Is it really necessary to play 45 minutes of half-hearted dodgeball in gym, when after school you will be Nordic skiing, in which you will burn upwards of 2000 calories, or having a football practice, where you will be pushing your muscles to failure? According to the EHS graduation requirements it is.
The gym requirement should be abolished for all students that participate in school-sanctioned sports, regardless of level. EHS’s student-athletes are already committing countless hours to athletics, and making them take an hour out of their school day to take gym is superfluous. It is understandable that the school district wants to keep kids healthy and active, but athletes, regardless of skill or level, are spending countless hours being active outside of school in activities that are no doubt more rigorous than any gym class could provide.
Also, school sports as a substitute for gym could potentially boost athletic participation, exposing supposedly “non-athletes” to new experiences and talents they never knew they possessed. This new incentive could greatly improve the depth of certain high school sports and therefore bring more championships and prestige to Edina High School.
On an academic level, it restricts the class space in a student’s schedule. If come senior year a student wants to take an additional AP class to improve their strength of schedule for their college application, the gym requirement could prevent that. I am an example of this, and am forced to take summer gym because of this situation. As a result, I have to take time out of my busy summer schedule to work to achieve the gym requirement. This is outrageous, gym serves no practical purpose unless you are planning on becoming a professional athlete or a supermodel, and EHS, by keeping this requirement, is compromising the academic excellence of its students.
I am by no means saying we should get rid of gym, but rather it should not be a requirement if you play a school-sanctioned sport. Students getting sweaty outside of school should be able to decide if they want to get sweaty in school.
