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Secondary education

PE?

13 replies

robinsamy · 18/09/2016 13:02

DD is in year 9 and up until now has been sports mad. Then for some reason she has decided that she hates PE because "the teachers shout" and the "PE kit is embarrassing and horrible".

Anyone else get this/ any tips to deal with it - or is it just normal teenage angst?

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CodyKing · 18/09/2016 13:04

Sports teachers do shout!

We had big green pants up till we left at 16

I'd agree they would be better in lose joggers rather than shorts - I haven't seen an attractive PE kit !!

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noblegiraffe · 18/09/2016 13:31

Unfortunately this does seem to affect teenage girls, they become very self-conscious. What's your aim? To get her to enjoy school PE or to maintain her interest in sport, in which case can you encourage sport outside of school?

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robinsamy · 18/09/2016 13:33

My aim really is for her not to grow up hating sports but at the same not to be worried or anxious when she has PE lessons.

The PE kit is actually not too bad - burgundy top and black tracksuit bottoms with trainers for outdoor PE, white top and black leggings with trainers for indoor PE - better than my day of freezing cold shorts on the field!

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Heifer · 18/09/2016 13:43

Its a shame that the pe kit puts off a lot of girls. At DDs school (and other girls schools in the area) they have kit designed for girls, Skort and top cut for women. It's very smart, flattering and comfortable. When DD went to an athletics meet which involved lots of different schools in the area, it did seems the the co-ed schools mostly adopted a baggy teeshirt and shorts which a lot of the girls seemed self conscious in, constantly pulling down the shorts etc.. It's a shame that they can't be catered for as I am sure it does put a lot of girls off sport. No reason why girls and boys have to have the same pe kit...

Saying that, even with decent kit there is still a drop off in numbers when they get older sadly. DD has noticed this already in yr 8.

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robinsamy · 18/09/2016 16:24

Girl specific PE kit is a really important issue I think. As is not doing mixed PE. DD does dance with a mixed group and is uncomfortable with the lads being there.

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Badbadbunny · 18/09/2016 16:40

What they wear is probably the lesser of the many reasons why school PE lessons put kids off sport for life.

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robinsamy · 18/09/2016 16:46

What do you mean Badbadbunny?

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thisagain · 18/09/2016 21:27

My teenage daughter hated the other sporty girls shouting at her, for example when playing netball - rather than the teachers. She wasn't very sporty but was/is very academic. She used to come home saying "why is that they can all shout "pass the ball quicker" etc at me in PE but I can't shout "solve that equation quicker in maths?".

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Badbadbunny · 19/09/2016 09:19

Kids who aren't sporty can suffer really badly in PE lessons. Whether they're unfit, overweight, or have other factors affecting their movement or co-ordination. They're all thrown in together and given the same activities to do, usually some kind of team sport. It's just setting up the non sporty kids to fail, who are then subjected to ridicule (yes from the other kids and the teachers!). It does absolutely nothing to help those kids deal with their problems. It also puts them off being in a "team" and turns them even more into loners.

Even worse when the PE teacher is also a subject teacher as they form an impression of you being useless due to your lack of sporting ability, and that follows through to their subject lessons too. It certainly did with me as our PE/games teacher also did chemistry - it was blatantly obvious that the sporty kids in the class were regarded more favourably and that the non sporty ones were basically ignored.

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MapleandPear · 19/09/2016 09:21

So annoying. Also people can be sporty without being good at team sports.

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Laniakea · 19/09/2016 09:42

They set for PE at dd's, after year 9 anyway - those doing PE GCSE, those who are good/serious about it/enjoy it & then everyone else (& boys and girls aren't taught together). The kids can pretty much pick which group they want to be in.

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PumpkinPie9 · 19/09/2016 10:33

I think leggings are pretty unforgiving as PE kit unless the white top she has is half way down her thighs. Is that what she is finding embarrassing about the PE kit?

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robinsamy · 27/09/2016 17:09

Just come back to this one sorry!!

Talked it over at the weekend and it seems the things she objects to are:

Leggings - (I think I get this...)

Bare feet - for dance and gymnastics

No idea where to go with this!!

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