My high school had PE set up so you could do whatever you wanted. During the spring, they had track (walk, run, or jog, just had to be moving), lacrosse, tennis, basketball, swimming, and weight training. In winter, they had ice skating, basketball, soccer, swimming, and weight training again. There was a cap for each section, but it was pretty rare that you were shut out of something you wanted to do.

I live in the Vancouver area and honestly, I'm glad PE isn't mandatory in grades 11 or 12. I mean, that way people who are serious about it can enjoy it and those who aren't have the time to dedicate themselves to things that will benefit them in their future careers.

This being said, I play three different sports. Not taking PE this year makes no difference to me.

At my high school, you had to take gym all three years. And at my college, you have to take one PE class your entire career there.

I was nervous about changing too, but I quickly got over it. The gym classes had kids from all grades in the class, and I saw a few upperclassmen completely strip with not the tightest and most athletic bodies and they didn't care. While the girls with the small cute bodies tried to hide their bras and undies as the changed, the girls with more meat on their bones didn't care. That was when I stopped caring. Besides, we're all girls. I had an ass, tits, and vagina just like they did. The only difference is that the size of them might be smaller or bigger than the other girls.

In America, I think we need to keep it. But the gym classes should make it so the kids are getting a workout. My gym class was a waste of time. There was more sitting around waiting for class and activities to start than actually doing the activities. And even if we asked the teacher if we could play this game or that, one that would get us active and running, we couldn't for whatever reason. So, moral of the story, if schools are going to make us take gym, make the kids WORK. That way, it's not a waste of time. And I think everyone should have to do it, whether they're athletes or not.

It should be manditory. Where Im at, we have to have 3 Gym classes, including Freshmen gym.  That means, if you take it all at once, it will be two classes freshmen year (one per semester) and one class the next year.  Its not that much of a big deal.  Plus you can take Bowling, as long as you have a ride.

I've never understood the deal about gym...  All girls got tits and vaginas.  If you dont want to be seen, change in the bathroom...  We have too much fun to care about how people run, or if their last or if they cant throw a ball.  Kickball is the best because nearly EVERYONE looses a shoe XD

I HATED PE in highschool.  I even took Leadership in Grade 10 so I could opt out of it.  I guess the teachers weren't able to instill the passion in me back then running endless laps and such.  I do enjoy working out a lot more now that I am older, but I don't have the time I had in highschool when it was mandatory.  The only kids who liked PE were the kids who hated school.

Brief and sustained daily physical exertion increases blood flow to the brain, thus improving acumen. Activities which require quick reflex responses also sharpen mental functioning. Considering the additional health benefis of physical excersize, yes Phy. Ed. should be a mandatory element at all scholastic levels.

The issue then should be, what types of activities are best suited toward developing physical and mental health. I undersatnd your fears, however, the nature of our existance is competition/cooperation based. This is the human condition. People, especially young people need to learn how to compete and suffer both victory, mediocrity and loss in all things equally.

Undoubtably, there will always be those who fail at somethings and those who will suceed at others. Learning to live with these challenges is healthier for society and the individual than insulating us from  them.

In college I took fencing, raquette ball, intro to dance, and weight lifting. Many times the schedual was inconvenient, but after each program I felt much more alive.

Here, most elementary and middle schools have it, but at mine, I remember in like 7th and 8th grade, it was optional. So I didn't take it, which idk... I was on a jump rope team with the school, so I got PLENTY of exercise, so for me it wasn't an issue, but for some students, it probably was. And then we're require to take Wellness (which half of the year is learning about nutrition and exercise from a book, and half of it is PE) as a freshman. And then you CAN'T take Wellness again if you pass... you have to fail it in order to take it again as a sophmore, junior, or senior, which I think is dumb. I think it should be an optional class for grade 10 through 12, but I don't think it should be mandatory after freshman year, because quite frankly, by then these kids will do what they want to do. It's good for little kids, if they get a good experience out of it, it's not miserable, they may carry those exercise habits with them throughout their lives... by the time you're a freshman in high school, it's usually too late to instill good exercise habits in someone who just doesn't want them. So I don't think it should be mandatory except for maybe the first year in high school, but I do think that schools should at least have that choice for older students who would like to take a PE class.  

And if it's like NoMoreThinSpos said, then it'd make more sense to be mandatory, because at least students could pick something they enjoyed or they were good at instead of being forced to run all the time, and do actvities they don't like doing. 

thanks for the add!

I'm on the side that supports mandatory PE. It should be compulsory for all the years that we're in school.

There's too much emphasis on academics these days. Being active is just as important as gaining knowledge through books. And studies have shown (i can provide reference list if u want it), taking time away from classroom environment to engage in physical activity doesn't reduce the amount of information learned and in fact can improve academic performance.

Without PE, some students might not get their exposure to certain kinds of sports which they eventually excel in. It's true that people don't like some of the sports, but the same can be said about subjects like math or english. Every subject is part of the curriculum for a reason. During children's development, their thought processes are gradually getting to the mature form. Not until then, they can't think for themselves too well. So it's up to parents and the education system to keep them on track.

You said, by taking PE, you don't have time to enjoy other electives or hobbies. Do you think you will have time to be active when you occupy yourself with other things? Taking care of ourselves is often the afterthought...

More can be desired from how the current physical education classes are structured. Before Ministry of Education makes any improvement/changes to keep students active, PE is the only way to counter sedentary behaviours that are promoted by vehicle use and screen time (with TV and/or computer)

Yes, physical education should be mandatory because strong women produce strong babies.

I think the solution to the problems in gym class is reform, not eliminating it.  We need to teach our kids that an active lifestyle is fun and important, and the best way to do that is with fun my classes.   The problem arises when, as you described, the jocks make the less athletic kids feel like shit for not being great at everything.   I feel this encourages the whole brains v. jocks thing, where the kids who are less athletic, instead of feeling good being okay at a sport, totally give it up and specialize in something else.   I don't know how to eliminate that problem, but eliminating gym class is not the solution.