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Gym Class Is So Bad Kids Are Skipping School to Avoid It (The Atlantic)
- Thread starter Piecake
- Start date
I like PE fine
With basketball and soccer I just ran in the general direction of the ball pretending to be busy lol
With basketball and soccer I just ran in the general direction of the ball pretending to be busy lol
I loved PE when I was in middle/high school. And I definitely wouldn't consider myself athletic. It helped that I had PE with at least a few of my friends every semester, so while we participated, we'd often dick around.
Ok, scratch that. The scooters were the best and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. The only good thing about gym class.
In middle school PE was a chore, mainly because the facilities were shit and we spent most days just running laps. In high school it was great, because they alternated sports you could try, and it's what made me join the tennis team
we were required to take PE, but it was a different PE class, and it was at the end of the day (last period of the day) so it could roll into an extended practice.
I remember a lot of my PE teachers being lazy assholes.
The types that would chew out the out of shape kids, when they looked like they hadn't exercised in years.
The types that would chew out the out of shape kids, when they looked like they hadn't exercised in years.
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P.E. is too focussed on team sports which is horrific . Get barked orders by the douche captain, fuck off.
I preferred individual events like track n field and stuff
I preferred individual events like track n field and stuff
Ah. I was a Texas middle schooler starting in 2007, never heard of that "Texas Fitness Initiative" before, but makes sense. That explains a lot. I was bullied every day, skipped school because of it, had suicidal thoughts, and I still deal with the long lasting emotional trauma of it all. It felt like a prison, all the ages were in the same class, so you have these giant guys in the last year of middle school, and I was a tiny first year. But hey, I'm really good at telling time now. Because I literally would count down the seconds from the instant PE started to when it was supposed to end.
At least high school was better, coach didn't care and everyone was just on their phones the whole time.
At least high school was better, coach didn't care and everyone was just on their phones the whole time.
Complete waste of time. In my school you had to take it every year, twice a week no matter what. It sucked, and it took up a slot where I could have taken another major and actually learned something. I'd usually just go join the girls and play ping pong or walk the track since I had no interest in football or baseball.
PE sucked for me because I sucked at Basketball and that's all the teacher ever asked us boys to play while the girls ran some light lap and I was just standing there awkwardly beside the court.
Anime Japanese school have it right 😛, after school whatever club for actual enthusiasts
Anime Japanese school have it right 😛, after school whatever club for actual enthusiasts
Pe was awesome. I even enjoyed the pacer test. Trying the be the last 1 or 2 people going at the end was always fun. I can't imagine having a PE class so bad that I'd want to skip it.
Even when we had to do sports I didn't like it was alright because I'm still just playing with friends for a grade
Even when we had to do sports I didn't like it was alright because I'm still just playing with friends for a grade
my friends and i would always sneak out and hit the weight room. on rare occasion we got caught the coaches would laugh it off but every now and then you'd get one that was totally livid and be like "how dare you not take seriously my completely insipid activities??"
what i hated was it was always in the morning and showers cost a dollar to use for some bizarre reason (so nobody used it) so everybody was dirty throughout the day, especially since most stuff we did was outside
what i hated was it was always in the morning and showers cost a dollar to use for some bizarre reason (so nobody used it) so everybody was dirty throughout the day, especially since most stuff we did was outside
The PE teacher at my HS was super laid back, so much so that we got an A just for showing up lol. About half the kids in my class would always use that time to either do homework or socialize.
Damn this is crazy hard to relate to. I loved PE growing up. It was the one class you never wanted to miss. Was a great time. Basketball, Baseball, Track/running, shit we even played Badminton. As long as you brought your sweatpants and t-shirt + gym shoes it was the one Free A+ you knew you got every quarter. Im going to have to read this when I get time.
Never had any issues with PE and I was fairly chubby growing up too. Granted, each person will have their own reaction to it, but it's important to give kids an outlet to have some physical education.
The other side of the coin is that PE classes need to be better (they need to teach you how to exercise and it's importance moreso than just making you play a random sport for X amount of time) and PE teachers need to better as well. Went through a few that only cared to keep us busy and nothing more.
The other side of the coin is that PE classes need to be better (they need to teach you how to exercise and it's importance moreso than just making you play a random sport for X amount of time) and PE teachers need to better as well. Went through a few that only cared to keep us busy and nothing more.
Hated school and hated gym even more. My body and brain have a weak connection so i suck in nearly all sports, Especialy teamsports. And ofcourse thats what we always did and i have been the class's laughing stock for all my life during gym. Even the teachers laughed at me as well.
Fuck gym.. and fuck teamsports as well
Fuck gym.. and fuck teamsports as well
Really enjoyed P.E in comp. Our teachers seemed to give a shit about their job and were pretty supportive of the kids that weren't coping as well. It needs to be structured in a way to ensure all kids engage with it as a lot of children would be doing 0 physical exercise outside of it.
I've had shit stolen from me during P.E. And one of my worst school memories was going to my locker (Where all I had stored was my P.E. shirt and shorts) and finding the locker to be covered in scrambled eggs/ketchup.
Abolish P.E.
Abolish P.E.
The only physical fights i ever got in in high school all happened in PE. But aside from those, and in one or two cases including those, it was still one of the most fun periods during the day... I loved it.
I hated gym class so much throughout elementary and Jr. High. As an obviously gay kid I was bullied anyway, but throw in a locker room and getting blamed for losing because the fag is on your team, and well... I definitely skipped gym a lot. I remember one year we had mandatory intramurals after school, and I was forced to be the goalie. After 2 games I made my parents write me a note excusing me from it.
I'd imagine body image is one of the biggest problems. Shoving a bunch of insecure minors into a room where they are forced to get undressed together is just asking for problems. I have a trans son, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled when he has to change for PE in a couple years. And that's before you even start class.
"Gym Class", or "P.E." as we called it was fucking terrible, and I can't believe it's a thing. As a physically weak child who was late to puberty (don't mind saying it now, I grew up just fine eventually), it was a weekly humiliation. Being forced to shower in front of other kids and teachers, getting mocked for being skinny and short, forced to run round and round in circles around a field until being physically sick. The bigger, stronger kids were sometimes less academically strong, and would take all their school life frustrations on the smaller, smarter kids during that class, and the gym teachers, who were probably dumb fucks in school themselves were in their element, so would never stamp out any bullying.
It was like for 2 hours a week it was just time to destroy the smaller kids. Fuck that shit.
It was like for 2 hours a week it was just time to destroy the smaller kids. Fuck that shit.
Physical Education was probably among one of the worst classes I've ever taken, at any level of schooling. Between the bullying, the issues with locker rooms, the issues with being transgender (and not knowing it), and the fact that we often did a whole lot of piss poor activities (YES MAKE THE KID WITH A FEAR OF HEIGHTS CLIMB A ****ING ROPE) that weren't fun at all meant that I spent years not seeing the value of physical activity to improve myself. I envy the people in this thread saying stuff like "We got to lift weights!" or "Our sport counted as PE class", because we didn't get anything like that when I was growing up in the late 90s.
It took years before I went anywhere near anything resembling a public locker room again. Kids skipped as much as they could then, and I'm not surprised they're still skipping now.
It took years before I went anywhere near anything resembling a public locker room again. Kids skipped as much as they could then, and I'm not surprised they're still skipping now.
I took bowling for PE in middle and high school. Didn't have to change and it was only twice a week. Best class ever.
Of course if it was traditional PE I'd skip that shit too.
I do remember my elementary school teacher being great. We would have American Gladiator tournaments, with giant foam sticks and obsticle courses.
Of course if it was traditional PE I'd skip that shit too.
I do remember my elementary school teacher being great. We would have American Gladiator tournaments, with giant foam sticks and obsticle courses.
In my high school you had to take some form of PE two semesters a year. The semesters where I didn't have a PE class scheduled my life was so so much smoother. It's a really stressful situation for anyone who doesn't conform to a lot of the norms expected of your gender. And the teachers are exceptionally skilled at turning a blind eye to any kid who's not having a good time.
Oh, and skipping was totally not a viable option as attendance was almost entirely the grade. I envy anyone who could just get away with not going.
And to the people saying they only had to attend PE twice a week or whatever? Must have been nice. At all the schools I attended, if you had a class scheduled that semester... you had to go every day. So five days a week. And we never had anything like bowling or something that is more laid back. The closest was 'advanced physical fitness' (which I did take for a while) that was more about using the weight room and doing cadio, so it was not sports-based. That was a lot nicer because you could work on your own most of the class.
I just want to see schools begin to offer more alternatives that fill the slot of a traditional PE class because it's not for everyone.
Oh, and skipping was totally not a viable option as attendance was almost entirely the grade. I envy anyone who could just get away with not going.
And to the people saying they only had to attend PE twice a week or whatever? Must have been nice. At all the schools I attended, if you had a class scheduled that semester... you had to go every day. So five days a week. And we never had anything like bowling or something that is more laid back. The closest was 'advanced physical fitness' (which I did take for a while) that was more about using the weight room and doing cadio, so it was not sports-based. That was a lot nicer because you could work on your own most of the class.
I just want to see schools begin to offer more alternatives that fill the slot of a traditional PE class because it's not for everyone.
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Huh, gonna be honest, personal experiences aside (which will always vary wildly) i'd say given some of the answers here it feels like PE was a very different beast in the US school system than what I ever experienced from 1st grade to 12th grade in Portugal.
Even among those in the US, it seems to differ widely. There's tons of people talking about how they could substitute gym class with a sport or marching band or bowling, and like... none that existed where I went to school. It was just a lot of calisthenics style stuff, or dodgeball/kickball/touch football. A literal Hell on Earth, basically.
What was it like in Portugal, if you don't mind me asking?
Although not American, pretty much the whole male portion of my class skipped pe in the last 2-3 years of school. Not due to bullying but because it was boring and tedious.
Negotiating your grade at the end of the year with the gym teacher was way more fun than pe ever was.
Got a B btw for not showing up for the whole year
Negotiating your grade at the end of the year with the gym teacher was way more fun than pe ever was.
Got a B btw for not showing up for the whole year
If PE class is used as a time for actual physical conditioning or sports, that's fine. A lot of PE classes seem to be all about maximizing the awkwardness of kids' awkward bodies (minus the handful of natural athletes), while providing plenty of opportunities for humiliation by peers and instructors.
The incompetence of the people who let the latter form of PE class carry on is breathtaking. It's like they want students to be miserable.
The incompetence of the people who let the latter form of PE class carry on is breathtaking. It's like they want students to be miserable.
Basically 2h of team sports (including dance in HS for whatever reason lol) for the most part. Football, volleyball, basketball, handball, bandminton, gymnastics (the basics at least), track running, that sort of stuff. Best year (personal preference here) was the 12th grade in which the gym was being remodeled from inside out, we had half of year of football classes at the training grounds of the local professional club, in real football fields. Pretty awesome!
Though it was something that, at least my with classmates, we were always looking forward to. They were chill, you know? You could just turn off your brain and have fun most of the time.I had some teachers that were mostly interested in keeping us busy for 2h, rather than actually teaching a class, so there was always room for a lot of clowning around with your friends. Though even when they were trying to teach us stuff, they still were fairly chill. There wasn't this immense pressure to be extra perfect or anything, as long as you tried they were okay with it (and more than glad to help in a non-discriminatory way). Like I said, I was fairly chubby growing up (borderline obese, really) and even for me it was fun.
Dunno, maybe I just lucked out with the classmate I had over the years or the classes themselves, but I never was bullyed for being overweight or made to feel unwanted in the classes.
Already sounds better than what I had growing up in the midwestern US. We definitely would not have had gynmastics out of all things at our school.
There was a track running program separate from our PE classes, which I did participate and enjoy in. But that was something I could do solo during recess and get personal accomplishments in, and family encouraged me to go for it. No such thing existed past elementary school either. There was presumably a track program in highschool (as they had a track), but at that point I was already being homeschooled.
From what I remember was the guys who were into sports focused on competing vs each other instead of mocking others.
There was times where you did the push up or sit up drills and it was likely embarrassing for the couple kids who struggled to do it at all.
There was times where you did the push up or sit up drills and it was likely embarrassing for the couple kids who struggled to do it at all.
PE was great. Once a week you'd do a 5km run, every day you'd do a specific run distance. After that you'd do whatever game they want you to play from baseball to capture the flag in the woods (capture the flag ended when the homeless set up tents in there). Beep test was always great as a few of us took that shit seriously. Also, once in a while they'd do a large game of tag in the field but whenever you were tagged you were to leave the game. If you survived the 30 minutes you got a prize.
I was that girl who would stand in outfield during a game of kickball with my arms folded and refuse to participate. Last picked on the team every time. Sorry not sorry, I have asthma and anemia and if the teacher was going to ignore my doctor's note, I was going to ignore the class.
Most of the time we weren't given time to change into PE clothes or even clean up after and lord knows teenagers don't know personal hygiene. At my high school, girls had to wear what was essentially booty shorts and a 'slim cut' tee while guys got basketball shorts and a loose t-shirt and we had to beg to be able to buy 'men's uniforms'. If I'm 14 and going through puberty, what makes you think I want to stand there with my cheeks hanging out?
And when we would do something I liked/was good at/wouldn't die doing like tennis or badminton, no one else wanted to do it or no one wanted to play with me anyway.
Most of the time we weren't given time to change into PE clothes or even clean up after and lord knows teenagers don't know personal hygiene. At my high school, girls had to wear what was essentially booty shorts and a 'slim cut' tee while guys got basketball shorts and a loose t-shirt and we had to beg to be able to buy 'men's uniforms'. If I'm 14 and going through puberty, what makes you think I want to stand there with my cheeks hanging out?
And when we would do something I liked/was good at/wouldn't die doing like tennis or badminton, no one else wanted to do it or no one wanted to play with me anyway.
Yeah, we had some programs too (in my schools at least) but they were fully optional in every sense of the word. Like, there wasn't anything in those extra programs that you didn't experience in the regular PE classes.
Also, regarding the locker room stuff, not sure if it's different or not, but gyms here are designed/built in a way that each class/group has their own locker room with their own showers, so there are rarely strangers there with you. Obviously the PE classes at the gym were scheduled around that limit, thus you for most of my school life (outside of special events) you only had 2-3 different classes/groups at the gym during each period.
And if you had PE before any other class, you had an extra 15 minutes of tolerance to wash yourself properly (mostly useful for the girls, most boys didn't really need the extra time in my experience).
My PE teacher was a complete dickhead who seemingly enjoyed humiliating and berating anyone he didn't deem athletic enough to be graced by his teachings. It was hell, complained about it multiple times but nothing ever happened.
He retired about 4 years after I graduated, so hopefully not too many other kids suffered.
He retired about 4 years after I graduated, so hopefully not too many other kids suffered.
Coach Cutlip from The Wonder Years definitely seemed to be a scarily accurate portrayal of many, many real people's P.E. teachers. I've worked with some excellent PE teachers but it does also attract some troubled types, particularly with toxic/fragile masculinity issues or their own failed dreams of sports glory.
Playing devil's advocate though, I do kinda bump on suggestions some people make that P.E. within schools is inherently cruel and unusual punishment. It is a vitally important activity for a lot of kids who aren't intellectually gifted. It's easy to forget that for every little Johnny feeling like a fish out of water in gym, there is also a little Brian in English terrified of being asked to read a paragraph from Tom Sawyer out loud, and little Caroline in maths having a poorly disguised anxiety attack up at the whiteboard trying to solve a long division problem with everyone watching.
As always, the devil is in the details and there has to be a balance between coaxing kids out of their comfort zone while protecting their self-esteem.
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Yeah, that's another thing that really sucked about PE. The class generally ran to the very end of the bell so there was no time to shower and change (assuming anyone actually wanted to use our completely open, barracks-style showers.) Our school also had strict penalties for being late to classes so there was barely enough time to change, let alone wash your sweaty ass.
And of course I always had the piss luck of having PE as like my second class of the day.
And of course I always had the piss luck of having PE as like my second class of the day.
It definitely depends on the teacher/program. I had a great time. We went ice skating in winter and bowling in warmer months. We went to a real gym where we could do weight training if we wanted. We also had a climbing thing in the back where you had wear a harness with a safety rope. They would make us do it blindfolded sometimes. It was sweet. This was a public school.
Having pe in the morning is a blessing when the afternoons get 100 degrees each day.