For every student, gym class is perceived differently. Physical Education can be dreadful, or the most exciting part of a student’s day. However, for the students who dread attending the class, motivation to participate in gym class is most likely low. Despite physical activity being healthy for all students, P.E. should not be a graduation requirement because of the students with chronic illnesses making it hard to engage in physical activity, different preferences of students, and the pressure and embarrassment students may face due to the behavior of their peers.

For me, gym class is something I’d prefer to opt out of. The reasoning behind this is because I have a chronic illness, POTS, that makes it hard to engage in physical activity due to the spike in heart rate it causes. Due to this, it is difficult to reach the standard level of activity to pass the class. This is the case for many other students, as well. However, independent P.E. is offered as an alternative to attending the class, but students may be dishonest in their participation. This means that many students will not be gaining the benefits from exercise that the school enforces in order to graduate. Instead, Physical Education should be offered as an elective in order to allow chronically ill students to not over exert themselves to graduate, and for the students that enjoy exercise to partake in it.

In addition, many students detest gym class because of their preferences. While students may dislike other subjects such as math or english, Physical Education is different since it isn’t academically beneficial. According to many BFA students, “P.E. is stupid”, meaning many prefer not to partake in it. A student wishing to remain anonymous said, “I did virtual P.E. because I hated gym so much”. Not only can the activities in P.E. not be favorable, but they can cause embarrassment or pressure inflicted by peers. “Once I was yelled at by a teammate in badminton for missing the birdie,” another anonymous student said. Though it is inevitable to be embarrassed during a point of one’s life, why should students be put in a situation such as being yelled at by another student during an activity they dislike in order to graduate?

Physical Education should not be required to graduate due to the inability to participate for students with chronic illnesses, personal preference, and the pressure and embarrassment students may face from the class. Instead, it should be an elective as physical activity is important, but it can be more of a hobby for students as art is.