The Academy Road

The Academy Road

The Academy Road

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Albany Academy Cadets Suffer Narrow 2-3 Loss to Voorheesville

Albany Academy Cadets Suffer Narrow 2-3 Loss to Voorheesville

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P.E. Requirements: A Cloud of Confusion

P.E. Requirements: A Cloud of Confusion

At the start of each trimester, students are given the option of playing a sport, taking P.E. classes (during or after school), or applying for a waiver. If students participating in a sport are granted an automatic waiver and do not have to take PE; however, students engaged in sufficient physical activity outside of school may apply for a similar waiver. Students who take P.E. class are required to attend classes three times a week for 40 minutes each. Another option is after-school PE, for which students must work out for one hour twice a week. This article will explore the P.E. waiver application process for students involved in school plays, and explore how consistent the rules actually are.

Students who are involved with theater at the Academies often ask, “Does theatre fulfill a PE requirement?” In past years, the rules have stated that yes, participating in the school production counts as a full Physical Education credit for one trimester. Currently, the handbook states,

Substitutions – Students may substitute participation in a play or managing a sport for one season of interscholastic sports participation.

Students may substitute participation in a play for one season of participation in
physical education five days per week.

Students taking advantage of one or more of the above substitutions are required to
attend physical education two days per week.

My understanding of this is that for the fall, winter, or spring trimester, a student can substitute participation in a play for a P.E. credit; however, it only counts for one third of a credit. For example, a student participating in a play would still have to attend P.E. during school twice a week, as opposed to the normal requirement of PE three times a week. The excerpt from the handbook also says that students usually attend P.E. five days a week, which is not true.

However, even this rule is not uniformly applied. If a student participating in a play attends after-school PE, she only has to go once and receive full credit, but if she attends PE during the school day, she still has to go three times a week, and her participation in the play counts for nothing. This could be attributed to the fact that the school day only allows for 40 minutes of PE at a time, while after-school allows for an hour or more. But how can a student who has to rehearse for the play every day after school be expected to attend after-school physical education at the same time? To sum up, unless a student participating in the play can be in two places at once or does additional after-school physical activity, their involvement in the play cannot count for a physical education requirement.

While I’ll admit that a play does not involve much physical activity, participation in a play teaches the same values as involvement in a sport. Both activities teach camaraderie, dedication, time management, the value of hard work, discipline, and provide an overall sense of achievement. If the play is a musical, it may entail a certain degree of physical activity that could count toward P.E. credit. However, the substitution the waiver is offering can only be used for one trimester. That means that if a student participates in the fall play, he may be granted a waiver from physical education. But, if he also participates in the winter musical, he may not even apply for a waiver.

Another crossover area between the arts and physical education in school is dance workshop. From what I have gathered, it has never been set in stone whether or not dance workshop counts as a physical education credit. Some years it has, but other years it has counted only as an art credit. This year, my understanding is that it can be both. If the student still requires an art credit, her involvement in dance workshop will count towards that, but if her art requirement has already been met, dance workshop can fulfill her PE requirement.

As mentioned in the excerpt from the handbook above, a student can also substitute managing a sport for involvement in a sport or taking a physical education class. The job of a team manager is to go to all practices and games, take attendance, assist with keeping score, and ensure that the team is organized in general. When I spoke with a student who has previously managed team sports, she said that she doesn’t even have to apply for a waiver, it is granted to her automatically. According to the handbook, managing a sport has the same rules as participating in a school production, that a student must still attend physical education twice (or, if during the school day, three times) a week. However, the student I spoke to denied this and said that she has not been required to take PE or participate in a sport for the trimester she manages a sport. I’m curious as to how this fulfills an entire trimester of PE, but participation in a play or musical only completes a third of the requirement for physical education per trimester.

There are clearly many inconsistencies in the rules for obtaining a P.E. waiver. In order to ensure that all students are treated fairly in this matter, it may be necessary to revise the current guidelines.