More students allowed to skip Physical Education

By Denise Smith Amos
damos@enquirer.com
Cincinnati.Com

Next school year dozens of Taylor High students will skip gym class - but they won't get into trouble for it.

The Three Rivers school board in northwest Hamilton County recently voted to let high school athletes, cheerleaders and band members who have been involved in those activities for at least two years forgo gym class. This opens their schedules to take other courses while their peers sweat out state-mandated physical education classes.

About a dozen other districts in Cincinnati's suburbs and several area private high schools are waiving PE for certain students, taking advantage of a 2-year-old state law. Southwest's school board, for instance, will decide April 23 whether to make gym optional for such students.

"If our kids are involved in an activity over a long period of time, whatever sport they're in, they've already learned or shown a commitment to fitness over a lifetime," said Chris Brown, Southwest's superintendent.

But some educators say this isn't good for teenagers.

Nationwide, health and education groups are pushing for stronger phys ed classes and requirements at a time when school districts need to cut costs and pay attention to student test scores on academic subjects.

A solid PE class - more than sports, cheerleading or band - can teach students about remaining active beyond high school, said Steve Mitchell, a Kent State physical education professor who also coaches high school soccer.

"Consider the high school football player," he said. "The offensive or defensive linemen have very specific roles in a football team. And football is not a lifetime activity. The majority of those kids will stop playing after high school.

"Unless we educate students in other activities they can pursue across their lifespan, this (waiver) does increase the likelihood that they'll become sedentary adults."

Too many high schoolers are already sedentary.

According to national statistics, 12.4 percent of Ohio's high school students and 15.6 percent of Kentucky's were considered obese in 2007. A separate survey of Ohio students showed that 55 percent of school-age teens reported being physically inactive - 11 percentage points higher than the national average.

About half of all states allow schools to make some exceptions to PE rules, including Kentucky, which lets JROTC students skip gym. But only a few let high school students opt out.

James Wagner hopes he'll be one of them.

The 14-year-old eighth-grader from North Bend will attend Taylor High next year and plans to apply for a waiver. He has played baritone and trombone at middle school for two years, marching 1½ to 2 miles a day during summers and through football seasons, sometimes practicing until 8 p.m. "Each time somebody makes a mistake we've got to do it all over again," he said. "It's tiring, especially at night. You just want to go home and do your homework and go to bed."

He plans to stay in band in high school. A waiver, he said, would let him take a study hall period to do homework.

The waiver also would relieve some crowded gym classes and create opportunities for more specialized PE instruction, said Rhonda Bohannon, superintendent at Three Rivers. For instance, Taylor High would create an advanced PE course for students who want to delve deeper into fitness.

Other districts say gym classes would shrink enough to offer body sculpting, weight lifting or other activities such as bowling and archery. But the issue of fairness still comes up.

A Cincinnati Public school board committee recently decided against PE waivers because they would help only the students who were accomplished enough to make their high school teams or band. That gives another leg up to students whose parents can afford such things as private lessons and summer band or sports camps and further disenfranchises low-income kids, said Melanie Bates, a board member.


Coach Lewis' take:
I think that this is a bad idea. Most high schoolers are sedentary and giving them an option to get out of PE does nothing but say "it's not as important as your academics." Physical Education is important not only for the fact that you are teaching about ways to build a healthy lifestyle outside of school, but for a lot of students, that may be the only activity they get. So what if they are an athlete, band member, or cheerleader, could you also use more exercise or participate in activities that you can use later in life when you are no longer an athlete, band member, or cheerleader?

I am tired of the stereotypes that all PE teachers roll out the dodgeballs and sit back and let kids wail on each other. There are A LOT of great PE teachers out there, that are doing great things for students. I also realize that their are PE teachers who do roll the dodgeballs out, drink their coffee, and read the paper. Let's continue to weed out these old schooler's who do just that. I encourage all administrators to pop in on your PE teachers unannounced, and make sure they are building a solid PE program by teaching students about remaining active beyond school.