At the high school, all students are required to earn a wellness credit every year. For many students, this takes the form of participating in a season of a school sport. For other students, this means fitting a wellness class into their schedule each year.
Student-athletes who participate in a sport outside of school have the option to commit to an “After-School Physical Activity Contract” to earn their wellness credit. As two athletes who participate in sports outside of school, we’ve both tried to get a contract. However, this contract feels designed to be unattainable, asks far more of participating students than school sports or wellness classes, and thus unfairly disadvantages students who do sports outside of school.
Benji: I’ve been rock climbing competitively since 6th grade. It’s a little unconventional, but I love it. I’m currently on a competitive youth team. I train intensely year-round for 12 hours a week, along with competitions. My training is rigorous and highly structured, like any varsity sport.
Lila: I attend 11.5 hours of ballet class each week, year-round. Ballet is not only highly physically demanding but also takes years of dedicated athletic training and intellectual learning. Ballet class is highly structured and designed to teach a very specific technique. I’ve been dancing since age three.
While there is a contract for high-level athletes to receive credit, it feels designed to prevent students from using it.
The After-School Physical Activity Contract states that students who wish to participate must have “no availability in their schedule (blocks A-G) to take a wellness course during the entire school year.” This immediately disqualifies student-athletes who rely on free blocks to complete their homework.
Additionally, the contract requires students to complete lengthy book reports, essays, or research projects. And a student is only eligible in the first place if their sport isn’t offered at the school. This decision of whether or not a student may have a contract is left to the discretion of the wellness curriculum coordinator.
None of this is required of students who participate in a sport through the school.
Benji: I tried to get a contract in 10th grade, but was immediately shut down by the curriculum coordinator. I was told I didn’t qualify because the high school offers a rock climbing class, and the coordinator suggested that I “participate in a differentiated way.” I decided not to fight this decision because I wasn’t willing to sacrifice a potential study period.
Lila: I attempted to apply for a contract in the spring of my sophomore year. I was originally told that because the school offers dance, I could not receive a contract. It was only after I wrote a multi-paragraph heartfelt email to the wellness curriculum coordinator about my dealings with overuse injuries that I was offered a contract. Upon receiving the contract and reading the terms, I knew I couldn’t make it work. I couldn’t sacrifice having no free blocks, nor could I take on the large additional workload the contract came with. So, while I loved taking dance in school, it was yet another block I couldn’t use to do work.
Every free block counts, especially as a senior taking multiple Advanced Placement classes.
Benji: I rely on my free blocks to get my homework done. Most days, I get home from practice at 7:30 or 8 p.m., and I have minimal time to work before bed. My work often cuts into my sleep, leaving me exhausted the next day. This wellness policy forces unnecessary classes into my schedule, taking away from potential study time and leaving more homework for the evening.
Lila: Just one free block has the power to eliminate one, sometimes two, homework assignments. As someone who highly prioritizes my time from the moment I get home, having part of my work done is invaluable. I typically have about an hour to get work done when I get home from school. Then I go to ballet class and don’t get home until about 8 p.m., leaving nowhere near enough time to complete my assignments and get to bed at an early hour. Taking a wellness class just exacerbates the problem.
The wellness classes don’t offer anything that we are not getting externally.
Benji: For my wellness credit this year, I’m signed up for the rock climbing elective. I find it ironic that this counts for my health credit but my year-round sport doesn’t. The climbing elective doesn’t offer anything that I’m not already getting from my practices. This is also true for the yoga elective I did last year. It was a nice relaxing break in my day, but in terms of health, I gained nothing that I didn’t already have from practice.
Lila: While taking yoga can be a nice break in the day, it’s only twice a week for one semester, whereas I have ballet every day. Additionally, the required health curriculum offers no insight into health practices that I have not already received from my ballet teachers and classes.
Why do 450 hours of regular training outside of school not count for credit, but a quarter-credit yoga class or a nine-week school sport does?
The wellness policy shouldn’t discriminate between athletes who do a sport through the school and those who participate in one outside of school. School sports don’t offer anything unique; their seasons are shorter than our external athletic seasons, and they do not get graded but still receive credit. The wellness policy unfairly disadvantages students who participate in sports outside of school and is detrimental to our health.
