P.E. waivers: good or bad?
October 27, 2017
Is banging and blowing into an instrument a sport? No. It is a talent that you can acquire over time. Playing a sport takes physical work and it plays with your mind. Taking advantage of P.E waivers is the reason why they are being taken away. Apparently, the athletes who actually work hard do not deserve it at all.
Athletes playing the real sports are upset because they can’t waiver out of the worst class there is. If P.E. was fun, there wouldn’t be an issue, but it is plain boring. Kids who do not participate take away from the kids who want to do something that doesn’t require using their brains. To me, P.E. is a way to let your mind run free and to forget about whatever is holding you down. I can’t enjoy it when kids in my class don’t feel like playing with me. Maybe that is why P.E. waivers exist. Athletes who play sports waiver out of P.E. so they can take extra classes, take a study hall to make their workload smaller, or just because they want to take a break from breaking a sweat. Rumor has it that upperclassmen are joining sports just to waiver out of P.E, which takes spots on teams away from the athletes that actually deserve their spot on the team.
Athletes must be in a varsity sport to waiver out of gym. Seniors automatically make the team if they join a sport because “it’s their last year of high school and they should be able to enjoy it.” That’s not how it should be. Kids should have to earn their spots. And what if their grades aren’t very good and the kid you put on JV had good grades? You lost a dedicated athlete that wants to enjoy school and sports at the same time.
“I don’t understand why juniors and seniors make the varsity team in sports if they aren’t even good. Maybe it is just because they are older and that isn’t how it should be. Some underclassmen deserve the position over upperclassmen and it really isn’t fair. No one cares that you’re older,” stated Mara Parker (‘20) who plays for the JV volleyball team here at North.
I believe that you should be in the sport a year prior to trying to waiver out of P.E. This shows that you are dedicated to the sport and that you don’t just join a sport to waiver out of P.E.
Band isn’t a sport, but talking to Christina Laramee (‘20) made me realize all the work they put in for their performance.
“I think that it’s definitely a great thing that we can waive out of P.E. The band puts a lot of time and effort into memorizing all of the music for the show, and all of the drill as well. Plus, band is an actual class, so it makes sense that we can waive out of P.E so we can take another academic class in its place, states Laramee (‘20) defending her and the other members of band.
I still don’t think they should be able to waiver out of P.E because they have no form of actual exercise. Anyone can go out a walk around, but they don’t have to jump and hit a ball or try to run out a ball they hit to the shortstop. Some band members may think it’s okay for them to waive out of P.E, but many others would have to disagree.
Your statement “anyone can go on a walk around” is very true. Now you pick up an instrument, memorize 2-3 pages of music, March in time while wearing extremely hot uniforms, etc. If you really want to and think band is too easy, think that. I guarantee you don’t practice the 7-8 hours a day that I do. I won’t lie, sports take more energy. But sports cut people or put people on the bench. Band doesn’t. Band accepts everyone, and if one person messes up, everyone hears it.
So what were you trying to get at with this article? What was your reason to attack a major part of belvidere north high school? I mean band has never done anything to anybody in this school. Most of your information in this article is incorrect. Our school prides on treating everybody equal and right but it seems to be that anybody who is outside of band bashes on them with no knowledge of the dedication. I can 100% tell you that we as band people put in the physical activity and time just like sports. Yeah we may not be a sport and we may not do everything they do but we go out there in 90+ weather to try and create a show that nobody cares about. The band enjoys what they do. You can make a career in the musical arts just like a football player can make a career. Your opinion seems to be out of jealousy. Like what’s the problem with us wavering out? I and other people I know personally have passed out from working so hard for marching band and you dare say it has no work in it. If you think it’s so easy I’d like to see you come and join band. You’ll have to learn dynamics, rhythms, how to read music, how to count in time, how to march in time, how to play and March without tripping, so and and so forth. I honestly think you should try it. We have as much passion for marching band as a football player has for their little game. We don’t take anything from the school. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to have one simple thing, a PE waiver.