Montgomery County Public Schools requires all students to fulfill one Physical Education credit in order to graduate high school. Since varsity athletes already maintain a healthy level of physical exercise through their sport, participating in a varsity sport should count towards their P.E. credit.
According to the MCPS website, “high school physical education is to prepare students for career readiness through personal fitness analysis and planning.” Varsity athletes already spend countless hours training each week. On top of that, they learn valuable skills including communication, time management and being a part of something bigger than themselves. All of these components check the box of career readiness and are achieved through physical exercise.
Varsity sports also put more emphasis on important life lessons outside of the P.E. curriculum, like teamwork and how hard work pays off. Since varsity athletes are working towards a common goal with their teammates every day, they get to experience the feeling of accomplishment when winning a big game or finishing a hard practice, which isn’t necessarily taught in the same magnitude in a P.E. class. Athletes are also given the opportunity to represent WJ while competing in their sport, something students are unable to do in a P.E. class.
In addition to gaining the lessons of a P.E. credit from their sport, athletes may risk getting injured in P.E. This is something that can easily be avoided by eliminating that risk.
Another benefit of allowing varsity athletics to count as a gym credit is giving athletes more flexibility in their school schedule. MCPS recently changed a half credit requirement of health education to a full credit requirement, so allowing students with an alternate way to get a P.E. credit will allow them to have more flexibility in their schedule while completing the full credit of health.
Many school districts around the country have adopted this notion of giving varsity athletes a P.E. credit. Nate Tinbite, the Montgomery County Student Member of the Board in 2019, proposed that student-athletes should be allowed to earn half a P.E. credit for participating in a season of a school sport. This idea should be revisited and given the acknowledgement it deserves.