My Brain on P.E.

This is a Rogerian argument piece I did for my AP English class, based on Noah S. Sweat‘s “Whiskey Speech.”  Enjoy (I had a lot of fun with this one)!

 

Fellow students, few of us would elect to examine the topic of physical education, but since my enrollment in the course I have been forced to grapple with the idea of it.  Some would argue that a physical education credit is pointless.  Here is my take on gym class in schools.

If, by physical education, you mean the unsanitary locker room experience, the athlete’s foot-infested showers, the horror of seeing classmates at their heavy-breathing, sweaty, worst; if you mean the traditional bullies’ recess full of rogue dodgeballs and lost underwear; if you mean the feeling of being picked last and getting out first; if you mean the tortuous ordeal of playing mindless games while the thought of that night’s homework eats away at you, the paranoid sense that you are wasting your time––then I am certain that physical education is not only superfluous but cruel.

But if, when you say physical education, you mean the exciting rush of adrenaline, the electric feel of synergy, or passion for a sport; if you mean becoming a humble winner and an accepting loser; if you mean fighting childhood obesity and building the foundation for a healthy, active, lifestyle; if you mean the opportunity to make new friends, get away from the stressors of academic classes, and a no-homework guarantee––then every student should have the opportunity to experience P.E.

This is my view, and I will remain adamant in it.