Should Schools Require Students To Do Sports or P.E.?
Sports in highschool can be a great opportunity for students to enhance their athletic talents to further their opportunities later in life, but students who find their abilities being more academic than athletic should not be required to use a period out of their schedule for athletics when it can be more beneficial for them to have a more academic schedule.
January 23, 2021
Many high schools require students to take at least two years of a sport or physical education class, usually to keep students in shape. However, kids can find ways to stay healthy in different ways outside of school. Although many kids enjoy playing sports in high school, there is a good proportion of students who do not have the time to fit a sport into their everyday schedule, or need to take other classes besides physical education to enhance their grade point average and college applications.
Sports can be a great opportunity for students to utilize their athletic talents to possibly get a scholarship, go to a school that without the scholarship they might not be able to and create a future for themselves. Students who are not athletic can use their academic talents in the same way. Brett Berrera (10) agrees that students should have the ability to choose whether or not they want to take an athletic class because “some students need more time working on sports, but others need more time working on academics.” Requiring students to participate in an athletic activity who are not looking to pursue sports in the future can be a waste of time when instead they can be taking a more challenging class that allows them to reach a further level in specific subjects. This can help make them more impressive to colleges and allows them to have a better chance of getting a scholarship while opening up to opportunities as well.
Students can also be exposed to different classes that specialize in different subjects to see if it is something they are interested in for the future. High schools offer many extracurriculars that kids never get the chance to take because they do not have enough room in their schedules. For example, if kids are not required to take a sport or P.E, they can take classes like yearbook, newspaper, or different art classes to see if it sparks their interest. Allowing students to have the freedom to take classes that can help them determine their career can be more beneficial than taking an athletic class. It is understandable for high schools to want students to stay healthy throughout high school, but if this were the case, why would they not make kids take a sport or P.E. for all four years instead of only two. Students can stay fit in different ways, and focus strictly on academics while at school.
When taking a sport, it can cause students to have to give up a lot of their after school time to go to practice multiple times a week. The time being used at the practice can be more beneficial for students to do their homework. Also, students in clubs can have conflicting schedules if there is an afterschool meeting at the same time they have practice. Being just a club member is one example, but if the student is a board member of the club and being at the meeting is essential, their conflicting schedule jeopardizes their future in the club.
Taking a sport can be helpful to a certain group of students, but can cause more issues to others. For kids who want to focus on sports in the future, taking a sport at school is necessary and can be essential for their future. However, for kids who are focusing on academics to get into college, taking sports or P.E. can be a waste of time, and there can be more beneficial classes or ways for these students to make use of their time. Therefore, it makes the most sense for schools to have sports be optional for graduation instead of a requirement.
faith desio • Feb 26, 2021 at 10:50 PM
This is a very interesting article topic! I feel like all I have ever known is that you have to play a sport or do P.E. and never really thought of not doing either. I can see the positives and negatives of the topic. You made a good point that there could be more free time for many kids if they did not have to take a sport or P.E. Great article Katelyn!
Nikole Galea • Feb 14, 2021 at 12:15 PM
I think this article brings about a great point of view. I completely agree with the fact that some students need the time to focus on school. Although, I don’t believe lots of teenagers do much to stay fit. Lots of kids especially now are very vain about their body image, but not many people do much about it. So in a way I believe having 30-50 minutes set aside during school to work on their health is helpful. Great article!
danielle huizar • Feb 11, 2021 at 8:14 AM
This is a very relevant topic for students. Some students thrive in a more academic setting and requiring sports or PE would hurt their GPA, as they are unweighted classes. Many colleges, including UC schools, do not require students to take a sport or PE class. However, many schools promote sports and PE to have a healthier student body. In my opinion, I think that high schools should not require students to do PE or sports if they thrive in other areas and it would hinder their college application.
Sharon Sun • Feb 8, 2021 at 6:47 PM
Hi Katelyn, great article! I would have to agree that sports should stay optional, although their participation should be heavily encouraged given the benefits. But it is definitely true that sports take up a ton of time which a lot of students are pressured to reserve for other academic activities.
Suhani Bhanvadia • Feb 6, 2021 at 5:54 PM
Great article! I agree that PE and sports should be optional. I think it’s fun and a great way to make friends, but students should want to be there themselves and not just endure it since it’s a requirement.
Karina Shah • Feb 4, 2021 at 11:41 AM
This is a great take. I think that although physical education is important, it should not be required in schools.
Blake Kingsbury • Jan 26, 2021 at 10:56 PM
Great article, and a great topic! I personally think that schools should not require PE if a student is very interested in replacing the class with something else that they find a heavy interest in.
Emma Perron • Jan 25, 2021 at 5:03 PM
I love your idea for this article. I think it is important have exercise but there are a lot of students who need to focus more on school work and can go out and exercise when they want. This article is well written and i love the idea.
Emily Eslao • Jan 23, 2021 at 10:59 PM
This made for a very interesting article! I’ve always thought that I would benefit from having another period to try out other classes, especially art. I can see how it’s important to keep up physical standards, but this article makes me wish I had more time to explore new things.
Anita Tun • Jan 23, 2021 at 7:35 PM
I love the topic of your article! I think for some students who rather focus on their academics or other extracurriculars find the 2 year requirement to take up a lot of their time but also students meet a lot of new people by joining sports too!