George Higgins, 23, like most of his peers, hated P.E./Games lessons. Like much of the adult population, he questioned the relevence of things like 'exercise' and 'fitness', and wondered if these skills had any real-life and work benefits. In his case, although he endured 700 hours of P.E. over 12 years, the accounting clerk said yesterday, that he has never used the subject topics in his life ever.
"I don't know why they bothered teaching us all that stuff," said Higgins, who since graduating has not once encountered a situation that required him to move his body at a sustained pace or keep himself in healthy shape. "I mean, come on—when will I ever need to physically exert myself for an extended period of time?"
Higgins is not alone. A new poll said nearly 80% of the populace have said that after entering the world after school, there were few reasons to utilise the skills learnt in P.E. In fact most secondary school students say that despite the claim that it would be handy in later life, they still haven't used bending, high jumping, or co-ordination in the world of work.
"I remember my P.E. teacher droning... on... and on..." says Laura Smith, "about this thing call 'physical well-being. I have no goddamn idea what that means, even today."
Many educators and high-ranking health officials maintain that it is essential for youngsters to learn such valuable skills as participating in activities and interacting with peers, increasing the intake of oxygen and nutrients to the blood, going out of doors, and moving. However, thousands of students have nonetheless gone on to lead very successful lives without ever bringing their heart rate over 100 beats per minute.
Erica Burnstrom, a 28-year-old aeronautics engineer living in London, said that abstract concepts such as aerobic activity and raising one's knees above the hips in a rapid "pumping" motion have not added any appreciable value to her day-to-day life.
"I've never used any of that stuff, except walking really quickly to my office and to my car," she said, pausing to work out the cosine of 70 degrees and 120 degrees in order to work out the dynamic push rate. "i get that my phys-ed teacher needed to know this stuff, because it was his job and all, but I'm not any specialist who needs to sit down and lie down, and repeat for several minutes for a living. I mean, we aren't all gonna be David Beckham or a pro runner."
"They should've taught us usefull stuff in P.E. like ordering things off the internet on our computers," she added.
"If I need to get anywhere or anything, I just use my phone or drive down to where it is," says Dave Whitehouse. "Pretty simple. I know P.E. promotes balance, but that's what a cane is for."
In response to these findings, many citizens have urged the government to stop wasting millions of dollars on useless physical education directives and start focusing on real problems, such as obesity, arthritis, and chronic back pain.
