As the first semester of the 2024 – 2025 school year comes to an end, a common conversation can be sparked in any conversation in 9th grade, are you ready to switch classes? There is a graduation requirement of all freshmen which is to take a course which for half of the school year you will either do swimming 1 or Personal Fitness and then switch positions halfway through the year. Many students may argue that this swap is unnecessary and students who want to do swimming should do swimming for the entire year and the same goes for personal fitness.
Science research proves that having separate swimming and personal fitness classes would allow students to benefit from a more focused curriculum on one of the courses. Swimming, a life skill, especially for residents in Miami, requires specific training and attention to techniques, safety, and endurance. Offering swim classes independently would allow instructors to dedicate more time to each skill development. This could potentially lead to improved performance in the water. On the other hand, personal fitness classes offer overall health, nutrition, and CPR training.
Student at MAST Academy, Ananya Motiani states,” I really appreciate the fact that it is split between the year so I’m just doing PE for half and Swimming for half.”
Separating these courses would enable teachers to create more thought-out fitness activities that cater to the course’s goals, benefiting the teacher and the students.
Despite the advantages of offering separate classes, there can be complications with scheduling for the many freshmen at MAST Academy. Like many schools MAST Academy faces limitations regarding space for each class. For example, if too many students would rather take swimming than personal fitness there simply isn’t enough room to accommodate for the large group of students. Offering both classes separately may lead to overcrowding issues in classrooms which play a significant role in getting work done efficiently. While some expressed a desire for a full year of swimming, others appreciated the current combined format, noting that it allows for students to learn 2 different skills in 1 year. “If anything, I would prefer swimming because we are staying fit throughout the year,” said freshman Isabella Liscano.