Like most parents, I want my kids to get good grades. This is for several reasons: I want them to do their best, I want them to learn, I want them to succeed. Except when it comes to one class, that is: gym. Sure, I want them to be physically fit, but do I care how well they serve a volleyball? No, and I don't think they should be forced to learn how, either.
The question of whether or not gym class should be mandatory — and whether or not kids should be graded on their performances — has been on my mind lately because my 14-year-old daughter scored an almost perfect GPA this semester (her first in high school!) … except for gym. This isn't her fault, exactly — she had to miss a few classes for health reasons, and her teacher has been reluctant to give her credit even though we submitted the requisite doctor's note — but the fact remains: She's failing gym, and there's apparently nothing I can do about it.
Truth is, it's a very red tape–heavy system, one that's too complicated (and exasperating) to fully explain here, but the specifics don't matter. The point is, why should a "failing" mark in gym be on her permanent record alongside all the academic honors she worked so hard to earn? Do gym grades and academic grades really hold equal weight?
I argue that the answer is an emphatic "no," and that's not because gym class was the bane of my non-athletic existence growing up (though I'm sure it's tempting to connect the two). It's because the quality of a kid's academic performance has huge consequences, especially when they're in high school: Good grades one year = better classes the next year = better chances of getting into a good college = more career opportunities, and so on, and so forth.
Unless you've got a star athlete on your hands and a sports scholarship is a possibility, colleges really don't care about whether or not your kid can make a basket or score a goal. So why act like gym class is the same as every other class?
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Yes, I get that there's an obesity epidemic. But let's face it: 20 minutes of gym class twice a week isn't bringing down anybody's BMI; what we really need is a nationwide lifestyle shift to seriously make a difference. If gym class were an elective, maybe alternating with courses on healthy eating and/or cooking, kids might be more open to the idea of making positive lifestyle changes. In case you've completely blocked out adolescence, most tweens and teens recoil at all things obligatory.
Or, if you feel gym class should be mandatory (an idea which makes more sense to me in the case of elementary school kids, who frankly need any and every opportunity to burn off their energy), why not make it a more open-ended, less merit-based sort of experience? Like, "Everybody has to spend the next 25 minutes doing a physical activity of their choice," and those choices could include jogging around a track, doing yoga, or even, yes, playing volleyball. And as long as everybody keeps moving, everybody passes the class. No grades, no punishments. There would be less trauma for kids who aren't naturally athletic and thusly doomed to embarrass themselves in front of their sportier peers, and better odds of more consistent report cards. Because, once again, while I don't mean to downplay the importance of physical fitness, academics are the chief reason why kids are in school, after all.
Photo via iStock.com/leventince