A discussion topic that sometimes comes up is whether Physical Education should be mandatory or the school curriculum’s program should stick up to theoretical and more standard subjects only. Even though there are aspects of both ideas that I can share, personally I am more sided with the advantages that sport can potentially bring.
Some arguments presented by those that are against the compulsory nature of that subject are, for example, that after one or maybe two hours of physical exercise students might be very tired; consequently, they might have difficulties to focus during the classes that come next. In addition, Physical Education decreases the time amount of academic lessons, causing a potential reduction of the overall preparation that students have; in particular, this can have a negative impact on future tests, such as the ones to be admitted universities. It can also be pointed out that, if a schooler have some significant healthy problems, like disabilities, not having the chance to fully partecipate during P.E. lessons might make them feel more isolated by the rest of the classmates.
On the other hand, the sport subject gives the opportunity to teenagers to work together, leading to a potential growth of that important transversal ability, on a different field: during matches of team sports. Moreover, if the teacher varies the activities held during classes, students might have contact with different sports. In this way, they can find new hobbies and interests. Another advantage is that it is healthy: P.E. lessons can provide the minimum of physical exercise needed to youngsters to keep fit.
To conclude, there are valid points in both views, but I personally believe that the drawbacks are not very impactful and they are outweighed by the benefits of having this discipline mandatory.