High school P.E.

For me, one of the most compelling articles we have read was the online interview about physical education. The group of individuals were asked to classify themselves based on gender, race, and body type. Many of the overweight participants had very negative feelings about physical education in high school and how it was implemented. Some of them were uncomfortable dressing out, while others were very uneasy about being overweight during the actual sports and activities. I have never been overweight but I can easily relate to the feelings expressed in this article. I think the idea of incorporating physical activity in young peoples' lives is a very good idea, but I do not think forcing children to be active against their will is the right way to go about it. I mean let's face it, if two years of P.E. was not required in high school very few of us would actually take it. Being physically fit is obviously important, but I feel that it is a personal decision that must be made, it can not be forced upon us. When you force someone to go out of their comfort zone and exercise against their will and in an uncomfortable environment, it will leave them with a bad taste in their mouth toward physical activity all together. Each time they think about exercising in the future, they are going to relate physical activity back to high school P.E. where they felt so uncomfortable and out of place.

One specific instance where I feel that high school P.E. was poorly implemented was the one mile run. I am fairly certain that nearly all schools had the one mile run. At my school we had to run one mile around the track every other Friday. Everyone, even the athletes, HATED it. I always thought that it was unfair to grade someone on how fast they can run because there are so many factors that can contribute to someone not being able to run fast; being overweight, having injuries, having health problems, etc. I never thought that giving someone a grade on how fast they can run was fair, instead people should be graded on how hard they try and how much effort they put into the physical activities assigned to them. I know at my high school, after eleven minutes the students who had not completed the mile would receive a zero for that day. I think that instead of running one mile every Friday, that students should simply run one lap around the track, four days a week. One lap is much easier than four laps and it allows the students to build up their stamina and work toward that one mile goal.

Physical activity is very important and health should greatly be emphasized to children and teenagers, but forcing physical activity on them at school is not the answer. Even if you are not overweight, there are so many other ways high school P.E. can be humiliating and unpleasant. I'm sure all of us can think back to a specific instance where we were uncomfortable or even embarrassed in gym class. I know I can.

-Shawna Wilson
T, Th 9:30