The Administration came in biased against the PE exemption and only looked at information that justified their position. The State sets the curriculum standards and the State allows adoption of the exemption because athletes participating in sports teams are meeting the curriculum goals. It is specious to state that only the first string varsity members get the experience. All of the athletes participate in the hours of practice and are learning what it means to be part of a team - cooperation, coordination, etc.. It is specious to state that because most of the students already have study halls in their schedules, Madison doesn't need the exemption. Most other districts that permit the exemption specifically disallow it for students that already have a study hall. No specific evidence was presented about the burdens to administrate the exemptions. I can't believe that it will be any more burdensome than the administrative nightmare that was created with the block scheduling. How are other schools, like Chatham, managing it? Coaches don't have to grade the athletes. P.E. should be pass/fail! To present "evidence" that students were surveyed and do not want the exemption was laughable. First, students are not in an environment where they can be totally honest about their thoughts. Parents who have been coming to the Board for years were totally ignored. The bottom line is that athletes working out 1 to 2 hours every day do not need to take another hour of p.e.

Well, I do not agree with this, but it was predictable. So, Sean is quote as saying High School Athletics have a “focus on winning championships instead of lifelong fitness.”

Hmm....so, the focus in Gym is on “lifelong fitness”...interesting. After reading this article very early this morning, about 90 minutes ago I asked my neighbor’s kid, as he was getting in his Car Pool to go to school, what they were currently doing in Gym. The response was “We just finished up ‘Pickleball’. I will say that I have not had the unique pleasure of conducting a forensic examination into the worldwide Pickleball Community’s mission to eradicate childhood obesity; however, I did enter the terms “Pickleball” and “lifelong fitness” into Google to see how many hits I would get. That resulting number was roughly equal to the number of times my children were given instruction as to how to do a proper push up in 16 years of HS Gym.

Take a moment to review the pablum on the PowerPoint Slides captured by the Photos associated with this article and see if you have the same gag reaction that almost separated me from my Wheaties this morning. While that certainly sees like a utopian view of the current PE curriculum, is that what your children are representing to you about their Gym class? Now, to be fair, my youngest recently graduated, but this does not seem familiar to me.

TO BE CONTINUED

What also goes unsaid about the level of physical activity is the additional training that many of the kids do outside of their sports season. Obviously this is their families choice and if it eats into their academic preparation, deal with it and work around it. But, I think that these “optional” Club/ Travel programs are not really optional with many of the sports at Madison HS, or any High School for that matter. Of course, these are not school sanctioned activities, but the inference of many, many coaches is that you do this or you do not play when the school season comes around. Again, this level of physical activity contributes more to the lifelong fitness goal than, say, a 50 person kickball game that I have driven by, in past years, behind the Junior School.

“Students should always talk to coaches and the school when they have issues with balancing schoolwork and sports.” I will say that among multiple kids, all of whom played at Madison, this has fortunately not been a big problem in our household. However, in the rare times that my kids have approached a coach about extra preparation for an exam that would cause a missed Practice, while they were never outright denied, it was met with the same inferences that “Captains’ Practices” and “Club/ Travel” are optional (“OHHHHHHKAAAY, but we are working on something critical in Practice today and you will be way behind when you return tomorrow”).

TO BE CONTINUED

So, if other extracurriculars have similar requests and it is has the same merit as this proposal, deal with it (sheesh, you are exempt employees for goodness sakes).
Although I know and like many of the people quoted in this story, this has the feel of having more to do with protecting jobs and fiefdoms than what is actually in the best interests of the children.

I used to play High School sports and never took a PE class in four years... Players were exempt. We used to "exercise" about 2.5 hours each day at practices... This was all-year long... football, wrestling & baseball. That didn't count weekend games and mandatory weightlifting on Sundays after Saturday's game during football season.

Besides, what if I got injured Square Dancing or playing Dodge Ball in PE?

Do they even play Dodge Ball anymore?

Participation trophies for everyone!

This is fair to everyone. All students have the same curriculum requirements. Each student and their parents are responsible for time managing their balance of school work vs extra-curricular activity.

There are many reasons both within and outside of school sponsored activities why a student could justify they should have an extra study hall as opposed to PE. I have kids in the schools. Both have played school sports and have also been involved in after school plays, employment, and have regularly attend the 'Y'. Any one of those activities require as much physical activity as students will typically get during a 45 min PE class. But if they can't handle these activities and complete their school work, then they need to cut back on the activity. The school's have enough to focus on without getting involved in legislating individual curriculum requirements based on how each student chooses to spend their free time.

"High school sports are for winning championships and not life long fitness". What kind of clown has the School Board hired? High School sports are about growth, teamwork, setting priorities, support and trust to name a few. Winning is great - but not at the expense of everything else. I played High School sports and found the extra study helpful. Administrative nightmare? Seriously? Can't remember anything I did in gym that prepared me for a life time of fitness.