Online physical education is not functional as a class and must come to an end. The goals of online PE are usually to imbue the importance of the ideas of habitual exercise and having a good diet, but the methods employed during the course do not convince students of these important components to a healthy lifestyle. The most alarming reason that online PE must come to an end is that the honors system employed by online PE is being misused. Students are able to lie about fitness data and lifestyle facts, and online instructors at institutions like Brigham Young University (BYU) and Options for Youth are easily duped by students who they cannot see face-to-face on a regular basis. Another justification for the fact that online PE is not comparable to regular PE or sports is that students do not get exposure to teamwork, an integral part of face-to-face PE and sports teams at CHS.
It is known that CHS students partake in dishonesty during their online PE courses. They may choose biking as the activity used to get credits. One may also realize that they are not biking as much as they should to complete the requirements, so instead of accurately stating the amount of mileage and number of days per week he or she did, he or she would be compelled to falsify each piece of data to make it seem like they biked more than they did. In the course, one is also required to write an essay based on diet and efforts to eat healthily. In discovering that misinforming the online instructor has no consequences, the student would be tempted to lie again and write something similar to stating how they became vegan and recording make-believe meals that they cook in their own kitchen. Hypothetically, it is so easy for students to report fictitious data and bogus dietary habits, one could only imagine how real students make similar fraudulent claims. In addition, there are businesses online that pay people to “assume student’s identities and take entire classes in their place,” according to Derek Newton, a writer for The Atlantic. This could easily be done with the online PE courses at CHS.
Most good PE teachers will preach that to work as a team and be a leader is a huge part of what students learn in PE; it’s not only about maintaining fitness levels. Teachers say students need to learn the principles of “leadership and followship:” being a good team player and supporting the decisions of students stepping up to be leaders. For students to earn credits that others earn while being a part of a team, they should also have to prove that they are proficient in teamwork skills, just as many PE teachers at CHS make sure to include in their curriculum.
The idea behind online PE is not inherently negative. Students taking online PE in the summer probably do not want to take up a slot in their schedule with PE, or may be on vacation for most of the summer and cannot make it to in-person classes (where cheating is caught and teamwork is taught). So, for some students, the course can be extremely useful and convenient. However, as one can tell, many students are abusing the privileges online PE can offer. In fact, students who pass the course with flying honors could easily be manipulating the system and fabricating information. These students who invent information are not reaping the goal benefits of the course and are only leaving with their credits. This means that the courses are not helping the majority of students and should not be offered.
No matter how helpful the course can be to a small amount of students, the target for courses like online PE should be to help all of the students enrolled in the class. People who see that there could be an easier path than abiding by the honors system are not helped by online PE and get away with credits that they should not rightfully have. The fact that students go through the class on their own and are not exposed to the basics of teamwork also reveals that online PE is useless. Due to many reasons, the course is pointless and deserves to be cancelled.