Well I am probably a lot old than many, if not all, of you who have replied. We had mandatory PE and mandatory swimming when I was in high school. I never did learn to be an accomplished swimmer but could save my life if necessary. For that I am thankful. The only time we were excused from swimming was "at that time of the month." I can tell you from experience that is the only time I ever really was thrilled about having my period. I can recall the swimming instructor saying to some of the girls....."wait a minute, you just had your period two weeks ago!" LOL!

I would have liked PE a lot more if it concentrated on exercising rather than sports. I was never one who could hit the ball when we played softball and many others weren't either. I think participating in sports is particularly difficult for some and as a result may even lower their self esteem. I think some plain old exercise or aerobics would have been more beneficial for me at least.

Edit: I just remembered one more reason that I disliked swimming at school. It seems that I always had it last period and there was never enough time to dry my hair or I would miss the bus. Going outside in the winter with wet hair is no fun.