Physical Education Requirements

A healthy and active lifestyle is very important for high school aged kids as their minds and bodies grow. Forming healthy habits is something high schools across the country work to help their students achieve which means Physical Education classes will be a part of each school’s curriculum. Although these classes benefit students, the requirements could be reconsidered.

“The mission of Physical Education is to develop healthy, responsible students who have the knowledge and skills to work together in groups, think critically, and participate in a variety of activities that lead to lifelong healthy lifestyles.” is how the Salt Lake City school district website describes Physical Education classes. With the district’s goals for each student, they hold specific requirements so that students can meet every goal successfully. These requirements consist of a full year of Part Skills and Fitness and half a year of Lifetime Activities. Although each of these classes seem easy to complete, for many students they can be a pain.

In a large freshman Physical Education class at Highland, you will often find a very small number of upperclassmen mixed in with the others because of confusion or lack of  graduation requirements. I found myself along with a few other juniors stressing while registering for our senior year because the blank box next to Physical Education in PowerSchool was not filled green. This may have been because they took other electives such as sports, yoga, or cheer thinking that it would count for PE credits but never did. For others it could have simply been that they had no room in their schedule. For these few students, other options should be available.

For students who aren’t as active after school, PE classes are great to help the student accomplish the Salt Lake City School District’s goals. For students who are enrolled in active and healthy activities after school, PE should be reconsidered. As long as these students show their school that they are working to fulfill their Physical goals, PE is not a necessary requirement and doesn’t have as large as an effect.

The Salt Lake City School District specifically explains their goals for each student. “It is the goal of the Physical Education Department to help students in the Salt Lake City school District lead active lives, both for the health of their bodies and the enrichment of their minds.” Students can fulfill these goals by working on their own or with a team outside of school rather than just in their required PE class. Students have a higher probability to accomplish these goals outside of a required class because they will be more focused and driven. They would be participating in their activity because of their own self motivation rather than being required to participate.

Instead of taking PE during their final year of high school, seniors should have other options whether it be using other physical activities or classes associated with Highland as those credits, or even logging hours of activity. As long as students are proving that they are receiving the same requirements that they would in a regular gym class, these options should be allowed for the students who need the credits.