Let Varsity Athletes Skip Gym, Emmaus High Student Says
Emmaus High School sophomore Anna Thoet says that both varsity athletes and non-athletes would be benefitted and athletes were allowed to forego their physical education requirement.
Emmaus High School Sophomore Anna Thoet
Contributed by Anna Thoet
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Special to Emmaus Patch by Anna Thoet
Physical education class’s rigor level has steadily increased over the years to conquer childhood obesity. The amount of injuries in gym class has also steadily increased from 1997 to 2007 by 150 percent according to health.usnews.com. Injuries sustained from physical education class are detrimental to varsity athletes. If varsity athletes no longer participate in gym class, it will not only benefit them but the non-varsity athletes as well.
Varsity athletes keep busy with practices and schoolwork among the stresses of everyday life. Physical education class adds to the stress varsity athletes have to endure. Instead of the unnecessary gym classes, these students could have a much-needed study hall instead. With practices and competitions taking up much of their after-school time, it is difficult for varsity athletes to keep up their GPA (grade point average). A certain GPA must be maintained in order for a student to participate in a school sport. With an extra study hall in their day instead of physical education class, varsity athletes will be able to get a head start on their work.
Many schools throughout the nation have made physical education class optional for varsity athletes. One school in particular is Chatam High School in New Jersey. At this high school, sophomore, junior, and senior athletes can go without gym if they chose to. Montclair High School in New Jersey also offers optional physical education classes for varsity athletes while in-season. The optional gym class for student athletes has proven beneficial.
Approximately 55.5 percent, 7.6 million, students play a sport as of 2011 according to usnews.com/education. The large number of student athletes is not the target audience for gym class. These varsity athletes are already in shape due to their rigorous practices. Therefore gym class proves to be worthless for these students. For those who are not varsity athletes, gym class can be beneficial to them. The students who do not participate in a sport will have a more rewarding experience in gym class if varsity athletes do not participate. Teachers will be able to offer more encouragement and one-on-one time with these students.
Work out Wednesdays at Emmaus High School leave one exhausted due to the many physically demanding stations. Having a big race or game, tends to make an athlete slack off in gym class, especially during a Work Out Wednesday, in order to conserve energy. This in turn affects one’s grade. The alternative, which is giving one’s all during gym class, leaves one worn out for his competition later that day. Whatever way a varsity athlete approaches gym class, it is a lose-lose situation for him.
More high schools throughout the nation should abolish the prerequisite for varsity athletes to participate in gym class. By not requiring them to participate, it will benefit both the athletes and non-athletes. Athletes would be able to avoid possible injuries and have more time to concentrate on academic work, while non-athletes would receive extra attention and help.
Anna Thoet is a 15-year-old sophomore at Emmaus High School. She is currently a student in Ms. Bonnie Raub's 10th grade English honors class. Thoet wrote this essay as part of a class assignment.
Bob Zahm
6:44 pm on Monday, March 18, 2013
A policy like this was enacted in the Rye City school district in NY state. If you want more information, look here:
http://ryecityschools.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=57554&sessionid=2fbe5e26fa9ad467321588c81dbf9fb3&t
Look for policy # 5280.1
Kathi Ramsdell
9:46 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Great article!
Knitted in the Womb
12:38 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013
This is an interesting perspective that I'd not heard of before. I was in varsity cross country and track in high school, and I never considered taking gym class as well to be a burden.
I am a parent of children in the East Penn School district, and I will say that from when I first learned of how gym is handled in the middle and high school, I was opposed to it. Students take gym classes every day for one trimester. If the goal of gym class really is to increase physical fitness, does it really make sense to take students who may not be participating in much in the way of physical activity outside of school, and suddenly demand that they perform EVERY DAY for about 12 weeks...and then leave them without gym classes for the remaining 40 weeks of the calendar year? Wouldn't it make more sense to have students go to gym class once every 3rd day for 40 weeks, spreading out their exercise throughout the year?
Knitted in the Womb
12:41 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013
I would counter though that the purpose of gym class is not and cannot be solely to "increase physical fitness levels." If that is the sole purpose, then yes, it makes sense to allow varisty athletes a pass.
But an important goal of gym class is to teach students new skills, develop coordination. Take myself, as a track and cross country runner--why did I choose those sports? Because they did not require much coordination! I needed gym class to play softball, soccer, and volleyball where I developed hand/eye coordination. Exposure to different *types* of exercise is an important part of gym class. Should gym teachers be aware of conflicts with varisity athletics? Yes. How this was handled in my high school was that varsity athletes could sit out of gym class with no penalty on days that we had games or meets.