Editorial: We Need to Do More Than Learn Health… Action!

This year, more than half of the freshman class is spending the entire school day sitting in chairs, minus the time we get for switching classes.  Last year and the year before that, we had some outdoor time to look forward to every other day during Physical Education, (more commonly known as gym), but for most of us this year, that’s not an option.
Now, every other day we have health instead of gym, which is spent sitting in groups, reading handouts and taking notes on what is healthy and what isn’t.  However, I do have to give credit to Kendra Jackson, who is this year teaching health for 9-2, as well as Mr. Mac, who is teaching health for 9-1.  Every other class, Kendra takes the class into the dance room to do a workout that directly correlates to what had been taught in the previous class.  This is a great way to get students to perform some type of physical activity, but considering that this class is only given every other day, working out every other class really isn’t that much.  In total, class 9-2 won’t be working out more than twice a week. Mr. Mac tries to take his students out every now and then as well. Other streams aren’t able to work out at all.
Experts say that teens should be getting at least one hour of moderate to extreme physical activity each day.  A lot of teens were relying on the school’s physical education program to assist them in meeting these standards, whether they like to admit it or not.  In addition, some teens can’t find enough time in their busy schedules to find time to seriously exercise when their time is so consumed by family, homework, friends, and other extra curricular activities.
I don’t think that anyone should fully depend on the school’s physical education program to provide them with the exercise they need because even if we all were taking gym this year, it still wouldn’t cut it.  However, it did help.  Besides providing us with some of the exercise we needed, it gave us some fresh air during a long day of school.  Without P.E., there are barely any breaks in what seems like a never ending cycle of work.  We spend at least 6 hours at school, and then run home to complete homework on top of that.
If any of you reading this are concerned about getting enough exercise this semester, don’t waste your time whining about the fact that you don’t have gym anymore.  Get out there and put that energy to some good use!  Ride your bike for a while when you get home, go swimming at the Y, or play basketball with your friends.  Exercising on your own may sound intimidating, but once you get out there, you’ll be surprised how fast one hour can fly by.  It’s all about taking the initiative.