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Should fitness test scores be placed on kids' report cards?

Should schools place gym class fitness test scores on students' report cards?

  • Yes

    Votes: 42 56.0%

  • No

    Votes: 25 33.3%

  • Not sure

    Votes: 8 10.7%
  • Total voters
    75
newfangle said:
Our public education system is so abysmally bad, we may as well have non-fatties produced by it.
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Exactly. Physically fit dumb guys can do better work in coal mines, and physically fit dumb girls will make better strippers and prostitutes.
 
WillJ said:
Grading kids on their fitness is limiting your freedom?
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Yes. I should have the say in my child's development, not the state.

"If I'm concerned about my child's mathematical ability, I take him to a mathematician." Now, how are these arguments not equally ridiculous?
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It is the school's place to educate children, which includes math and science. It is not their place to tell me whether I'm raising my children to their satisfaction. It is my responsiblity, not the responsibility of the school, to ensure that my child is happy and healthy.
 
no, and i think the only people who really have the right to awnser is the kids and the parents who actually give a ****
 
rmsharpe said:
It is the school's place to educate children, which includes math and science. It is not their place to tell me whether I'm raising my children to their satisfaction. It is my responsiblity, not the responsibility of the school, to ensure that my child is happy and healthy.
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So why is children's education a matter that the state can justifiably get involved in, but not children's fitness?

Why isn't it your responsibility that your children are educated?
 
WillJ said:
So why is children's education a matter that the state can justifiably get involved in, but not children's fitness?

Why isn't it your responsibility that your children are educated?
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It is my responsibility; the school only provides the opportunity for my children to become educated.

For example, it is my responsibility to make sure that my children are fed. However, that does not mean that I'm supposed to grow the food and process it.
 
warpus said:
Another huge problem is that schools have a habit of providing incredibly unhealthy food for students.
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At my school it isn't such a big issue.

You have your pizza and pop and candy, but they also give out some pretty good school lunches which most of the student body eats.
 
rmsharpe said:
It is my responsibility; the school only provides the opportunity for my children to become educated.

For example, it is my responsibility to make sure that my children are fed. However, that does not mean that I'm supposed to grow the food and process it.
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Right. Why is health any different? Why shouldn't school provide an opportunity for kids to become healthy?

Actually, I'm not exactly sure what your feelings are. If you're just against putting a fitness score directly on the report card, then fine, I don't think that's necessary either. I think, though, that fitness should be a factor in kids' P.E. grades, unlike the way things work now. Do you disagree?
 
I vote "yes". Education, to me, should be both physical and intellectual. "mens sana in corpore sano" and all that jazz.

And actually, in France we have 2-3 hours of mandatory physical education in junior high and high schools, with grades and counting for your graduation. But it doesn't really matter... I mean it doesn't matter as much as I'd like.
 
WillJ said:
Right. Why is health any different? Why shouldn't school provide an opportunity for kids to become healthy?

Actually, I'm not exactly sure what your feelings are. If you're just against putting a fitness score directly on the report card, then fine, I don't think that's necessary either. I think, though, that fitness should be a factor in kids' P.E. grades, unlike the way things work now. Do you disagree?
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I do disagree; children shouldn't be graded on how well they can perform athletics. If they are graded, it shouldn't impact their GPA, their ability to graduate, or their ability to pursue higher education.

If you made athletics a part of a requirement to have good grades, that is at the very least discriminatory against those that do not have the same kind of physical abilities. Judgements like these are hardly justified in a modern society where mental ability, creativity, entrepreneurship, and concentration are just a few of the key factors in the success of a person.
 
rmsharpe said:
If you made athletics a part of a requirement to have good grades, that is at the very least discriminatory against those that do not have the same kind of physical abilities.
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By that logic, having maths and science as part of a requirement to have good grades, is discriminatory against those who do not have the same kind of mental abilities.

Both physical and mental abilities can be improved, and the purpose of school-parent feedback is to highlight areas of excellence, and areas where improvement is desirable.
 
-0blivion- said:
By that logic, having maths and science as part of a requirement to have good grades, is discriminatory against those who do not have the same kind of mental abilities.

Both physical and mental abilities can be improved, and the purpose of school-parent feedback is to highlight areas of excellence, and areas where improvement is desirable.
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Just what i was going to say.

And besides, the only A's i ever got in HS and jr high were in gym.
 
In elementary school, we did have a fitness test. Fail the fitness test and your doctor was contacted. Fitness test involved doing things like chin-ups (five to pass), crunches (forty to pass), laps (timed, each successive lap had a shorter time limit, forgot what was needed to pass), seated toe stretches (I think 30 inches to pass? Forgot), and some other stuff..

In my high school, everyone is required to take gym every year. And everyone is required to participate. And it's fun, so I don't care. There aren't that many fat kids in my high school, actually. Reminds me of something my friend said once: "You know what?! There are like, no fat kids in our school!"

(I realize that the quote adds nothing to my post, but according to my English teacher, adding quotes strengthens any point)
 
rmsharpe said:
I do disagree; children shouldn't be graded on how well they can perform athletics. If they are graded, it shouldn't impact their GPA, their ability to graduate, or their ability to pursue higher education.

If you made athletics a part of a requirement to have good grades, that is at the very least discriminatory against those that do not have the same kind of physical abilities. Judgements like these are hardly justified in a modern society where mental ability, creativity, entrepreneurship, and concentration are just a few of the key factors in the success of a person.
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First of all, I don't think anyone is suggesting that schools should grade kids on how well they can throw a football or how many free-throws they can make. That'd be way too specialized and nonsensical. The idea, as far as I'm aware of it, is that basic fitness should be part of a kid's grade.

And when looked at in that light, you are wrong. People not dying of heart problems and such is just as important to a modern society and economy as intelligence is. Now, it is certainly a person's individual right to be as fat or unfit as they want (by no means am I suggesting that the government should take fat people and lock them up), just as it is a person's individual right to be as stupid as they want, but there is no reason that a school shouldn't be able to incentivize (through grading) kids toward being as fit as they can reasonably be, just as kids are already incentivized toward being knowledgeable---because, like I said, both intelligence and personal health are beneficial to our society.

As for discrimation, what 0blivion said. People who lack the mental capacity to handle advanced mathematics and reading and such are already discriminated against by schools, which is just fine.
 
Masquerouge said:
Agree on the Coke doesn't make you fat part. But frankly, having Coke in High schools is not a matter of freedom or choice, it's a matter of money, period.
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True in the sense that Pepsi and Coke often have exclusive deals with high schools: only sell our product and we'll buy you a new scoreboard for your gym and whatnot.

But to me, banning it outright sounds like I can't show up to school with a 2L of my favorite soft drink and drink it during various classes over the course of the day.
 
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