially in running. With students spending more and more time on their cell phones, on their computers and tablets, and playing video games, physical education should be required of students. If nothing else, it provides them a class period to unplug from social media and focus on improving themselves.
 
Here in the UK, PE is still part of the curriculum in schools and I wouldn't have thought they would be changing that anytime soon.

In a couple of years time the tax on sugary drinks comes in as part of the campaign to get children being healthier. If PE was abolished and left up to the schools to pick and choose if they run the class or not, I can see there being a major backlash to be honest.
 
I shudder at the thought of PE being an elective. My entire career has been built on Physical Education and training athletes. If kids aren't prompted to enroll into sports or at least get some physical activity, I can't see anything good coming from that. The health issues that result for low activity levels alone should be considered more heavily when giving kids the freedom to choose their schedules.
 
I couldn't agree more, and nearly every day we're hearing stories about child obesity and how children aren't as active like they used to be so I don't see how any good could come of cutting back on PE in schools.

Not only that we need to think of the competitive nature it helps to build in young children especially, and while I'm not saying that children need to develop a competitive streak just to get on in life, I do think it brings some benefits to a child's psychology to compete against others and be rewarded for their achievements.
 
I honestly don't understand why they would do this. In a time an age that people are becoming more health conscious, I wouldn't say that they should increase the amount of time but most certainly not give it as a option subject. All the more athletic kids will take it and the ones that probably need it the most will drop it.
 
I am not sure where I stand on this one. I get it, both sides too, but something about it makes me not be able to really be definitive in a stance. Some days I say get rid of it completely, and it is waste of money. Then, the next day I will see all these kids sitting around doing nothing on their phones, and think we have to get them up and moving somehow. So I don't know, but it is interesting to think about.
 
It's not about getting fat, I wish that PE was valuated the way it is in the U.S. We really need that subject, it's really important to improve and enforce students' discipline and also to encourage them to do exercice and that sort of stuff, for real.
 
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