<p>jym, yup when I read your post I thought the same thing. I totally forgot about trampoline…I’m going to have nightmares tonight. Looking back I wasn’t really non-athletic but we had some tough women and the tiny, compact can-do-everything well ones that looked half-way decent in those prison uniforms were the ones that made me feel that I was doomed. I grew up in Michigan.</p>
<p>Oh my gosh, I HATED most of my PE experience. I was good at team sports, but horrible at things like gymnastics, running, and rope climbing. In 7th grade, they had two sets of uneven bars - one tall and one short. I was TERRIFIED of those things - “What, fling myself around those little bars??” At first I got away with at least using the smaller set, but then my teacher caught on to me and said I was tall enough that I had to use the big set. I remember going into the storage closet and trying to cry very quietly! She came in and said I wasn’t trying hard enough! That same week, the other teacher pulled me aside and mentioned that I’d probably do better at gymnastics if I lost some weight. Looking back on it, I wasn’t even that chunky.</p>
<p>Then there was the time in 8th grade that we all had to run a certain distance and they posted our times up on the wall of the gym. I was THE slowest, out of more than 200 kids. I’m still slow, but I can run a half marathon! </p>
<p>My kids seem to have it easier. At least they don’t complain as much. It does annoy me that my son even had to take general PE when he runs 50 miles a week in XC / track. What a waste of a class! He did have fun beating the hockey players in there, though - the upperclassmen were always surprised to see this little kid blow by them on the track.</p>
<p>“Dance for Athletes” invaded by asian violinists - required by orchestra director to get them to stop sawing notes and start feeling the music.</p>
<p>“Tap/jazz” invaded by the science geeks, to work on cool moves. Multi-variable in shades.</p>
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<p>Wasn’t me. I wasn’t actually present at gym class very often …or at most any class after lunch …or before lunch BUT…I do recall “Eric” (real name) who was almost as worthless in high school as I was explaining to the coach that he would not run laps. “Coach, I just don’t see the point. I start here. I end here. Just write down on your chart that I did it and we’ll both be happier. Now, I’ll run to that stop-and-rob over there and buy you a tall-boy or a pack of smokes. Doesn’t that make more sense?”</p>
<p>^^HaHa. Our bloomer suits looked like the bottom ones in the picture, but I don’t remember the waist being that defined.
The other thing we did was claimed to be having our periods almost every swim class so we could skip it. I remember the teacher yelling at one girl, “Lydia. You better see a doctor!”</p>
<p>I have been laughing out loud! I’d completely forgotten my blue gymsuit. It snapped up the front, with a collar. My mom had to embroider my first name on the left front and last name (big) on the back. She did this beautifully, and washed and ironed it faithfully as well. I was the only one in my class whose gymsuit looked like that!</p>
<p>When I was in HS there was only one store downtown that sold the girls royal blue gym suits. They did the name embroidery for us, which was great since my mother could barely sew on a button! I think ours were supposed to be ironed, too, but not many kids bothered.</p>
<p>7th grade girls had to take sewing and cooking. The first project in sewing was the sewing of the gym bag. A rectangle with shoelace drawstring at the top. 2nd project was to embroider your name across the bottom.
Our uniforms were white blouses that snapped with cotton elastic waist shorts. My sister was two yrs younger and she got stuck with the stretchy blue one piece gymsuit. I remember on friday lining up at the end of gym so they could check that you were bringing your gym clothes home to be washed. I also remember lining up to go into the shower area with the tiny stiff white smelly towel. We would quickly pretend to get a bit wet. You walked out of the shower area where a mean gym teacher would stare at you and decide whether she thought you had actually taken a shower. You marked your PE number on the tile wall with an X. A certain number of no showers resulted in a poor grade in the work habits and cooperation column of the report card. Like one of the previous posters I was a 100 lb weakling. Skin and bones. I could not for the life of me climb that stupid rope or do pull ups. Anyone else do the 6 minute walk/trot. You had to do a certain number of laps within the 6 minutes.
I know at my D’s jr high the water was turned off in the showers. Budget savings.</p>
<p>My kids’ HS requires 1 year of PE (state requirement, so kids who do HS sports still have to take it), but it allows to take the class by correspondence through a local state U program…</p>
<p>Whose good idea was it to take teens at the height of their self-image doubts and put them in communal showers, I mean, I can change my clothes or be nude at nearly 50 after yoga with all the other oldsters, but who wants to invite that body comparison situation in your teens. That is cruelty to emotional development</p>
<p>somemom- totally agree. This coming from one who was flat as a pancake. Dreaded those showers. Even changing in the locker room.</p>
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<p>I moved in 8th grade. At my old school, we pretty much pretended to shower and most of us claimed to be having our period most of the time. At my new school, the girls actually got naked and showered…I was about 5’5" and 85 pounds…I could not believe the girls on some of those girls! I’m sure my eyes were wide!</p>
<p>Ah, the gym suits. I was in the last pre-Title IX gym class, and after my grade, everyone got to wear shorts and t-shirts. Since I moved a few times I had three different versions of the girls’ gym suit. The last was the most terrible - one piece, knit, solid bottom but horizontal stripes on top - thank goodness I was so skinny because those stripes looked even worse on the bigger girls.</p>
<p>Now I disagree…who of us was irreparably harmed by any of the bad uniforms, the mandatory communal showers, the tales of utter failure at the ropes? To me, it builds character…something that I think our kids can be alittle lacking given the preponderance of needing to “keep up their self esteem.” I know that’s a contrary opinion, but I still question this protection shield we’ve set up around kids. My S1 was really upset in high school because some of the team traditions, which were perfectly harmless, silly and decades old like dying their hair the school colors, evoked a phone call from one of the kid’s mother to the superintendent saying that it was “hazing.” I sometimes think we’d be better off letting our kids “suffer” through the anxieties of being a member of general society. I’m also probably more sensitive by nature of my job to the fact that companies spend an inordinate amount of time and money these days trying to get younger employees to understand diversity, learn to work in teams, tolerate personality differences, etc. many of the “turf” type stuff we all learned in the communal showers. I didn’t “love it” either, but I think I’m a stronger person because of it.</p>
<p>This is hilarious! Freshman year we had the gymsuits–they were knit with a zipper, striped on top, solid on bottom–with straight shorts, not bloomers (mid 70s). Ours were light blue. Soph year they got rid of them and let us wear t-shirts (I wore a “Miller Beer” shirt!) We had to take 3 years of gym, or only two if you joined a vocational program (I did) junior year. </p>
<p>I never really liked gym class, but I wasn’t bad at it. In elementary/middle school we had to climb a rope up to the ceiling. I was a big tree climber, so I was really good at that. Remember “spotting” people on trampoline? Everyone stood around the perimeter with their arms up–like we were supposed to “catch” someone as they fell? (I was terrified when the really big/fat kids were on. . .) We played “bombardment” (dodgeball) in the gym (with those red playground balls and volleyballs) or up against a brick wall outside (more like “firing squad”). I’d pretend to get hit early on and walk out. Square dancing! We did that in elementary/middle school gym class and it was fun. We also learned to dance the Polka for an Oktoberfest we had at our middle school–OMG so awkward to have a sweaty boy put his hand on your waist! In middle school we had contests for everything–I got 3rd place in sit-ups and 1st in 50 yard dash, and sis got 2nd in “flexed arm hang!” We had the President’s Physical Fitness Award–I did everything but throw a ball the required distance. Dad practiced with me in the backyard–to no avail–no award for me 
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<p>“Mr. M.” was the most perverted gym teacher. We did “leg lifts”–he’d say things like, “UP. Spread 'em. Together. Down. UP. Spread 'em. . .Spread 'em SOME MORE. . .” while standing in front of a roomful of middle school girls all lying on their backs. . . He also taught beginning typing. He’d call out the letters to be typed on the old manual typewriters–he’d say, “F, U, C, J, . . .” If a girl asked to go to the bathroom he’d make crude jokes about periods. (I actually wet my pants in 6th grade typing because I was afraid to ask Mr. M. to go to the bathroom!) A few years ago my mom told me that Mr. M. had just retired from the school district–I was so surprised he hadn’t been fired years ago.</p>
<p>In high school we had a choice of activities. I remember doing bowling and jump-rope, gymnastics, and basketball. I bowled a 17 once, but we were graded on knowledge of rules/scoring, not skill.
Best moments–besides my awesome rope climbing skills–teacher saw me sink 2 free throws in HS basketball --YES! got an A in that one.
Worst moments: in middle school I got hit in the face with a softball. I hated softball. I’d keep going to the end of the batting line because I couldn’t hit. I’d stand way in the outfield because I couldn’t catch or throw. In high school I got hit in the mouth with a volleyball–I had braces and it shredded the inside of my lips–that gave the class a nice little break. . .</p>
<p>My kids’ HS only requires one year of PE. They teach about fitness. They don’t play ball sports–they use machines, and they swim, bowl, etc. They get points for showing up, wearing the required t-shirt, and making an effort. It is extremely humane and easy to get an A.</p>
<p>BTW, No one ever took showers at any of my schools. Ever!</p>
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<p>I have to disagree with you. We’re all keeping this light because it’s a thread about “funny gym class stories” but I was truly traumatized and treated in a cruel manner in gym class. I think part of it was because it was pre-Title IX. The schools I attended really truly had no sports teams for girls. So for the girls who were athletic and competitive, the games in PE class were IT. So whether this skinny little uncoordinated girl let the volleyball drop on the floor was WAY more important to those girls than it should have been.</p>
<p>How about being kicked in the back of the head while playing goalie during indoor soccer? This was an all-boys school and the games turned into hockey with a ball instead of a puck and a gym floor instead of ice. I rolled to cover a ball that was shot towards the corner of the goal.</p>
<p>I was in the hospital (and out of school) for a week with a concussion.</p>
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<p>Husband had a gym teacher who would choose one boy to totally undress in front of the class and get into all kinds of positions to “talk about the muscles of the body.” Twenty + years later Husband read in the paper that the guy was convicted of being a pedophile - what a surprise…</p>
<p>In high school, I joined the girls’ golf team because hey, my sister was already there, golf is easy (ha…I cannot believe looking back that I was that delusional) and–the major selling point–they don’t run!</p>
<p>I didn’t enjoy it much freshman or sophomore year, but it was better than being in general PE. The coach was WONDERFUL…and the team was so small that it got to the point where “Coach” (the only name we ever called him…we’d make fun of the girls from other schools who called him “Mr. Tomlin”) knew which girl played best with which girl.</p>
<p>PE/sports were only required for two years at my high school, but I absolutely detested off-season golf (go to the driving range and hit golf balls every day for two hours. No thank you). So I settled for playing one more season junior year.</p>
<p>I absolutely loved it. Like I said, Coach knew who played best with whom, and I got to be very good friends with the girl I played with (who was 2 years younger than me and I believe is now captain of the team). I actually enjoyed playing golf four times a week, even though the matches took FOREVER just to play 9 holes because of the way a team golf match is set up.</p>
<p>I still remember our version of “hazing”…we would take the freshmen on the driving range and place the little baskets that you put balls in on their heads, telling them, “It helps you keep your head down.” (when in reality, all it does is make you look silly.) After a while they’d catch on and remove the bucket themselves.</p>
<p>I also remember, freshman year, taking our team captain out to dinner because it was her 18th birthday and her family wasn’t planning to do anything for her. We went to California Pizza Kitchen and brought our own cake (one of the girls on the team was a fantastic baker…I believe she eventually went to culinary school), which they brought out after dinner to a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday”. She turned bright read, pulled the hood of her sweater over her face, hunkered down in her chair, all the while muttering “I hate you guys”. </p>
<p>For some reason, we developed little nick-names for each other. “Tor-tor”, “Brit-brit”, “Jen-Jen”. Yes, they were all the silly little two-syllable versions of each other’s names.</p>
<p>But my favorite part? We would all get into trouble after every hole for breaking the “courtesy quiet course” rule. We would stand in front of another hole and when a girl from our team would finish we would yell, as loudly as possible. “AJ! WHAT DID YOU GET???”</p>
<p>Oh, our coach used to get SO mad.</p>
<p>Oh, the “uniforms” were lovely as well. Coach would usually pick them out, and freshman and sophomore year they were NOT flattering.</p>
<p>So Junior year we begged him to let us decide, and he conceded. We ended up with a navy blue polo shirt and Nike visor for one day, and a gold polo shirt and an Oakley cap for another day. We were responsible for our own bottoms (khaki, usually), and shoes. We also got the same gloves for the whole team…and, I believe, socks that none of us ever wore. We even got custom-made golf balls that said “MHS Lady Rams Golf Team 2006”. It seemed like every time we went to an away match that year, someone would tell our coach how nice “his girls” looked in their matching outfits. And the yearbook pictures?</p>
<p>Heheh. Junior year our team was only the 5 of us girls, plus our coach. So when yearbook picture time came around, we all piled onto a golf cart for the picture. Now keep in mind, League Rules prohibited cart use, EVER. So this was a treat for us.</p>
<p>If I remember right, we had coach in the driver’s seat, a girl next to him, one girl hanging off of each side (I was one of those), one girl standing on the back, and–yes, in fact, we did–one girl laying on top of the golf cart.</p>
<p>Oh, good times. Can you tell I enjoyed playing golf?</p>
<p>And there hasn’t been a person who hasn’t looked at me funny when I tell them that I played golf in high school because “I couldn’t do anything else.” Anyone who’s ever picked up a club will tell you it’s HARD.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys-
My knee was irreparably harmed in my kickball collision, but I am otherwise generally unscathed (I think) from the green bloomers-with-my-8-letter-last-name-written-in-marker-on-the-back days. Must admit, though, I am having flashbacks rading and posting in this thread! </p>
<p>BTW, I went to HS in NY. It sounds like our JRHS/HS experiences were carved from the same curriculum worksheet.</p>
<p>I never did learn to climb that rope. Always amazed me that people could do it. Not me.</p>
<p>Springtime always meant softball. A friend and I would lean against the back fence way far away from the action…the ball would get back to us about twice a year and when it did, it wasn’t a pretty sight. I could go days and days without batting…there were always many girls who were more than willing to cut in front of me in the line up. About once a week the teacher would notice that she hadn’t seen me at bat, then I’d have to endure that humliation.</p>
<p>The thing is, we never - ever -worked on skills. We were just sent out to play. No working on catching or hitting or throwing…we just played and kept score.</p>
<p>Basketball was ridiculous…we just played and kept score and the teacher would blow the whistle constantly, calling fouls and various mysterious penalties. I really didn’t understand all the calls in basketball until my own kids played in a league when they were little where the ref would explain to the group everything he was calling.</p>
<p>How did those teachers collect a full time paycheck without ever trying to teach us anything? I guess it was just crowd control.</p>