U-High requires three years of physical education for graduation while emphasizing the importance of balancing academics, athletics and extracurricular commitments to cultivate a rewarding high school experience. However, many student-athletes already spend hours each week practicing, lifting, conditioning and competing for their sports while also attending their required P.E. class.
Student-athletes should be able to choose whether attending P.E. best supports their athletic needs or whether the period would be more valuable for academics or recovery. As a competitive swimmer whose schedule already revolves around demanding practices, dryland training and meets, I have found that P.E. can be useful as a midday workout session. However, that opinion naturally varies among athletes in different sports.
The Program of Studies explains that the purpose of P.E. in schools is to foster “healthful behaviors and pursuits.” The P.E. department already provides high school students with a broad selection of activities in the form of “electives” starting in the second semester. These range from team sports to the fitness center, which demonstrates an understanding that students benefit from having some degree of personal choice in physical activity.
Because athletic demands differ significantly between sports and even among athletes, the importance of P.E. for a student athlete is not universal. For some, the class may still serve as a valuable conditioning session, yet for others, who already follow carefully optimized training plans outside of school, being able to use P.E. as a time to recover and squeeze in a little bit of homework time can go a long way.
Athletes consistently meet — and often far surpass — the Centers for Disease Control’s recommended minimum of 60 minutes of daily physical activity daily for teenagers. In addition to the physical demands of training itself, athletes frequently devote substantial time after school to practices and competitions, leaving them with significantly less time for studying and sleep than many of their peers. While U-High’s 50-minute P.E. block may be helpful in providing a healthy level of exercise for most students, student-athletes should be given the choice whether to attend or to use the time to catch up on lost time due to practices and travel compared to their classmates.
Although physical education remains an invaluable component of student wellness for many, competitive athletes should be granted greater flexibility to substitute certain P.E. periods with study halls or simply time to just catch up on recovery. The school’s commitment to balance, autonomy and long-term wellness should extend thoughtfully to student-athletes as well.
