15- Madison Apostolos: Traditional P.E. Has Got To Go

 15- Madison Apostolos: Traditional P.E. Has Got To Go

When prompted with the question “should P.E. be required”, take a moment to view this topic with empathy for those spoken about in the conversation. It can be quite an emotionally charged topic for some, considering that the majority of America has either participated in a physical education class. Understanding others should always be the goal, in this conversation and any other that may be defined as “controversial”. 

Nearly 1 in 6 adolescents are overweight or reaching a critical level of obesity. This means that physical education no longer caters to the majority of its audience, but more so feeds into an expectation that cannot even be reached by the majority of U.S. citizens. 

It is hypocritical for a teacher, who is supposed to be nonjudgmental and empathetic, to grade their students based upon physical appearance and performance as a result of such features. Oftentimes, an overweight student is not responsible for their condition, which is often as a result of their socioeconomic status or quality of life. But then… why do these individuals often carry its burden? 

We do not judge disabled or chronically ill students in the same light as those who are struggling to perform in PE as a result of their weight. Instead, the class and teacher gives them the benefit of the doubt that they are trying their best.

Instead of a class that inherently judges upon the conditions of a person's life, we should implement further mental health services and active student counseling to those attending. In addition, consider a scoring system based upon the improvement of each individual student, instead of upholding an outdated national standard. I truly believe that these methods can improve the judgment surrounding physical education, and address the deep rooted problems that are not simply seen in a bad mile time or low pacer score. 

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