Anabelle Saco
EMS Press
Traverse City East MS
1st Place
MS Division, News Writing
Environmental, Health or Science
Sophie Brown ‘19 dances 25 hours a week yet she’s still expected to be in gym every other day.
She doesn’t think gym is necessary for someone as active as she is although she does enjoy it.
“I wouldn’t get out because I like to be in gym with all my friends, and it’s fun,” Brown said.
The recommended amount of exercise a middle schooler should get is 60 minutes, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Children who are physically active are more self-confident, have healthier bodies, and sleep and learn better.
The state of Michigan recommends that middle schoolers have 225 minutes of physical education per week, which equates to 3.75 hours a week..
TCAPS requires one semester of gym per year for students in middle school.
“I feel that it would be beneficial for all students to have more physical education,” physical education teacher Deborah Kehoe said.
However, students are able to test out of gym. According, to counselor Amber Laako, testing out of gym requires that students complete a worksheet, prepare for a written test and participate in two sports.
“We have to approve those sports,” Laako said.
The application to test out must be completed in the spring for the following year.
But the physical education teachers think that testing out of gym is not the best option.
“I feel that students miss out on so much when they test out of gym,” Kehoe said. “I wish that everyone was required to take physical education class.”
The gym requirement is based on valid evidence that children’s physical fitness is in decline. Since 1980, the percentage of children who are overweight has more than doubled, while rates among adolescents have more than tripled according to CDC.. Obesity can lead to many health issues, including cancer and diabetes.
Obese adolescents tend to become adults. A CDC study found 80 percent of children who were overweight between the ages of 10 and 15 are overweight at 25.
But for those who are very active, testing out of gym is a valid option.
“I dance 5 times a week for 3 hours each, and I tested out of gym because I already was active so many hours out of school,” Ella Stephen ’20 said.