P.E. Should not be a required class in public schools

This will be my second time debating RichardDong, and I look forward to the opportunity I will first refute my opponent's arguments and as time allows extend upon my own. First and foremost the nature of my opponent's advocacy must be addressed. In 2008 Dr. Edwards, director of forensics at Baylor University, published a book endorsed by the national forensics league and the NFHS in which he presents the necessary steps in writing an argument; concerning the Toulmin method, the most common format of writing an argument, he writes that "Occasionally a debater will present data without offering either a warrant or a claim -- the debater simply presents an "interesting fact. " . .. This data may well be accurate, but it doesn't lead anywhere. There is no argument unless the data is connected to a claim through a warrant. [5]" My opponent's arguments as of last round most certainly contain data, but the nature of that data is unsubstantial as it has no clear claim nor does it have a warrant which links the data to the claim. My opponent's round 1 does not stand to refute the resolution, it simply makes the claim that childhood obesity is a problem and assumes the P. E. can, and will, solve this problem. The argument is fundamentally flawed and should not be accounted for. The reason being (as I have already provided evidence to show) is the P. E. has not been proven to change the exercise habits of students[4]. Furthermore these classes do not account for all students[4] as the teachers are typically athletic coaches who couldn't care less about the class; it ends up being a waste of the students time all while still managing to embarrass them. Beyond that, Con fails to address my sole point of contention, that while obesity may indeed be a problem it is not the school's place intercede. By allowing parental responsibility to leave the hands of the parents and be given to the school, we fail to instill these values and concepts into the children in the first place. It is the job of the parents to instill into their children life long values that concern health and exercise, not the job of the school. Beyond that, there are still a number of alternatives to leading a healthy lifestyle that precludes mandatory PE. The most immediate one is obvious, elective PE classes would still if you vote for the Pro; I argue to remove it's mandatory status, not to remove it completely from schools. Also included in these alternatives are; Sports teams, exercise at home or even just taking an occasional stroll around the block. The health benefits of PE are not unique to taking the class, but the express violations of privacy and free choice are -- it is not the place of the school to control a student's life or personal choices about how they take care of their body. It is the job of the school to educate students; at the point PE does not fulfill the obligation is is a harm and should not be required of any student to take. And if a student want to make proactive use of their exercise time, they could volunteer at any manner of shelter or community service project and exercise while they move boxes, serve meals and clean rooms[6]. In conclusion, PE violates a students rights to privacy and free choice, are mostly useless due to poor instruction and apathy from instructors and don't offer unique benefits to students they they couldn't get somewhere else. Vote Pro! [5] Edwards, Richard Earl. Chapter 2: Making Sense of the Argument. Competitive Debate: The Official Guide. New York: Alpha, 2008. 17. Print. [6] . http://lancaster.unl.edu...