You just got in the gym, and the first bell of the day rings. As you drag your feet to the locker room you wonder why P.E. ever existed. You see a kid getting bullied, another getting a puff from their inhaler and one more faking an injury to get out of the basketball unit. Schools should just get rid of P.E., making space for more art and more creative choices. The schools could easily replace P.E. with an elective, making it optional and opening up opportunities for the less athletic kids. P.E. should not be a required subject in schools due to  inclusion difficulties, lack of interest, and absence of creative classes.

Kids with less athletic abilities can be bullied and many kids get hurt easily, which have long been part of the physical education experience. Being picked last for a team can lower your self esteem and becomes way too competitive. Kids with asthma and other respiratory issues and conditions can find P.E. challenging. Kids routinely don’t get fresh air in PE Weather conditions can have a big impact and kids just get weary. A lot of kids already do sports outside of school or at least walk to school so they get the exercise they need. Lowering self esteem causes depression; especially at the middle school level. Overall, P.E. impacts other grades in school–if you have an algebra test right after P.E. you’re going to be tired.

Lots of kids don’t have interest in P.E. and some that do could still enjoy other electives. Some ideas for replacing P.E. could be quarterly field days, Walk-a-thons, and walk to school day. Schools can easily encourage physical activity without forcing students to do so. There could also be fixed sport classes like soccer, football, baseball, or tennis. This lets kids do more of what they want. This also lets other kids who don’t enjoy a certain sport. An elective that could branch out of the many things that P.E. teaches outdoor sports. Some examples are baseball, tennis, football, soccer, and lacrosse. Not only would kids get more specific lessons, but kids would also be able to play sports in-school not only outside of school. Kids could also pick an elective like art and still play baseball outside of school. That would also open up a spot for kids to grow creatively with another option like an art class, crafting class, or STEM class. 

Creative classes like art, and music are lacking in most schools, P.E. could be replaced by some of these classes. Electives like home economics, art, coding, and gardening are all electives that encourage movement and creativity. Music classes like choir, orchestra, and band could be alot stronger. This would improve school experience and broaden horizons for kids. 

PE has been a requirement in schools for as long as most of us can remember. However, there are simply too many drawbacks to its continued requirement. Such drawbacks include inclusion difficulties, lack of interest, and absence of creative classes. Instead of coming to school each day dreading P.E. you could be in foods, baking delicious cupcakes. Theatre is another option, where instead of shooting hoops you would be performing Hamilton, Shrek the Musical, Sound of Music, and other fantastic plays.