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Should physical education be mandatory in our public schools? In my opinion, I believe it should be. Now when I talk about physical education, I don't mean gym teachers who just sit on a chair and let over half the kids stay in the bleachers and do their homework while the black kids play basketball, I mean actual physical exertion brought on by exercises (push ups, weights, running, etc) and sports. Nothing pussfied.

The pros I see happening from all states adopting mandatory physical education programs are:
1. Direct Calorie burning for the day for students
2. More knowledge of sports and hopefully a greater appreciation of sports too.
3. Give kids time to unwind from public school. This isn't college so breaking kids away from the normal academic routine won't hurt them.
4. Teach kids knowledge of staying fit, healthy, and self discipline.
5. It has been proven that a person with a fit body perform better mentally when compared with someone of the same intelligence level.

I am aware that certain states all ready in the U.S. all ready have some form of education, but want I am proposing is P.E. that actually makes you sweat.

Although I do recognize the growing obesity problem in my school, and all over america, I have one response.
If I don't want to, can't do so, or feel as if I will pass out during an exercise activity, I'm going to take my detention, and not do said activity. I don't really give a rats ass if it goes on my report card. And that's the point I'm trying to reach. Making physed manditory isn't going to change a damn thing. If kids don't want to do it, they won't do it. It's not just physed, either. I was more or less the political leader of my previous school, and I led numerous rebellions against the schoolboard, principal and vice principal, and teachers when they didn't give me or my people our inalienable rights. But I digress.
Point in short: We're not going to do it if we don't want to. Just that simple. I omitted from doing the pacer, mile run, and any other endurance thing at my school.
And don't think i'm some out of shape, obese computer nerd. I got presidential on three parts, the V sit and reach, the pull up bar, and something else I can't remember.
So take that into consideration.

For elementary and middle school, absolutely. For high school, when many students are aiming for college and a future career, I'm less inclined, as long as it is available, and there are other physical activities to be had (intramural sports, etc.).

Yes, our children are fat and lazy enough. Infact, P.E. should be more intense and strenuous.

At 7/15/07 08:31 PM, IllustriousPotentate wrote: For elementary and middle school, absolutely. For high school, when many students are aiming for college and a future career, I'm less inclined, as long as it is available, and there are other physical activities to be had (intramural sports, etc.).

^^^ 100% Agree with

It's not ONLY with the fact a future is on the line in HS. Where Intermurals and sports are much MORE important. But also the fact that you are accustomed to play sports and not sit around all day when you have P.E. Every single day for a good 40-60 minutes. It becomes practice.

Schools also have these factors kicking kids out. Not letting em stick around to play sports. Thats a negative to them.

Makes sense, take care of your body along with your mind. However I don't like the above idea of keeping it mandatory untill high school I'd like to see it through out the public school experience. I would hate to see colleges look down at potential students because they chose to take a period out of there day to help keep their body fit and didn't focus totally on academics. My high school was kind enough to keep the gym open after school for those of us that wanted exercise, but were trying to keep academics key for college aps.

God yes and any one 40 pound over weight should have mandatory and severe personal training also schools should abolish the “lunch lady” and hire chefs mystery meat and corn is not food its crap and the cause of obesity. Also anyone with and IQ of 60 should be fixed. There are way too many stupid fat people. Also anyone who questions science and evolution should be burned at the stake or crucified I hate fanatical religious nuts and fat morons.

I think P.E. should be mandatory if the kid's a lardass. That way no one who's fit will have to endure it, the fatty gets exercise, plus the kids have a new reason to rip on him.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. Excellent point JakeHero

On the topic of high school, I think it should be manditory for freshmen and maybe even sophomores to do it not matter what their capacity is. It gets kids out of the classroom for awhile and it encourages students to "mingle" with each other. On the athletic side, it gives underclassmen who may not know how or when to train independently a chance to develop their training skills. PE was so helpful for me when I was training for distance running. I haven't been able to beat my mile time since I've stopped taking P.E.

Here's how it works here:

You take gym all the way through grade school, then you take it again in the first year of high school. After that it's an elective.

I stopped taking it after my first year in high school, and I was pretty out of shape for a while. Then I just started getting fit on my own terms, which got me in better shape than I've ever been in.

Point is, gym class is great and all, but to really be in good shape, you need personal motivation. Basically, it needs to be ok for people to make fun of fatties again.

At 7/15/07 08:29 PM, ApotheosisLost wrote: I was more or less the political leader of my previous school, and I led numerous rebellions against the schoolboard,

Age: 14

For me, I had to take it freshman year, and will be taking it sophmore year, but thats it for required. While I do agree that P. E. should be mandatory, I also think that P.E. could do with some changes in activities and teaching to make it more enjoyable.

One of the problems that can happen is getting gym teacher's who are super strict or just plain out hypocrites/idiots. Like the teachers that make students go outside for running or some activity when its raining/snowing/freezing cold. Then the teacher sits around in a coat and tells us to go faster, play harder etc, while wearing 10 layers of clothers and probably battery heated long-johns.

What with the whole obesity problems, I think we could do with more sports and games that are fun, not just lots of running or throwing a ball, etc. How about frisbee, just plain old walking, and some goofy fun activities rather than focusing on just running. Think that about sums it up from me.

The only reason P.E was made is because of how kids lost the meaning of hard work. And the "master plan" which is WAY to complex for you people to understand.

Psh I haven't forgotten the meaning of hard work, but I still hate running a timed mile. But yes, perhaps there is a grand master scheme behind p.e.

At 7/15/07 10:44 PM, LiveBreatheTom wrote: Psh I haven't forgotten the meaning of hard work, but I still hate running a timed mile. But yes, perhaps there is a grand master scheme behind p.e.

The master plan is a plan made just so fast food, and other damn greedy people get their money at the expence of others. After all when I stopped eating fast food I lost wieght, and felt better too. But hard work for me is the farming lifestyle and stuff like that.

plus the master plan is all about getting money no matter what.

You take gym all the way through grade school, then you take it again in the first year of high school. After that it's an elective.

Ditto for my school. Although we had "Health" as a mandatory class sophomore year. That was more learning about proteins and shit though....occasionally we'd hit the gym to work out.

And yes, PE should be mandatory. Healthy body, healthy mind.

Teenagers are more powerful than they seem. I'm a highly influential individual. But I mainly focus on small stuff, like when they took away the right for us to sit whereever we wanted at lunch, so I sat in the large empty space in the lunchroom where they did assemblies. They gave us that right the day afterwords. It's like a countries government, and I try and teach my fellow schoolmates that. If the patrons of a civilization are unhappy, the whole system is frakked up.
So don't make fun of me because of my age, unless you can match my wit and intellectual abilities.

At 7/16/07 01:14 AM, ApotheosisLost wrote: Teenagers are more powerful than they seem. I'm a highly influential individual.

Obey my commands! Do as I say!! Stick your finger up your nose!! NOW!

It's like a countries government, and I try and teach my fellow schoolmates that. If the patrons of a civilization are unhappy, the whole system is frakked up.

Start with basic English then. Maybe you could teach them how to form a singular posessive nouns, such as "country's", as in "a country's government"?

From there, work on a rebellion for chocolate milk!

So don't make fun of me because of my age, unless you can match my wit and intellectual abilities.

As you can see, I have a bit of wit and a spot of intellect myself.....

Touche.
Perhaps we could put this behind us, as thinking men.

Ah, wait. I wasn't even talking about you, Imp. I was talking to Farenheit, the guy with the tiger post, who commented on my age. I never had a problem with you.

At 7/16/07 01:14 AM, ApotheosisLost wrote: Teenagers are more powerful than they seem. I'm a highly influential individual. But I mainly focus on small stuff, like when they took away the right for us to sit whereever we wanted at lunch, so I sat in the large empty space in the lunchroom where they did assemblies. They gave us that right the day afterwords.

That's very interesting and extremely important. I had never seen nor heard of 14 year olds doing something of similar or higher relevance anywhere else.

At 7/16/07 07:19 AM, Empanado wrote:

At 7/16/07 01:14 AM, ApotheosisLost wrote:

That's very interesting and extremely important. I had never seen nor heard of 14 year olds doing something of similar or higher relevance anywhere else.

Are you kidding.

There's a social revolution of them coming.
We just can't win.

At 7/16/07 09:49 AM, MortifiedPenguins wrote: There's a social revolution of them coming.
We just can't win.

Stealth teenagers?

Anyway, there are some things that are not fun, deal with them.
PE has always sucked for me, we just play soccer. But it is sort of fun. If you don't wanna go, don't, or get a fake certificate from your doctor.

I don't think it should be mandatory. When I was in middle school it was and I hated taking it, I was never very athletic and I found it boring. It didn't give me that much excercise either, I mostly just found myself standing around doing nothing while everyone else played basketball.

I came to like athletics more as I got older and now I spend two or four hours outside on the tennis courts on any given day. However I do it more for the social aspect of it rather then simply staying in shape.
I also have a small and simple daily workout routine consisting of push ups and sit ups. It's nothing major, but better then sitting around.

My point is that you shouldn't force kids to participate in athletics, just let them discover it on their own. I really don't even like playing tennis that much, but I do like all the social interaction that goes with it and all the cool people I've met.

sure. its part of american life. why change it? cuz fatasses don't wanna run or play dodgeball?

I, for one, think that mandatory P.E. is a good thing.

I went to elementary, middle, and high school all in central Illinois. We had mandatory P.E. for all years, except if you wre in varsity sports you could get what is called an "Athletic Waiver" considering you'll be busting your ass at practice. Our classes, we actually did stuff, played fun games, and the teachers played them with us, even in high school. Sure, they weren't running around a lot fo the time bhut if we were playing baseball or soemthing they would pitch for us. I think that some sort of physical activity is imperative to fight off the "obesity epidemic" that has been declared in the U.S. Someone mentioned that a lot of kids won't do things anyway, and that is true, but their grades will suffer for it.
At my school I think that you only HAD to pass a certain amount of your P.E. semesters in order to Graduate. Now, before you go off saying how unfair that is, the requirements to PASS P.E. were only that you TRIED. You don't have to be GOOD, not everyone is. They just want you to move around, is all. There was a girl in gym class who slept EVERYDAY in P.E., and she failed miserably. Then there was aa really out of shape kid who huffed and puffed his way through every day of activity, and he had an A. Isn't that kind of the point in the first place?

I would want to have it mandatory, but I would much prefer it as a Gym Center Style of Physical Education, rather than fun and games; those should be more of a every so often type of thing, except in Elementary and Middle School, but having the Gym Style more so in High School, with the occasional sports game every now and then to keep balance.

I agree with it being mandatory but I can only hope that most PE systems aren't set up the way they are around my area. I've had two major back surgeries both of which took 6 months of recovery total. Because of said surgeries I'm not nearly flexible enough to play most sports, and can no longer run any faster then a slow jog.

My school wasn't going to simply reprieve me or compensate me for my life altering surgeries and forced me to walk for the duration of gym every day. Which in essence isn't a big deal but it just seem's pointless. I walk to my bus stop which is several blocks from my house and I walk around school all day long. Forcing me to walk during gym did nothing but humiliate me. While everyone was playing sports or working out I was always on the sidelines in my normal clothes walking around the court. I caught shit for it on an almost daily basis.

I'm not a lazy person, and I don't expect things handed to me easy. I enjoyed gym every year before my surgeries and played football throughout my three years in middle school. I also enjoyed playing sports with my friends but unfortunately I can't now, and it sucks that the school didn't see things my way.

I personally am for more physical education at school.