Do We Need More P.E. Credits?

Why don’t we receive more credits for P.E.? Most students have to sit in a classroom every school day-some with little to no physical activity. It’s noticeable that there are kids that like exercise and want more credits because they don’t want to sit in a classroom all day. Why don’t schools apply more pressure toward exercise for their students? To improve overall health, mentally and physically, it’s important for young kids and young adults to practice daily exercise. The classes I currently have only consist of one gym class and five other classes. Fro2m my point of view, I sit for 53 minutes and listen to things I’m not going to need in the future. In gym class, we can actually apply what we learn to the world around us. To speak for others, two students in my class have said that gym is important because it leads to being physically fit and being able to improve at different kinds of sports.               

One of the students in my class named Ryan Coker, said, “I don’t take the gym classes here because they’re not the ones I want”. Maybe we can change some things, like including a better variety of sports and activities for gym class. One of Dimond’s substitute gym teachers said, “I think it’s just as important – I think they’re equal. You can let out everything in gym class just as you can in art.”
Dimond’s substitute gym teacher believes that gym classes are just as important as “sit down and learn” classes are, such as language arts, math, credit recovery classes, and others. One of my classmates, a senior named Josh Monaghan said “It would be cool if we had the same amount of gym credits as in other classes like language arts.” We only get 1.5 compared to the 3 in other classes. Why is that? Mx. Fletcher, a journalism teacher at Dimond High also believes that we need P.E. credits to be equal with core class credits because exercise matters to everybody. Exercise is important for everyone that wants it. Only doing 1.5 credits is not fair for people that love gym class and fitness. If we equalize gym credits with core credits then many kids in the school, such as myself and my classmates, will be very happy. 

A senior in my class named Kayden Nickell said “I think there should be Lifetime Fitness so kids can stay fit because it was a requirement back around 20 years ago.” Lifetime Fitness is a curriculum used in high schools to promote health and physical productivity. Kayden Nickell also said “Lifetime Fitness would be an amazing gym class to bring back because it would be a requirement in order to graduate and it would keep everyone in shape.” Another senior in my Journalism class named Mira Olds said “ Gym credits should be equal to the credits of our core classes because physical fitness is just as important as learning science or English. Students should be given the opportunity to reach their potential, not only through general education but also through physical activity.”