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Jared Auteri
Mrs. Cramer
Comp 1 Period 7
21 April 2017
Physical Education in School is More Important than You Think

When you were a child back in school, what was your favorite class? For most kids it is

their favorite class today, next to lunch that is.1The benefits of physical fitness are universal for

all children and can potentially improve students' academic performance, including academic

achievement and grades, time on task, concentration, and attentiveness (Davis) As the years have

gone by it seems like the time period that students are in gym for is way too short. Nowadays

students are in homeroom longer than they are in gym class.2 It needs to change back to when

everyone had gym. The logic is simple: if you eliminate gym class, school kids will get fatter

(Cloud). Kids need the exercise that they lack from getting during a long school day sitting in

chairs all day and their faces smashed staring into computer screens. It also gives students a

break from schoolwork and stressful tests that they have to take. Some schools today do not even

require students to take gym. From my own experiences, the gym teachers give you a grade

based on if you showed up to class not whether or not you tried hard in class. Physical education

should be mandatory in all schools to help improve the education and health of the students.

A big reason why physical education should be mandatory in schools is so kids live an

active and healthy life. All of the junk food and beverages that students consume can cause

obesity. Nowadays obesity is a big deal in America. It can cause type 2 Diabetes, Asthma, and
1 Hypophora- This is when you ask a question then give an answer. I asked if you
loved gym and then gave an answer back saying yes.

2 Analogy- This is when you compare two things, the two things being compared are
the time of gym to the time of homeroom.
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Heart Failure in children today. We can help minimize child obesity in the U.S if students have

gym class. Not only is gym helping students stay fit, it is also showing them what they are good

at so they can stay fit for the future. For example, if a student runs a mile for gym and they are

good at it then they may run to stay fit when they are older. Overall, physical education helps

children be healthy and stay healthy.

Not all people think about how physical education can help students academically, but it

can. Students who tend to be physically fit are able to retain and process information as opposed

to someone who is overweight or out of shape. Various studies have been conducted to prove this

concept over the years. One study was done in May of 2013 at the American College of Sports

Medicine; found that fourth and fifth grade students who exercised vigorously for at least ten

minutes before a math test scored higher than the children who had sat quietly before the exam

(Reynolds). This just goes to show how much students need physical education in school.

Physical education also improves memorization, cognitive skills, and behavioral habits in the

classroom. Some people may wonder how exactly physical exercise affects the brain to help

students academically. First off, exercise increases oxygen flow and neurotransmitters to the

brain. Exercise also keeps kids from dropping out of school in some cases. For example, if a

student is not good at their other classes but is athletic and good at gym it raises that students

self-esteem and keeps them in school since they know that they are good at something.

There are ton problems with gym classes in schools especially in the locker rooms where

students change. Most of which involve sexual crimes that largely go unpunished or even un-

watched or reported by those in charge. Class size does not fix this, but removal of gym class in

schools does. Student belongings are destroyed in locker rooms. In the locker rooms kids are

sexually harassed, body shamed, put down, molested, encouraged to fight, spit on, shoved in
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showers against their will and force to change in bathroom stalls in fear of all the above

(Brooks). This is false because in most cases the students are not forced to change, it is their

choice. If they are being harassed or are embarrassed, then they should talk to the teacher and ask

if they can change somewhere else away from everyone. In addition, from my own experience in

the locker room, the teacher has a big window, this allows him to see and hear what is going on

in the locker room and we do not have any problems in there. The teacher also does not leave the

locker room until everyone is done changing and is out of there that way no one is left

unattended.

Some people say that gym is bad because it lower self-esteem and causes kids to be self-

conscious. Schools have adopted Body Mass Index or BMI as a measurement that districts are

required to use for kids who are middle school ages. Body Mass Index measures height and

weight; it does not take into account the age of that person. Therefore, by default it is an unfair

measurement. These cause kids to be compared to each other and it creates a false number in

which kids panic if they are so called "fat" (Brooks). First off, not all schools use this Body Mass

Index and like it says "it is an unfair measurement" since it does not know Little Sally Sues3 age

then it is inaccurate and means nothing. If the student is self-conscious even to use the machine,

then the school should ask for parent permission for their child to use it. This idea about the BMI

should not go against schools having physical education it should just go against the schools

having Body Mass Index.

Overall, gym class in all schools has numerous positive benefits. It shows students how to

live a long and healthy life and it improves the students brain so they can do better in their

3 Assonance- This is when there is a repetition of a sound, repetition of the "S"

sound in this case.
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classes. As said earlier physical fitness lowers the risk of students being obese, which causes

diabetes, asthma, and heart failure. Physical fitness helps the student do better on standardized

tests, exams, and logical thinking overall. Physical education should be mandatory in all schools

to help improve the education and health of the students. "Reducing or eliminating physical

education in schools, as is often done in tight financial times, may not be the best way to ensure

educational success among our young people" (Reynolds)

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Works Cited

Brooks, Sean. "Why Physical Education Contributes to Violence in School." Edutopia. N.p., n.d.
Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
Cloud, John. "Why Kids' Exercise Matters Less Than We Think." Time. Time Inc., 13 May
2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
Davis, Kathryn L., et al. "A Comparison of the Fitness, Obesity, and Physical Activity Levels of
High School Physical Education Students across Race and Gender." Physical Educator,
vol. 73, no. 1, LateWinter2016, pp. 15-31. EBSCOhost, doi:10.18666/TPE-2016-V73-Il-
5903.
Reynolds, Gretchen. "How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.