Introduction
Gym class, also known as physical education (P.E) or Physical Training (P.T), is a subject that consists of physical activities such as running or playing sports like baseball, volleyball et cetera. In most schools, the grade from that class is counted towards students’ GPA, which is the overall grade they get at the end of the year.
In my opinion, grades in gym class should not affect one’s GPA. The reason I say so is because a lot of children are not born athletic or are unable to be great at physical activities even if they want to. This does not in any way reflect their intellectual prowess. A child may be a straight-A student and yet be unable to be one of the topmost performing students merely due to their GPA being affected by their grades from gym class.
Disadvantages of counting gym class grades in GPA
This might be highly demotivating for many students and in turn, push them to give up on trying to achieve high grades as no matter what they do, their GPA will be affected by the grades from gym class, a subject that they are physically unable to do well in. Moreover, when students are admitted on the basis of sports quota in universities, that is based on their performance in sports, universities do not prioritise or look at their academic grades as much. Of course there is a basic requirement, but it is quite low. However when a student takes admission based on their academic prowess, i.e , their grades and GPA, the universities look at the entire GPA, not just the GPA of the academic subjects. This is unfair because a student that is trying really hard and doing well in academic subjects should be able to get admission in the best schools based on that, irrespective of whether they are good at physical activity. The same way an exception is made for the sports quota students, an exception should also be made for academically-inclined students. Gym class for students has the option of being a safe haven, a break from the monotony of studying. Including the grades of gym class into GPA adds additional pressure on students.
Alternative and conclusion
An argument can be made that physical activity is important not just for a child’s well-being, but also to ensure they have a well rounded personality. Hence, this argument would emphasise that physical education is a very important subject and its grades should have value. Further, if they are not counted in the GPA, students will lazily ignore the subject. While I agree that physical education is important for children’s overall well-being, it is important to keep in mind that grades in the gym class are not reflective of how hard a child is trying, instead it is graded based on who is the most athletic. If the reason the grades in gym class are important is to make sure children try their best and the reason gym class is important is for a child’s overall well-being, then gym class grades should be based on how hard a child is trying. With respect to their physical mobility and ability.
Additionally, instead of counting the grade from gym class in GPA, a system could be created where children are required to have a specific minimum grade in gym class for university admissions. This would ensure that one’s academic prowess is not affected by their physical abilities and at the same time gym class grades are still valued.
