A situation exposed on a group of parents on a social network reveals a real practice. Some parents get their children exempted from PE class, for fear of low grades that could compromise their students' chances of a school scholarship. The teachers explain what they take into account when grading.
Physical education classes are starting to be avoided PHOTO: Adevărul archive
The case exposed by a parent on a social network referred to the fact that a student now found out, in April 2024, that she had a grade 7 in Physical Education, following an assessment in October 2023. In December, the parents submitted a certificate medical and since then the student no longer does Sports class. However, the teacher now insists that the student take one more test and her grade can be completed. The parent asks how legal this situation is, and this is where the discussions started, some parents revealing similar situations and confessing that after a lower grade given after taking the sports tests, they, in turn, decided to submit medical exemptions and give them “save” copies of notes.
“I don't understand how stupid you can be, as a teacher, to give a child an I or an S in sports. It is not a school with a sports profile, where you would say it is more competitive. And then they wonder why parents give their children a medical exemption. Why would I accept, as a parent, for a fool to spoil his child's media, with a grade in sports?”, is one of the comments.
Although they use less aggressive language, other parents also write that they have chosen the same solution, that of obtaining a medical exemption for their children, also for fear of a grade that would prevent the student from having “10 on the line”. Other parents, on the other hand, are on the side of the teachers and say that grading is based on clear scales. In addition, not participating in Sports class, given that the children of the current generations do very little exercise anyway, would be a bad decision from the start, say other parents.
“A student who has sports skills and sees that they are given a grade 10 and those who are not can complain about this aspect. The problem is not with the teachers who respect the scales, but with those who make them. In resistance, for example, I know it's hard. But I repeat: we should walk the scales, officially, not take the teachers by the ears. And fictitious exemptions are not a solution either.” is another opinion among the more than 100 that have gathered in the meantime on the post.
In the effort to find out what sports teachers take into account when awarding grades, how difficult it is to get the maximum grade if the scale is taken into account, how they get the children to attend classes, but also how they convince the parents about the importance of this discipline, I talked to several teachers of physical education and sports.
“The secret is to make them come with a smile on their face”
Mircea Szylagyi is a teacher of Physical Education and Sports and heads a secondary school in Slatina. He teaches both primary and secondary education classes and says that if they are used to the rigors of the Physical Education class from the small classes, the students will not find it difficult at all.
“If they did sports in the lower classes, they clearly pass the standards. I don't think that a score of 9 is a reason for exemption. So, let's also withdraw them from Drawing, because not all of them are 10 even in Drawing, and from Music… (…) Here, my opinion, the parent is wrong. They run after all kinds of scholarships and we don't look at what we are depriving the child of,” says the teacher.
Szylagyi also adds that the wheelchair-bound student also enthusiastically participates in his class. “He's in formation, taking turns, taking his ball and playing with the ball,” says the teacher, explaining that the grades he gives are not even lower than 9, because all the students are involved. Grades are awarded on modules. “In module 1 you do the long jump, in module 2 sprint… You don't write it down the first hour. No one gives a damn – you came to school, that's it, let's run – because you're killing the child. The secret is to make them come to gym class with a smile on their face. If you take them according to the methodology, then, yes, you will have a lot of exemptions”, is the opinion of Mircea Szylagyi.
Grading, depending on grade level
The school inspector of Physical Education and Sport within IȘJ Olt, Prof. Mirela Vanea, emphasizes that grading is done following objective criteria, but even these are adapted to the specifics of the class.
“My colleagues award grades following tests that the students take. There are indeed some scales and depending on the progress, the respective student is given a grade. But for sure, most of the time my classmates grade according to the value of the class”Vanea specified.
Grade level grading does not mean, however, that all students in the grade will get 10s. “If we give everyone a 10, we raise the averages and it's not fair, it's not a fair assessment. I don't think this happens in other disciplines either”added Vanea.
Professor Tiberiu Moraru, who teaches this subject at the largest high school in Olt county, the “Ion Minulescu” Slatina National College, explains, for his part, that an update of the scales would be required, because, although there are also students with qualities great athletes who can easily get a 10 strictly applying the scale, most can't do that.
“If we go by the national evaluation system that has not been updated for years, yes, there are many children who cannot get a 10, if we apply the scale mot-a-mot. But, being a school subject, it is not mandatory for everyone to get a 10. Not everyone gets a 10 in Mathematics either. (…) I don't think there are correct children in Sports. The big problem for parents is that they can no longer take 10 in a row to get a scholarship”says Prof. Tiberiu Moraru.
At CN “Ion Minulescu”, the teacher explains further, the colleagues of the department decided to do an initial test of the students and depending on the results, the scales are later adapted.
“I'm interested in progress, not necessarily bringing it up to the standards set when there was still a lot of sport,” Moraru adds. According to the teacher, a revision of the scales would be required, because the level of motor skills has dropped a lot, but the hyper-protective attitude of the parents does not help either.
At the same time, children who have unknown spine deficiencies are observed during sports class and thus are referred for a specialized examination, the teachers also say.
