Do you still need to take P.E. to graduate?

[MikeTheActuary]

When I was in school, back in the dark ages, I remember being subjected to PE in 9th and 10th grades.   I think, but am not certain, they were whole-year classes.  We also had one semester of "health" in 9th grade.  I don't recall it being an option for 11th and 12th graders.

Looking at the graduation requirements from that school system today, they require 1 credit of "wellness" and 0.5 credits of PE for graduation.

The graduation requirements for where I live in CT appear to include 1 credit of "Physical Education and Wellness" and 1 credit of "Health and Safety".  A neighboring town's graduation requirements are changing from (1.5 credits of "Physical Education") to (1.5 credits of "PE", 0.5 credit of "Health" and 0.5 credit of "Health elective").

And I haven't gotten my mind around the school curricula in Québec.  Looking at one English school's website, it looks like students are automatically enrolled in "PE and Health" each year from "Secondary I" (grade 7) through "Secondary V" (grade 11).  Québec's requirements to get a diploma from high school (Secondary IV-V / grades 10-11) require 54 credits of which 2 must either be Ethics or PE/Health.   I don't think PE is required in CÉGEP (roughly equivalent to 12th grade + freshman year of college, or 12th grade + 2 years of votech college in the US).

[kphoger]

My children are homeschooled.  Therefore, they fall under the legal framework of a non-accredited private school.  In Kansas, graduation requirements for NAPSes are actually recommendations.  Thus, it is recommended that my sons complete one unit of physical education before graduation.

Just in case anyone was wondering...  I asked my wife about this...  Apparently, our sons' health courses count toward the physical education credit.

It is a little difficult for me to comprehend someone of adult age not being able to swim, although I suppose it makes some amount of sense if someone grew up without adequate facilities to swim in, like neighbors with a backyard pool or a nearby natural body of water. I am a little surprised that someone wouldn't pick up the skill after adulthood, though, if only for basic survival in an emergency situation.

Our best friend married a young lady who had grown up in a farmhouse in rural Butler County, and she was homeschooled.  While they were engaged, he taught her how to swim in his parents' HOA pool.

[wanderer2575]

PE was required when I was in high school (1981 to 1985 in Michigan).  I think at least one semester every school year.  I was exempted because I was in the marching band during the first semester of each school year and we rehearsed onfield every day unless it was raining.

[Big John]

Regarding swimming, it was a part of the required PE classes.  Pure humiliation as I can't swim beyond the dog paddle.

[bandit957]

None of the P.E. classes I took ever included swimming.

Now I remember that when I was a high school freshman (the only year of high school we had to take P.E.), P.E. alternated with health class. People acted up in both.

[rlb2024]

When I was in high school in the early 70s our school system required boys to take PE in the 9th grade and ROTC in the 10th, while girls had to take PE in the 9th and 10th grades.  (I believe we were the last major city public school system to require ROTC.)  PE wasn't even an option after 10th grade, although ROTC was available for 11th and 12th grades (boys only).  PE and ROTC each counted for 1/2 credit, and one full credit of PE/ROTC was required for graduation.

And I also thought this thread was about the Professional Engineer exam when I first saw it.  My college required all engineering graduates to take the EIT (now FE) exam before graduation -- didn't have to pass it but had to take it.

[bandit957]

P.E. was of course mandatory in middle school, but there was one set of classes that was an elective. For our elective class, we could choose either band or a rotating set of 4 classes: shop, home ec, art, and music. Of course, kids misbehaved in each of these classes.

Some adults were surprised home ec was even being offered to boys. But I had to take it, because I didn't take band.

[JoePCool14]

My school, as far as I know with regard to any unknown exemptions, required 3.5 years of PE classes plus 0.5 years of Health class. Yup, almost the entirety of HS, we had to be in a gym class. At the time, it was pretty annoying. It was kinda demoralizing to know I had gym class every other school day.

I think by the time you're nearing the end of HS, your physical health should be your call. If you don't want to work out, or have your own workout routine outside of HS, then that should be your choice.

That being said, my school did offer more casual options in junior and senior years where you would basically spend most of the period playing sports like badminton or dodgeball. So that's not too bad. And in my case, I guess I wouldn't have done a whole lot of physical activities if I didn't have to partake. (I was in marching band, for what that's worth, it was hardcore for HS marching band...)

What's crazier is that I had to take 2 credits of PE in college. That's patently unnecessary. Same argument as above, except now it's college so every credit needed adds significant cost.

Also, I too expected this thread to be about the PE exam.

[kphoger]

I think by the time you're nearing the end of HS, your physical health should be your call. If you don't want to work out, or have your own workout routine outside of HS, then that should be your choice.

Of course, the ubiquity of PE class is a product of the effort to make sure our nation's young people were ready to be enlisted in the military decades ago.  Considering how many of the current generation are ineligible for military service due to obesity, it might not be the best era to ditch PE requirements...

[Rothman]

Is chow allowed in the barracks, Private Pyle?

[kalvado]

I think by the time you're nearing the end of HS, your physical health should be your call. If you don't want to work out, or have your own workout routine outside of HS, then that should be your choice.

Of course, the ubiquity of PE class is a product of the effort to make sure our nation's young people were ready to be enlisted in the military decades ago.  Considering how many of the current generation are ineligible for military service due to obesity, it might not be the best era to ditch PE requirements...

Well, I certainly disliked whatever physical activites were enforced on me back in the day. 20 years later or so, I would like those activities to be better planned, but still enforced on younger me. Some alternative form of workout should be definitely acceptable, but - lets be honest - many kids (anyone not eligible to run for white house due to age is included in the definition) would  benefit from more physical activity, given their voluntarily  baseline is probably zero.

[kphoger]

Can we all agree, at least, that The Rope™ should be eliminated as a tool of humiliation and/or torture?

[Rothman]

Can we all agree, at least, that The Rope should be eliminated as a tool of humiliation and/or torture?

Yes, to the latter.  No, to the former.

[SectorZ]

Can we all agree, at least, that The Rope™ should be eliminated as a tool of humiliation and/or torture?

Given I watched someone fall from almost the top of the gym rafters and suffer a back injury due to it, I'm shocked any place still does that if they do. Padding doesn't help a 20'+ fall very much.

[JoePCool14]

Physical activity is obviously good. But by the time you're done with high school, if you care enough, you might want to have your own routine of working out separately before or after school. Then you'd also be able to shower and get on a fresh set of clothes instead of having to deal with high school locker rooms.

I think PE through the first two years is sufficient, and then offer it as electives for the last two years if students want. And college should have no requirements outside of offering a free tour and guide of the workout facilities and electives.

[Dirt Roads]

Can we all agree, at least, that The Rope™ should be eliminated as a tool of humiliation and/or torture?

My PE instructor in the Fourth Grade failed me because of this (literally got a Zero, way below F).  Well, that and cartwheels.  It was a 25-task routine and I stubbornly refused to move forward, and just kept working on it.  Also practiced cartwheels at home one hour each day.  Never was able to do them.  Fortunately, my Fourth Grade teacher was also my Sunday School and gave me a much better grade for participation in the classroom portion of the PE and it raised up my grade.  All of this was embarrassing, but perhaps kept everyone from knowing that I was disabled.  That tenacity is part of a great inspirational story that I tell when I am coaching, and sometimes I make the mistake of letting the kids know who the story is about.

[Max Rockatansky]

I ended up getting pretty good at rope climbing around the 5th grade.  Not looking like a fool in gym right or wrong certainly was motivation for me to become more athletic in general. 

[zachary_amaryllis]

I forget what grade it was, but I flunked the President's Physical Fitness test. I was convinced the phone cops were coming for me.

[Henry]

My greatest memories of PE were when we played actual sports (football, basketball and baseball). In fact, I imagined myself pretending to play in Wrigley Field for the Cubs when we took to the school diamond, and also in the fall, I daydreamed about being in Soldier Field and leading the Bears out through the tunnel and onto the gridiron. On the flip side, I absolutely dreaded the rope and swimming too.

[zzcarp]

Am I the only one who thought this was the question about Professional Engineer exam?

I did too.

Same-but my college required taking the FE to graduate. To get my PE I was on my own.

[lepidopteran]

Many high schools with pools required that students be able to swim a lap across the pool to graduate.  As did some colleges; Colgate was the last school to do so, and they only dropped the requirement a few years ago.

Some 40 years ago, the local high school required a half-credit of PE to graduate.  As part of it, there was this required course called "Heritage of Movement", which I think was the history of physical education and such.  Part of this class taught juggling (think tennis balls), and you had to be able to keep 'em in the air a certain amount to pass the class.

So you had to know how to juggle in order to graduate?   

[Roadgeekteen]

Many high schools with pools required that students be able to swim a lap across the pool to graduate.  As did some colleges; Colgate was the last school to do so, and they only dropped the requirement a few years ago.

Some 40 years ago, the local high school required a half-credit of PE to graduate.  As part of it, there was this required course called "Heritage of Movement", which I think was the history of physical education and such.  Part of this class taught juggling (think tennis balls), and you had to be able to keep 'em in the air a certain amount to pass the class.

So you had to know how to juggle in order to graduate?   

My mom had to learn to swim to graduate college. I would have not done well at swimming in high school, the only reason I can swim is because I was in Boy Scouts and needed to swim to earn my Eagle Rank.

[kphoger]

Growing up, I went to the public swimming pool every day during the summer, and I stayed there all day.  I'm blond, of German descent, yet my skin would turn so dark and my hair so light that it the color contrast between arm hair and arm was reversed.  But my hips are rotated slightly outward due to family genes, so I sucked at swimming lessons–couldn't get the kicks right.  So lessons only lasted a couple of weeks, and I continued swimming however was natural to me.

[bandit957]

Around here, we only have about 3 days of swimming weather all year.

[triplemultiplex]

Around here, we only have about 3 days of swimming weather all year.

In Kentucky?  Wow, how warm does it have to be for you to want to take a dip?  By my standards, y'alls swimming weather starts in about a month.