This article won an honorable mention in the 2023 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association spring awards ceremony.
This article is a part of an opinion pro-con. Click here to read the “pro” side of the topic.
There are many requirements that a student needs to meet in order to graduate from high school in the state of Michigan, one of them being a semester of a physical education (PE) class. PE classes are often thought to be beneficial, yet students know the feeling of dreading gym class all too well. These classes can cause stress to students who aren’t very confident or athletic and create bad memories.
As a student who has never enjoyed physical education classes, I believe they should not be required for students to graduate.
First of all, PE classes cause stress to students. They involve games such as dodgeball and various fitness tests, like the pacer test, and students who aren’t as athletic have to partake in various activities that negatively impact their self-esteem. When you are surrounded by peers better than you at athletics, you start to feel bad about yourself, due to fear of feelings of fear that you aren’t as good physically as your classmates. Anxiety about going to a class that is an elective is not something that students should have to endure.
Aisha Sultan, a graduate from Texas who hated PE class, talks about her bad experience in an article by Alan Yu, a reporter for WHYY who covers global challenges.
“I was never good at any sports, and it led me to believe that I was not athletic and terrible at physical activity,” Sultan.
Games that involve picking teams, such as dodgeball, often cause them to feel bad about themselves. According to a study done by the World Health Organization, “34% of participants felt embarrassed by their PE experience due to being chosen last for sports teams.”
PE classes also take up valuable space in a student’s schedule that could be left for other classes that are more focused on educational and intellectual ability. There is a variety of different classes offered to students, with limited time to take them as students can not take every single class they desire to in the four years at high school, and gym classes are often not something students want to do. If PE classes weren’t required, that would open up another slot that could be used for a better, more educational class, such as some AP classes.
Sophomore Celeste Wells does not think gym classes should be required for people like her, who want to go into music in the future.
“[Gym classes are] something that fills up our school schedule that isn’t really needed for most careers,” Wells said. “If I didn’t need to have a gym class, I could be taking an extra music class, or an extra class that would be more beneficial to my wanted career.”
Finally, PE classes are not enjoyable for some students. Most days, students in gym classes partake in some type of sport. This can be fun for students who are good at the sports or on their respective teams at their school, but for students who don’t have experience with these sports, it doesn’t make for a good time.
Andrew Rowan, a student who was not that athletic during high school, was also interviewed in Yu’s article.
“If the unit we’re playing is basketball, you’ve got these star basketball players who are actually on the high school varsity basketball team, and then … me and some of my friends who are … struggling to not get knocked over as people are dunking on the basket,” Rowan said.
Some may argue that PE classes have their benefits and can be helpful for student-athletes, but overall I believe gym classes should not be mandatory. They are not necessary nor enjoyable, in my opinion. They also create bad memories and stress for students who are not as physically active as others. I believe the graduation requirements for students should be revised so PE classes are still offered, but they are optional to take. Students should be able to take PE classes, but not forced to.
