Lane 1

Kyle Lane

Prof Barnes

English 1102

8 September 2019

Research Proposal

The research proposal topic that I have chosen is about the pros and cons of requiring

physical education for high school students. This topic is important to me because I value

physical activity everyday and I believe that everybody should stay physically active. Walking

the halls of my high school, I see the effects of inactivity. One of the reasons I see inactivity is

because of video games keeping my peers away from outdoor activities that promote staying

physically active. Another reason is the inability to manage the amount of food intake which

can cause obesity and many other health issues. Finally, my family has always stayed physically

active and has influenced me positively in that way.

I feel conflicted about requiring physical education in high school because I can see both

sides of the argument. There are many health issues that students need to learn, yet there are

other ways to learn these health issues outside of high school classes. I think that physical

education can teach positive life skills such as tracking calories, writing a fitness plan, and

learning how to be disciplined. I also think many of these can be learned through being part of an

athletic team. I believe that physical activity can improve a student's quality of life because many

times students are focusing only on academics. I believe that physical activity provides balance

in a student’s life. I already know that physical education is not required for two-sport athletes in

high school and band students. This is a controversial topic among health physical education

professionals because they believe that all students need educated in this subject.
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Research in this topic will help me form my own opinion based on what I find out about

the pros and the cons. One way I can research is by interviewing current high schoolers who are

required to take a physical education class versus those who are able to waive the class. I can

also research physical education publications with the hope of finding a study that provides more

insight to one side of the topic or the other. The two research questions I have formed are

“should physical education be required for all students” and “can students learn about health

issues and how to be physically active without taking a physical education class in high school”.