Out of over 7 hours students spend in school, 82 percent of that time is spent sitting. Movement is a key part of life, but students aren’t able to move most of the day, and the solution of offering PE as part of the schedule isn’t always students’ favorite way of engaging in movement.

“PE is not as hard and intense as playing a sport, especially after school practices. Practices are more beneficial for me than PE because you’re working hard for games and you’re getting more out of practice than just a PE class,” Bailey Parks, freshman volleyball player, said.

Parks says that her practices require her to be more physical and require more movement. Members of Marching Band agree that PE doesn’t offer the best options for movement, although they do appreciate the break from classes where they sit.

 “When we’re marching, we get to learn other stuff that you don’t learn in PE,” said Andrew Czarnik, sophomore member of the Marching Band who currently has a PE exemption. “It’s more discipline, you get to work together with the rest of the band, and work the director to be able to make the images or whatever we are practicing for the football games.”

But Michelle Levin, PE teacher, says all students should take part in a PE class because of its benefit of movement, especially because students need a necessary break from the 400 minutes they spend sitting in classrooms, and 67.5 percent of students agree that they need a break from sitting. However, only 39.5 percent reported they would want to take a PE class if given a choice in having a PE class or not, according to a Bear Facts Student Media survey of 367 students.

 ““I have students that don’t even have a lunch. That’s crazy, I get it, every student should be able to make that decision on their own. Because that’s a life lesson. That’s part of being an adult, you got to make these decisions. But I can tell you right now, I deal with those students on a daily basis. And it takes an emotional and physical toll. Students need a brain break. And they need the right kind of brain break. That’s why fine arts and music and your your alternate classes, like I’m just trying to think about where you’re still engaged socially, and you’re using your brain, but you’re using it in a completely different way. You’re not just sitting and learning, you’re moving and learning your problem solving, you’re getting to use all these skills that you’re working on,” Levin said.

“When physical education is done well, I think it has some major benefits to the mind and body,”  said Levin, “and it helps student relationships and how students feel about themselves, and how they interact with other people.”