In an athletically competitive environment, such as IHS, it is necessary to consider that athletes can be overworked. As the point of high school is not to overspecialize, many athletes also participate in other activities such as music, drama, and clubs. In addition, by their junior year, many athletes must balance their interests with AP classes and preparation for the SAT. Because of this, it is clear that the amount of study time an athlete gets is a matter for consideration.
Some believe implementing alternatives to PE for athletes would be a logistical struggle, impossible to deal with because it is too difficult to evaluate the placement of athletes into classes. Others say that sports do not teach athletes how to maintain physical well-being after high school, and that physical education allows athletes to do this. However, I would argue, student-athletes already meet the purpose of physical education because they put in the work to improve their fitness levels. Therefore, athletes need more compensation for their efforts, and it is not only respectful, but absolutely necessary, to exempt athletes from physical education.
Physical education is pointless for athletes; students in clubs such as orchestra and chorus receive compensation for their efforts through school credit; and it is unreasonable for student-athletes to do so much with so little work time.
I polled students in my classes and found that most students agreed the purpose of physical education is to either get students moving or give them a fun break from the school day. If the purpose of physical education is to make students fit, why should athletes be required to do this? Participation in a sport naturally increases the physical and mental health of a student.
Lately, physical education classes have tried to bring “literacy instruction” and more “informational text” into the curriculum. In her New York Times article “Gym Class Isn’t Just Fun and Games Anymore,” Motoko Rich explains that many states have interpreted literacy standards as applying to physical education, encouraging districts and teachers to incorporate reading skills and informational texts into gym classes. While this may be intended to make physical education more academically relevant, it raises a larger concern that, in trying to adhere to these standards, physical education may be losing sight of its original purpose.
Physical education in the United States was standardized after a large number of recruits during World War I were deemed unfit for duty—due to obesity or a lack of muscle mass. According to a study, obesity rates have tripled in the last thirty years across the United States. As a result, physical education has attempted to once again become more rigorous. Time and time again, rhetoric of the political right has claimed the American population is lazy and that obesity and other health problems are the individual’s fault. Despite the rhetoric of the political right, getting more American children moving through sampling sports, such as tennis and volleyball, will not avert our country’s increasing obesity. A recent study, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that “it is the fault of processed foods that many industrialized countries suffer from obesity and other physical health ailments.” The study found that calories burned did not differ significantly between populations of varying obesity, suggesting that exercise has less impact than previously thought in addressing this physical health issue. It’s been proven time and time again that processed foods are a detriment to the health of the American people. We’ve had a scholarly, sedentary lifestyle in this country for a long time—processed foods are a recent tragedy.
Ithaca High School has a large bias favoring the liberal arts. This is one of the best and worst things about living here. We have arguably the best choruses, bands, and orchestras compared to neighboring districts. Opus Ithaca and the Odyssey Choir foster brilliant young musicians, and Running to Places has allowed the youth of Ithaca to shine as actors. But we also have robust teams and potential for athletic success. Our sports teams should be further recognized and supported. Orchestra, band, and chorus are extracurricular commitments, yet they can count toward fine arts credits. Sports are as much of a commitment as playing an instrument or acting. So, doing sports should at least get athletes their credits, if it should not grant them a study hall.
Though some teams benefit from a sports study hall after school, many of these are cut short by games, meets, and meetings. Many students and teachers have raised concerns about the logistics of granting athletes a study hall during school hours. If it is too difficult to shuffle students in and out of sports and study halls as their sports’ seasons end, then while the student is participating in a sport, it could be treated like an injury: the student would simply be excused from gym class. They could then be allowed to go to a space like the library. If that’s too difficult to implement, students could simply work directly outside their gym classes.
By junior year, many students balance multiple AP classes, an instrument, and leadership positions in clubs. Some students also choose to add sports into the mix. All athletes, even those at the top of their teams, are students first. To help them focus on academia, athletes should be allowed to have a study hall in place of PE because PE helps athletes the least of any class.
The board of a school in Wisconsin ruled against exempting athletes from other classes because the school had tried to expand its physical education curriculum to focus on healthy living. One board member proclaimed that “students wouldn’t necessarily pick up that skill by playing a sport.” While it may be true that doing a sport may not teach you how to be fit after high school, gym class is not a space in which athletes or any students learn this. Students don’t expect or want to learn about health in gym class, they want a diversion from the US education system. Sports do a better job in this regard. They demand athletes to focus their energies on a competition for the sake of personal growth. If students want to learn about fitness and meal planning (two things essential for personal health), then they should take Health.
A high school near Ontario saw a significant increase in gym class participation once more realistic options for maintaining fitness were added. Enrollment in physical education increased as approximately twenty percent more ninth graders went on to take another gym class. During and before the early nineties, athletes were exempted from gym class, but an abrupt state ruling in 1996 stopped this. Anyone looking at the banners in Bliss Gym will notice that many titles were won in this time period. It should only take a moment to compare how many titles have been won recently. It’s a fact of authority and not common sense that athletes still take physical education.
Waverly Central High School, just south of Ithaca, has already started to change its gym classes for athletes. Though the state law prevents schools from exempting their athletes, Waverly has tried to implement “…more appropriate options for its athletes; things that actually relate to what they’re doing in their sport,” says PE teacher and former coach, Eric Parker. He goes on to say that ideally, it would be based on what makes more sense for the athlete. “It’s against the law. See commission number 135,” says PE teacher, Jodi Maddren on athletes being exempted from PE. Though the exemption is currently against what the state wants, there is a case for it being implemented.
Athletes should be exempted from gym class. Not only is gym class pointless for athletes—because athletes are already exercising in amounts that make gym class insignificant—but gym class fails in its endeavors to make students more fit. Athletes participating in school-sponsored athletics should get physical health credit for their efforts, just as musicians get arts credits for theirs.
It is also important to note that team sports are rarely used by the average person to stay fit after high school. Few will choose or be able to get their daily workout from a game of handball. So, physical education does little to educate students about viable options for staying healthy. Most student-athletes prioritize academia and as such should be exempted from gym class. Balancing multiple APs and club leadership is difficult enough, add athletics to the mix and some help is needed maintaining that schedule. Athletes should be excused from physical education because their training already makes them fit and healthy individuals; which is the entire purpose of physical education.
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