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There are some primary misunderstandings about this topic. First bodybuilding is not the same as weightlifting. Bodybuilding is a process that can take years and that is about showing off your muscles in grotesque shows after literally hours a day spent in the gym. Weightlifting, however, is simply using exercise to better the body's muscular strength and endurance by the means of free weights or other muscle-building machines.

Whereas body building has many negatives as to everyday appearance and dangers of drug usage, weightlifting can be an enriching experience for people. I am not saying that it should be mandatory in schools, nor am I saying it should not be allowed, but it has its own set of benefits and consequences. For instance, when I was in high school, these little guys, far from building, would simply lift the minimum requirements to pass the course, whereas the giant jocks would continue to build the muscle and use it to beat up, in some cases, the little kids.

We also have health concerns to worry about. Some children cannot handle the duress that weightlifting can have on the body. Weightlifting can play havoc with hormones if it is not done properly, and personally I think there are too many flying around schools to worry about this added on. And this is only assuming that we have corrected the term bodybuilding into weightlifting. Bodybuilders are even more susceptible to problems physically, resulting from the intensity of workouts and oftentimes the steroids (not that all bodybuilders use steroids).

Another problem with "mandating" this in schools is that you are mandating it. The government should keep its hands off of our children, wallets, and anything else that they think they should run. When was the last time that giving the government any sizable chunk of power actually helped? Our schools are already helplessly entangled in the government's beaurocracy and adding power to that body will not help anyone.

In addition to the already abundant problems, the cost of this would be astronomical. We all know that weight equipment isn't cheap. Imaging when the government buys it. Instead of a $500 hammer it will be an $11000 barbell. With taxes already being raised continually to pay for the multitude of unnecessary governmental projects, whether or not Jonny has a six-pack doesn't seem to matter much to me. This cost is something our struggling educational system doesn't need as a burden, financially or socially or ethically.

Learn more about this author, Joshua Jones.
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