I have something to say about this.
The way P.E. is done should be improved.
P.E. is not inherently bad, but you can overexert yourself to the point where bad things happen.
Personally, I've gone through one minor heat stroke from trying to meet the minimum requirements in that "class".
But people NEED it.
My state and my city need P.E.
If nothing else, because of the fact that 53% of the children in my vicinity are OBESE, and they sure as hell aren't exercising outside of school.
We need to make stuff like this mandatory, but also add a nutrition unit to it. We can't change their priorities, but we sure as hell can make them see that if you don't eat right then you will falter running even one fourth of a mile.
I used to be that kid... now I'm running my second marathon.
As for the time component of it, I found that P.E. helped me prioritize my time and my GPA shot up to perfection.
But that's just me. I can easily see how it could backfire on someone else. If people are failing and blame P.E. for it, then.... they're not using their time outside of that class wisely.