Gym Essay

Balls fly around the gym. Swishing through hoops, bouncing off walls, zipping over nets. Those people who enjoy these activities have no problem with phys. ed and pay no attention to the poor kid standing alone in the corner, Sure, this kid might be a prodigy in other subjects, but in the gym, they might not know what they should be doing. Then there might be some who don’t care at all, so they don’t try. Like any other class, phys. ed has its fans, but its fair share of opposers, too. It’s beneficial to some people, including me, but to others it is useless and a waste of time, or causes social awkwardness. Its advantages and disadvantages vary for everyone.

Physical education is helpful in some ways. It keeps us in shape, for one thing. All those classes spent running on the track and around the gym make us active and healthy. It provides a challenge, for another example. Setting goals for specific activities that push us. Phys. ed also helps us learn about and get interested in different sports. In fact, it got me into volleyball. It helped me learn about other sports that I might want to try. Another thing: a unit on keeping ourselves healthy by staying away from drugs. It really enforces the concept to prevent us from making bad choices in the future.

There are also some downsides to physical education. One thing that some people may experience: Social awkwardness. Being picked last for a team, and feeling like the heavy backpack no one wants to carry. I’ve experienced this a number of times. I understand that it helps us learn responsibility, but really, we can learn that in other classes. Speaking of teams, we do many team activities that aren’t really enjoyable for some people. Sure, when we’re younger it’s fun and helps us learn things. But once kids get older, they start to take different interests and may get a feeling of self-consciousness if they’re not completely confident and into the activity they’re doing in the gym.

Personally, I think our 70 minutes in the gym should be a time to make and meet our own personal goals, not what the charts on the wall say we should be aiming for. Everyone has different bodies, endurance, and levels of activeness, so telling them what they should be doing based on age and previous scores doesn’t necessarily help. Setting your own goal will make you feel like you can actually reach it, and not make it seem like you have to run a marathon across the country.

Physical education is definitely helpful and a great opportunity to some, but to others it feels like a waste of time. It should be made more for each person so they can set a goal to work for. It just depends on how much the person is willing to participate, whether it’s affected by self esteem or a genuine interest. By really understanding someone’s levels, phys. ed can become beneficial to everyone.