Montgomery County high school senior proposes option for student sports to be counted as PE credit
GAITHERSBURG, Md. - John F. Kennedy High School senior and Montgomery County Board of Education’s student member Nate Tinbite is proposing that student-athletes should have the option to receive credits for physical education instead of taking the class.
State law requires high school students to receive at least one half-credit of physical education to graduate. But the requirement in county schools is higher —one full credit in order to graduate.
Tinbite told FOX 5 Monday, allowing one half-credit to be granted for sports participation could open up room to pursue other courses.
“This is only hopefully an opt-in solution as to providing academic mobility for students in MCPS athletics,” said Tinbite,”because they are burdened by the amount of classes that they participate in after school and in extracurriculars.”
“People have said to me, ‘Well what if they take a volleyball or soccer class?’ Well you are not learning how to be best on that team,” said Alex Tsironis, an MCPS P.E health resource teacher who also runs the popular sites,The MoCoShow and MoCoSnow. He said he doesn’t agree with Tinbite’s proposal and wants the school system to keep its one-credit requirement.
“What you are learning is the skills that are used in volleyball, like how to play the game. You can be at any skill level and be on that volleyball team where as you make the actual sports team you almost have to be elite to be at that level,” he said.
Some parents in Gaithersburg tell FOX 5 that, even if it is an option, students, athlete or not, should take P.E for life long health benefits.
“I think it teaches them nutrition and health,” said Staci Berman.
“They get their physical exercise it gets the kids doing things they’ve never done before, maybe a triathlon or swimming. I just think the daily exercise overall is really good for the kids.”
“They are in school all day. They are sitting all day, it’s a time for them to at least move around and get some activity in and kind of de-stress in a way," said Alexis Lee.
FOX 5 contacted MCPS for a comment and a spokesperson said that while they don’t have much to share they are reviewing the proposal.