Showers

[Flick of the Elbow]

I hated PE more than anything else and I think it put me off exercise for years to come. It just gave the boys that bullied me a chance to wipe me out with horrific tackles and then drag me through t mud with the PE teacher encouraging them.

Yep, exactly my experience from the 70's.

 

[jongooligan]

Our PE teachers were hard bastards who all played for the local rugby club and they made sure that everyone got showered after exercise. For us it was just normal to be undressed in front of our classmates and I don't remember anyone being bullied or having the p1ss taken out of them because they didn't have a perfect body.
Hated the communal bath at the rugby club though. Why would you want to lay around in someone else's muck?
BTW, this was early 70's.

 

[BigAl68]

I enjoyed PE throughout school and we all showered. I can't remember any bullying and all of the teachers were nice guys who also taught other lessons, mainly humanities if I remember correctly. I also played rugby from 14 every Sunday and hated the showers there as our changing rooms were an old tin hut and the showers never got above tepid and if you didn't shower then you wouldn't get in the club house afterwards. I can understand how different it is for kids these days with the way the media continues to show celebrities as role models and the increase in ways kids bully each other with social media etc. I loved school and PE and wouldn't have changed it for the world.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

So those keen and good enough to play competitive rugby didn't have any problems with PE at school. Why am I not surprised.

 

[User10119]

and I don't remember anyone being bullied or having the p1ss taken out of them because they didn't have a perfect body.

I had a catch up with some old school friends over Christmas, plenty of reminiscing. What became apparent was that our lived experiences of the same secondary school were completely different. They were all fairly sporty and popular, I was fat, ginger and speccy. They'd always assumed that things such as my becoming a school librarian was because I was a 'good girl', and it had never occurred to them that it was to escape the pretty relentless bullying of the school yard. They weren't part of the bullying, from either side, so they didn't see it.

I escaped PE in 4th/5th year (10&11 in modern parlance) by taking an extra GCSE (Music) which clashed on the timetable, and in 6th form by taking another additional GCSE (Drama). Used to go swimming on the way home from school though.

 

[swansonj]

I don't recall it ever being a problem, we were told we needed to keep clean and why and we got on with it. And all our sports teachers were actually real teachers, mine was a geography teacher if that's a proper subject.

Someone told you to do something that was for your benefit, explained to you why it was necessary, and you just accepted it? Do you ever feel, how shall I put this, that perhaps SC&P may not be your natural home?

 

[Venod]

Yep, exactly my experience from the 70's.

I found the rugby field an ideal opportunity to get at the bullies, I never had problems with them off the field.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Showers were par for the course at my 80s comprehensive. A long communal corridor that you shuffled through in line, nobody escaped it as the teachers would be on hand to herd people into the showers if reluctant.

My middle lad is fit and athletic, an army cadet and always does v well on the assault courses and in their PT, which he happily participates in and leads by example.now he's got stripes - often at Holcombe Moor where they did the Krypton Factor races. He's no great body image issues but doesn't enjoy team sports or ball sports which seems to be the standard fare there.

He hasn't done PE at school for a couple of years since he realised that if he stopped changing they'd stop pestering him to. I've challenged him and the school on it but the waves of apathy from both sides seem pretty solid and frankly if they're mutually happy to leave it like that, I've got better things to worry about.

There does seem to be an elephant in the room there that an apparent decline in PE take up or exerting enough to get sweaty or whatever for a couple of hours a week is enough to see such a decline in childhood fitness.
No mention of the rise of the X-box and multi channel ever present TV with lots aimed straight at all age kids and microwave oven and processed food and more 'latchkey' kids as both parents work full time (guilty of all) fending for themself and doing a pizza rather than whipping up a cottage pie and socialisation like this rather than getting out skipping/tin can football/every kid in the street bulldog/riding your bike round with your mates from having your tea straight after school until bedtime......

 

[Lisa21]

Kids today don't know they're born. or how lucky they are.

I always think of it the other way round, that bullying when I was in school - of which I know all too well - consisted largely of words with the occasional kick or pushing. Nowdays its nothing surprising when bullying ends up with kids or teachers being stabbed, or worse,and also can become a 24/7 thing with phones and internet. Im glad I got my bullying out of the way when I did tbh.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I always think of it the other way round, that bullying when I was in school - of which I know all too well - consisted largely of words with the occasional kick or pushing. Nowdays its nothing surprising when bullying ends up with kids or teachers being stabbed, or worse,and also can become a 24/7 thing with phones and internet. Im glad I got my bullying out of the way when I did tbh.

Now that must be a nightmare for anyone on the receiving end of it. I'm at the age where I could give up all electronic communication with no more than a minor inconvenience, but for youngsters who don't want to isolate themselves from their peers it's all but impossible.

 

[Lisa21]

Now that must be a nightmare for anyone on the receiving end of it. I'm at the age where I could give up all electronic communication with no more than a minor inconvenience, but for youngsters who don't want to isolate themselves from their peers it's all but impossible.

I agree. I couldnt give up my phone etc, but iv reached the stage where im far more able to handle keyboard warriors without allowing them to upset me too much. I do have a friend whos daughter is bullied online tho, and she finds the threats extremely difficult to ignore and yes, there is always the delete/unfriend/block/change your number option but in a school environment i imagine its not easy to keep your details personal. Im pretty thankful i didnt have any online activity when i was in school. Although i did have a friend request on facebook from one of my worst school bullies