By: Michaela Gonzalez, Staff Writer
5,280 feet. 63,360 inches. 1 mile. All of us students collectively dread the cry out of the words “the mile” and the task that it entails. Whichever elementary and middle schools we have all been to, we have all been subjected to running the mile. Aside from the few of us who enjoy running, we have dreaded this task that makes up the majority of our Physical Education (P.E) grade. Uncomfortable locker room changing, menstruation excuses, and a wet dog odor after a day of PE in the rain are aspects of PE that we remember much too vividly. However, our relationship with PE isn’t entirely negative. We can always remember the many good things such as bonding with our classmates, the slight dopamine rush after a good workout, and the occasional unit where we get to explore an activity that we enjoy.. However, that gets put on pause every week as we have to once again run a timed mile.
The first known recorded miles took place in 1900’s England for various contests and gambling games. Now, the mile is run all around the world in elementary, middle, and high schools for health reasons. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day. A recent decline has been shown in another study comparing children’s fitness from the 1980’s to 2014, meaning we cannot run as fast as our parents could when they were our age. A specific challenge taken upon in the U.K named “The Daily Mile” is similar to our own here at Mills. This is when students run or walk for 15 minutes straight. They have reported 85 countries and 3,175,461 students participating in this challenge. The team behind this challenge claim, “The aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of our children – regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances.” Although this is the same promotion our own P.E teachers promise they will help us accomplish, students don’t view the mile the same way. But many students believe the poor execution is damaging the original goal of the mile.
As of now, the grading of our mile is based on what our PR (Personal Record) is. The number of seconds you add or subtract from your PR affects the amount of points you receive. You receive full points and an extra credit point if you improve or reach within five seconds. Plus, points are taken off depending on how much worse you perform than your personal record. For example, if my PR is 8:34 and the next week I run an8:50, I will get 7/10. The goal of this grading system is to encourage improvement and provide equal opportunity to achieve a good grade regardless of natural athleticism.. With that being said, what the grading system fails to take into account is that there is a cap to how fast you can run, and each day there are external variables that affect your performance. So rather than incentivizing students to work hard and improve, students will simply sandbag on their first PR mile and slowly improve so that they may get a good grade. These unrealistic and rare expectations do not sit well with many P.E students.
“It’s a good way for students to get exercise, but we should be graded on our effort because it is unrealistic to be expected to do better each week”, states a sophomore. After interviewing students with a diverse set of running capabilities, they all agreed the grading system doesn’t help anyone achieve the grade they would like to appear on their report card. It is merely impossible for a student to get 100% on every mile. But along with this, it is a shared thought that P.E provides students with the space to exercise physical fitness and bond with classmates.
It is necessary for the mile, with it’s benefits and flaws, to be updated to modern times.
