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Really dislike P.E.
female, 14
I really dislike P.E. classes at school.
I jog outside of school, so it's not like I don't get physical education for the purpose of being healthy and fit, but I really REALLY don't like ball sports, and that is what we play in our physical education classes.
I am not very good at playing ball sports, and I know I can get better at them, but I don't want to, as I just don't find them enjoyable, and I know so many people wouldn't understand it when I say that, but that's just me personally. In terms of basketball, soccer, netball, football, etc. I am just not good at it. I have been doing physical education compulsory classes for about 8-10 years, including primary school years, and I am still not good at the sports we play and don't enjoy them.
I cringe at the thought that I'll have to do P.E. this week, and almost every school week. Sometimes I fake notes from my parents saying I have a sprained ankle or something, to get out of it. Sometimes I go to the nurse's office and say I have a headache to get out of it. Sometimes I ask my parents to write a note for me, because they understand how much I don't like it. This is P.E., it should be enjoyable, but it's not for me. It is definitely something I will be happier without doing.
Not only that, but the teachers don't explain the rules of the game (eg. football), so we just do some drills to develop skills and then play it, with the expectation that we know the rules. So many people in my class are sporty, and it's frustrating when they run circles around me in for example basketball.
It's barely even a source of fitness for me, as I usually just stand there in games, trying to avoid the ball.
I'd much rather spend that time studying or learning, do you think it would be possible to get out of it? If my parents called my school and asked if I could sit in the library (which people do a lot when they have P.E.) and learn or study so I can do something more beneficial to me in that time, would it be acceptable?
Thank you for reading, advice is appreciated!
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I'm with advicemans line of thinking, thats probably the best way. You actually don't even have to be bullied to hate it, in todays time, just having an anxiety about it is enough. Although not sure the general Dr. could prescribe under that reasoning, it may have to be a psychologist they take you to see.
My daughters are all through HS already but when they were in, the school had alternatives to sports for PE. I remember going at the end of school day to watch one daugther who asked me to come, when the aerobic dance class she took that covered the requirements for PE was practicing to put on a performance for talent night at school. She was having fun and getting exercise too.
Don't know if your school is that cool but I feel not all will fit a cookie cutter program not too mention the one size fits all attitude in society. It just isnt true and for the record, I was just like you in school and never really enjoyed playing sports.
So if your school doesnt have a yoga or aerobic dance class or tumbling and gymnastics besides sports, your parents would have to talk to school officials to find if its okay with the school where you still get a passing grade for PE if they were to put you in some after school type of Physical activity/class that can be confirmed with the teachers.
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The only way you can permanently get out of gym class and this worked is to get a medical exemption. That way you cannot be forced to take the class.
If you can get a doctor to write a note proving that it has a negative psychological impact on you than you are fine. Let's say you were harassed and relentlessly bullied over not being good in gym class a doctor could sign an exemption provided your parents replaced gym with karate or some other physical fitness routine that could be agreed upon as credit.
You have to prove emotional harm. Try seeing a doctor ad explain that you are so poorly coordinated ad your self-esteem and confidence is really low and see what happens. Point out you would rather study or do physical fitness stuff on your own. If the doctor writes a note they must obey it regardless of compulsory class or not. Let them know the doctor especially that it's humiliating for people to run circles around you and push you around over poor gym performance. Play it up and see what happens. If you're truly miserable and full f anxiety people need to see that.
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If your parents are willing to support you in this, then there is no harm in trying to have yourself excused.
Unfortunately, it just might not happen. In many places, these really basic sport skills are a learning requirement. Just like people expect you to calculate the distance between two points, the curriculum may well expect you to prove you have some rudimentary throwing and catching skills and an understanding
Nobody ever really argued that math should be 'enjoyable' and that's not really the purpose of P.E. either. Just like any subject in school, they are trying to give every single person a very simple set of skills as a baseline. Also, like any subject, sometimes you have a good teacher and sometimes you have a not so good one.
When I went to high school, you could only get excused from P.E. if you had a regular sports commitment outside of school. For example, I lived on a farm with a horseback riding school where I trained and taught riding. I was excused from P.E. because they decided I was spending a significant enough amount of my free time practicing those sorts of physical skills at an advanced level. At my school, jogging or swimming wouldn't have been enough to get me excused, I had to be teaching and coaching others in order to prove I'd advanced beyond the expectations of a P.E. class.
In the end, if your parents are willing to place that call and ask to have you excused, they may as well. They might not be able to do it, or they might learn about the requirements you need to meet in order to be excused. There is no great harm in asking, although you should be prepared to be told no.
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