Mandatory Physical Education

[Heartcafe]

It's mandatory so people don't become fat and obese and die at the age of 30 with a heart attack. (Not that it's helping the US much >.>)

what the hell man even if your joking and using it as a stereotype you still come off as a pompous asshole when you say it isnt helping in the US. I hardly even understand the stereotype to be honest in any country other than third world countries i could spot just as many obese unhealthy people as i can here. its like how england is stereotyped for bad teeth when in truth they have the same basic dental as any other country.

Well, the US is one of the fattest nations in the world and they are cutting down P.E requirements so students would study more. It maybe stereotyped that US is all fat, but even some stereotypes have truth. It's like stereotyping Asians being super smart, but there are super smart Europeans and Americans out there too, but people stereotype Asians because they are most prominent example.
Take a look at some stats/articles:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/27/earlyshow/contributors/debbyeturner/main669760.shtml

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

It needs to be more intensive or just thrown out. From my experience, it was basically an hour of doing nothing. The class needs to be given direction and goals. Kids need to be weighted in and taped. Especially with a nation suffering from an epidemic of childhood obesity. Is getting called out embarrassing? Yes, but it should be. It's not even hard or expensive to create a workout program. Unless you want to become an athlete, there is no need for expensive equipment. You just need some space to run, stretch, and do push-ups.

 

[triggrhappy94]

Edit: I work out at the gym. A Lot.

So in my starting year of Highschool in about a month, every student needs to have one credit of physical education in order to pass to the new grade. There are only two classes to choose from, endurance building (Muscle building I guess) and Sports practice. I obviously picked the endurance training because I do not want to be with all the neanderthals and I have a very slender figure. (Does not help that i'm a nerd too.)

So I question the Escapist members about mandatory Physical Ed.: What's the point?

There is no point in having physical education. It's our life. Our build. I think we have enough power to decide what we want to do with our bodies, correct?

Can you help me understand this "Theory" of P.E.? I'm some what ignorant of these thing called rules in school.

One credit isn't a lot. (This may vary but) One semester is worth 5 credits as long as you show up most of the time and don't completely fail the class.

In California (this may also vary), at least at my High School, you need two years of PE or a PE equalivalent to graduate. You also need one year of an art and two of a foriegn language too. Along with 2 lab sciences (not counting Freshmen physical science), 4 years of English and History, and complete up to Algebra 3/4 (its that or just 3 years of math, I'm not sure).
As a Senior, I am SO happy to say I've completed most of that.

As for the "Theory", it was at least my expierence with PE that it tries to introduce people to different sports, so they'll try things they normally wouldn't, in an attempt to get people to actually pick up a sport and keep playing it. I think its kind of the same idea as having students learn a new language or take at least a year of art, its all to get people to try new things, to learn, and become better rounded.
Mandaotry PE may also be part of an attempt by schools to make students more fit.

EDIT: If it really bother you, I'm pretty sure most schools give students the option to have certain classes waved.
Or you could do what one of my friends did: he injured is back while playing football and was unable to do PE while he had a back brace, so he took ceramics instead. The best part is that ceramics is traditionally a Senior class, but he got in as a Sophomore.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Because people rarely push theirselves physically, and taking a class to do it is probably very beneficial, especially with the capacity to get fat or out of shape in those years.

 

[darkfire613]

Here's my view of it: gym is not one of the essentials like math and reading we'll need no matter what we do. Instead, I lump it in with art and music in the category of classes that enrich you but aren't strictly necessary. If I was in charge, instead of having mandatory X credits of gym (at my school it's 1.5 credits to graduate), I would say you need at least two credits of either gym, art, or music. You could mix and match what you want and go over that limit if you wanted by all means, but this way the people who don't like gym have a choice to do other things instead.

At my school currently, the only classes we truly need to graduate are english (4 credits), math (2 credits), science (3 credits, one of the introductory science in freshman year, one lab science [chemistry or physics], and one life science [basically only biology]), social studies/history (3 credits), and gym (1.5 credits). No required languages, no required art or music.

 

[imperialwar]

30 minutes of vigorous excerise per day ( 60%-80% max heart rate- 220 minus your age ) can reduce your risk of cancer and heart attack

Surely that differs with levels of fitness. If so would it differ wildly between a healthy person and an unfit one?

When you are unfit and over weight it takes less effort to reach those levels, so yes they dont have to work quite as hard. The heart when stimulated climbs to those levels a bit faster.
If they are morbidly obese, or suffer from hypertension a good trainer will be sure to get a medical clearance first.

 

[Biosophilogical]

You picked what sounds like weight training to avoid the "Neanderthals?" Thats the class where the football coach is the teacher and half the class is going to be his player maintaining their build. Way to go buddy. I guess you deserve it though for being so dismissive and smug towards others.

Yeah, i'm a nice guy. ^-^

But wouldn't endurance training be cardio stuff? Like running, swimming, cycling, etc? Because muscle building isn't endurance, it is resistance.

OT: I think that maybe in the first year of high school, it should be mandatory, because most people wouldn't have picked their own classes before, so it is a way to make sur everyone gets to sample a bit of everything before they go deciding their future.

 

[triggrhappy94]

Here's an idea, make the children bicycle to school, problem solved.

I laughted when I read this. Its not that I don't think its a good idea. Its just the only way to get to my school either involves going over a pretty big hill, or using a very narrow, verry windy road that has no shoulder and many blind turns. If I managed to survive it'd still take me an hour.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

I laughted when I read this. Its not that I don't think its a good idea. Its just the only way to get to my school either involves going over a pretty big hill, or using a very narrow, verry windy road that has no shoulder and many blind turns. If I managed to survive it'd still take me an hour.

And at that point you'd have the body of a special forces soldier!

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I hated PE at school and not because of the exercise, because of the bullies. There is nothing worse than PE than to give them a chance to physically assault you and of course the teachers ignore it. Gave it up as soon as I was able.

 

[zehydra]

There should be a mandatory TWO credits in PE. Hell, you should do some PE at home even!

A strong body leads to a strong mind!

No? Having a strong body has absolutely nothing to do with having a "strong" mind.

 

[Abengoshis]

Thankfully this year coming its no longer mandatory for me. Yay.

 

[imperialwar]

You picked what sounds like weight training to avoid the "Neanderthals?" Thats the class where the football coach is the teacher and half the class is going to be his player maintaining their build. Way to go buddy. I guess you deserve it though for being so dismissive and smug towards others.

Yeah, i'm a nice guy. ^-^

But wouldn't endurance training be cardio stuff? Like running, swimming, cycling, etc? Because muscle building isn't endurance, it is resistance.

OT: I think that maybe in the first year of high school, it should be mandatory, because most people wouldn't have picked their own classes before, so it is a way to make sur everyone gets to sample a bit of everything before they go deciding their future.

You are right, Cardio and that are used in endurance, but any serious endurance athlete also still includes some resistance training in their program. Plus you can use rapid resistance training ( light weights, lots of reps done relatively quickly with little to no break in between ) as a cardio event.

 

[War Penguin]

Kids aren't going to go out of their way to get some fresh air and exercise. I hate to say it, but it kinda has to be forced on them. I didn't like it, myself, but I took comfort in knowing that I wasn't in my stuffy bedroom all day, away from the sun.

 

[NightHawk21]

PE is mandatory, because that's the way the school and the government want it. Don't like it, well honestly tough shit your pretty much screwed than, because you need a PE credit to get a high school diploma in just about every school. That being said you could learn to enjoy it and not ***** about it for the half/ full year you have to take it, who knows might be fun (was for me and I don't typically play sports). Besides what the worst that could happen? You spend an hour playing dodgeball instead of sitting on your ass at a computer desk on msn or facebook.

PE is so that you're getting some semblance of exercise, otherwise you're just sitting all day, which isn't enjoyable.

I took weight training all throughout high school, although it wasn't required. I really like lifting weights, and having that hour everyday, did wonders for my lift maxes. I really like to lift until I can't use the muscle group that I was working (obviously you don't want to totally burn out your legs), losing the abilty to write due to exasution is a really weird but cool feeling.

Lol, ya definitely not a good idea to work your legs to exhausting. I'm a big guy so I can push a bit of weight, so when we went to the weight room for PE one class and a couple of guys decided to have a leg press weight contest I threw my hat in. Beat every one out going to quite high (well in excess of 800 lb) and decided to keep doing that for bout another 10-20 min. Lets just say that after that walking to the change room and getting to my next class was interesting.

 

[TehCookie]

I found PE to be pointless, unless it's point was to waste time and annoy me. All it was at my school was weight training and sports. If it truly is for exorcise, why can't I do it in a manner I find fun? I enjoy swimming, biking, hiking, and climbing on anything scalable but there is nothing like that in PE. The only think I found remotely enjoyable in PE was pissing off the jocks.

 

[The Mehster]

I absolutely hate the idea of mandatory Phys Ed. My HPW class was complete ass, it was 3 weeks of doing basketball and the pacer (The dumbest test ever.) and then 3 weeks of 'Don't have sex, kiddos.' It was that on and off for a whole semester. And I absolutely hated the guys I was forced to take my pants off near in the locker room(I.E. Yeah dude, I totally smoked two thousand bowls yeah bro let's make the guy near us very uncomfortable I had sex with that chick bro etc etc.) And even the morbidly obese girls in my class didn't do a damn thing without special ed. teachers persuading them to move their asses. The amount of credits needed is absurd(4 semesters). I don't know what my school district thinks, but I have different interests (French, A+ cert, CISCO, and Orchy) from PE.

 

[justnotcricket]

I was never very 'good' at P.E. because I live in NZ and that means a *lot* of rugby and cricket, two sports I loathe as both a spectator and a participant. =P

However, I had nice P.E. teachers, who actually made an effort to engage the class with the sport - like letting us do tackle practice instead of just 'playing' touch rugby or something.

My favourites were swimming and gymnastics, which were two sports I actually did in my free time.

But I digress.

The point is, P.E. is the school's way of encouraging physical fitness, just as schools try in the rest of the curriculum to foster academic and social fitness. How successful they are at any of these things varies wildly from school to school and teacher to teacher, but that's the general idea.

 

[imperialwar]

PE is mandatory, because that's the way the school and the government want it. Don't like it, well honestly tough shit your pretty much screwed than, because you need a PE credit to get a high school diploma in just about every school. That being said you could learn to enjoy it and not ***** about it for the half/ full year you have to take it, who knows might be fun (was for me and I don't typically play sports). Besides what the worst that could happen? You spend an hour playing dodgeball instead of sitting on your ass at a computer desk on msn or facebook.

PE is so that you're getting some semblance of exercise, otherwise you're just sitting all day, which isn't enjoyable.

I took weight training all throughout high school, although it wasn't required. I really like lifting weights, and having that hour everyday, did wonders for my lift maxes. I really like to lift until I can't use the muscle group that I was working (obviously you don't want to totally burn out your legs), losing the abilty to write due to exasution is a really weird but cool feeling.

Lol, ya definitely not a good idea to work your legs to exhausting. I'm a big guy so I can push a bit of weight, so when we went to the weight room for PE one class and a couple of guys decided to have a leg press weight contest I threw my hat in. Beat every one out going to quite high (well in excess of 800 lb) and decided to keep doing that for bout another 10-20 min. Lets just say that after that walking to the change room and getting to my next class was interesting.

You in university friend ? an adolescent pushing over 800lbs runs the risk of destroying his / her growth plates and doing serious harm to the hips, knees, ankles and lower back. Especially for the length of time you claimed to be doing it.