P.E. Classes Should be Mandatory at All Grade Levels

Emily Burris, Online Editor

Physical education classes are only required freshman year so students can choose if they want to or not. Physical education classes allow students to take a break from average classes and move around. Although I personally opted out of taking P.E. past my freshman year I wish I would have just because it would have given me a break in my day.

Students have two options, either they can take a traditional P.E. class or Strength & Conditioning. Not only would requiring P.E. classes give students a break from sitting down all day it would also have a direct impact on their physical health. Some students are not active following the school day. This would ensure that students have some sort of physical activity in their day. Even though students are only getting around 35-40 minutes of exercise daily in strength they are still getting an efficient workout in the time allotted. In P.E. students are constantly moving around so it would not have as much of an impact as a strength class but the games played make it a fun alternative for the students who are not as strong.

Requiring a class that involved physical activity comes with many mental benefits as well. It has been proven that exercise helps stress and some illnesses. This would give students an outlet where they do not have to worry about homework or tests. Classes like yoga could be implemented as well to give students more options. Yoga would definitely help students with stress and relax them during the day. Backlash might follow a decision like this but it would be a positive for all students.