Charlie Sosnick
Reporter
All fall, varsity field hockey captain Michelle Halpert led her team through rigorous practices to prepare for gameday. After two and a half hours of stretching, sprints, and scrimmages, the team would go home tired.
With so much exercise, it’s tough for Michelle to see the need for physical education.
Because of her role on a sports team, Michelle understands the athlete’s perspective in terms of physical fitness. “Gym seems to be a waste of time if you’re an athlete because you are already putting in about three extra hours of exercise after school,” she said.
For her, the time could be better spent doing other things. “It’d be great if we didn’t have gym because we could then spend the free time doing homework or studying for a test,” she said. “I would be more enthusiastic about gym if we did better activities, but then again I wouldn’t want to get sweaty and be gross the rest of the day.”
Freshman Tom*, who plays football, also thinks that P.E. isn’t vital for students on sports teams. “As an athlete, sometimes it just doesn’t seem necessary to go to gym,” he said.
Physical education teacher Kim Palmer disagrees. “I think kids understand P.E. is more than just exercise,” she said. “It’s also teamwork and skill development for lifelong fitness. There’s a lot of other lessons involved.”
Kristin Woods, also a P.E. teacher, thinks athletes know that they have to go to gym. “I feel like the expectation has been set and they know they have to participate on gamedays,” she said.
Ms. Woods doesn’t have to deal with skipping that often. “I really don’t think it’s a huge issue,” she said. “Believe it or not, I have very few kids that do it. We have fun.”
Michelle has four absences in gym on record this semester. When she skips, she usually has a reason. “I skip gym to do work, to study for a test, or sometimes because I just don’t really want to go,” she said.
The fun factor of gym is a reason to go for many students. Sophomore Ted O’Rourke, captain of the JV soccer team, enjoys the P.E. activities. “I don’t skip gym because the games are fun,” he said.
Ted appreciates that physical education gives him a chance to try new things. “Gym is a great opportunity to have fun with friends in an environment that can be relaxed or competitive, playing sports you don’t usually have access to,” he said.
Ms. Palmer has also noticed that enjoyable activities lead to less skipping, especially when students are given a choice. “One of the unique things about P.E. in New Canaan is that [students]can pick their activities, so they’re very rarely not participating or unhappy,” she said. “When they can choose from three options it gives them a sense of control.”
In addition to the fun sports and games the class provides, many kids attend P.E. class to avoid losing credit. Students can lose credit for physical education if they have six absences in one semester, even if they are excused. With only two absences to spare, Junior Darryl* feels a greater pressure to attend. “I get scared of losing credit because I’d have to retake gym next year. I already used four of my six, so I always try to show up and be prepared.”
Ms. Woods, who teaches nearly 200 students, normally has very few who lose credit. “If I have more than three or four kids lose credit in a semester, that’s a lot,” she said. “There’s extenuating circumstances, like if they have mono or a concussion, they’ll just drop P.E. and retake next year.”
Senior Matt Windas only skips gym if there’s something else for him to be doing. “It’s not that I don’t care about gym,” he said. “It’s just sometimes, I have more important things to do, like studying for a test.”
Ms. Woods doesn’t take it personally when her students don’t come to class, because it doesn’t occur that often. “The ninth and tenth graders really don’t skip that often,” she said. “Eleventh and twelfth graders have trouble getting up in the morning, so a lot are absent first period.”
Matt Windas agreed that skipping shouldn’t insult the teacher. “I don’t think teachers should take it personally, because everyone does it,” he said. “You treat them with respect when you’re there, but they shouldn’t be offended if kids don’t show up.”
*Names changed for anonymity
