The Importance of Gym Class in School by Stella

The Importance of Gym Class in School by Stella - November 2021 Scholarship Essay

A class that needs more emphasis in school is gym. Who didn’t love chucking dodge balls at your friends and crashing into each other on the small scooters you only got to use on special occasions? As fun as that was, the most important part of a physical education class is teaching kids how to develop healthy living habits. Nutrition, mental health, physical health, emotional health, substance use, sex education, healthy relationships and many other aspects that go into leading a balanced and healthy life are super important for students to learn about throughout their elementary, middle, and high school careers.
Elementary school PE class is essential to create a basis for students' knowledge regarding nutrition and exercise. This is especially important for students who don’t know what a balanced diet looks like and eat whatever their parents give them. Even if this knowledge doesn't affect those students' eating habits right away, it sets them up to be successful in middle school when they become more independent and get to choose what they eat. Similarly, teaching students how often they should exercise and how they can exercise is essential for creating healthy physical activity habits. With our modern-day technology and devices, it's even more important for youth to learn how even just going for a 20-minute walk can change your mood and emotions.
Middle school PE class should review nutrition and exercise while also exploring mental and emotional health. Teaching students how to meditate or do yoga can be super beneficial for their mental health and can create long-lasting healthy habits. As school gets harder for students, PE class can also be an essential safe space or break from other stressful classes and clubs. Digging deeper into the different aspects of exercise including endurance, cardio, strength, and flexibility help to give students an idea of how to have a balance when it comes to exercising and their physical health. Of course in both elementary school and middle school, playing games and sports is equally as important. Team games can help students with coordination and communication skills while also being fun for everyone.
Finally, and most importantly high school PE class should review mental health and emotional health along with other super important topics such as substance use, sex education, and what aspects go into a healthy relationship. High school can be a very stressful time for many students, especially for those who are taking difficult, higher-level classes or have many commitments outside of school. Learning how to deal with stress and learning important skills such as time management and communication can be super helpful for navigating both high school and future jobs or college. High school is also the time when many students begin to explore new areas they are not familiar with. Familiarizing students with the dangers of substances and STDs and STIs is essential to keep students safe. Learning about contraceptives and birth control in school is also very important for students who aren’t able to talk to family or friends about those topics. While these topics are still controversial in our world, they are still very important and research shows that educating high school students about these topics is effective in lowering STD/STI rates, teen pregnancy rates, and addiction/substance use within the youth population. Finally, teaching students what a healthy relationship looks like whether that's romantic or platonic is super important so students can identify red flags within their own relationships. Many students don't have an idea of what a healthy relationship looks like which can put them at risk of unknowingly being in an abusive or one-sided relationship. This illustrates the importance of learning about balanced relationships in a space where students feel comfortable and safe.
While gym class provides a fun and engaging space for students to take a break from schoolwork, it's important to acknowledge the other equally important subjects that should be taught in gym and health classes throughout elementary, middle, and high school. All of these topics are beneficial in the long run for students to learn and develop healthy habits to carry with them throughout their adult life. In general, the more practical side of school tends to be ignored while the history, math, english, and science classes are given more attention. Classes like gym, cooking, career readiness, and finance need to be given more attention in our education seeing as those classes have real-life, practical uses. Gym and health class curriculums all over the world should be reviewed to include these essential topics for the current and future health of their students.