PE - did it promote a life long love of sport or was it ritual torture?

[LuckyMum96]

Just that really, for me it was mixed - too much PE was focussed on the school teams though and not enough on general exercise and activity

I don't see why it should be logistically more difficult to set up circuits, just to give an example, and let everyone do it at their own pace, than it is to get everyone into a hockey game. It seems like a lack of imagination rather than a problem of resources to me

But plenty of kids love team games and would find circuits really boring.

I absolutely agree that letting kids pick teams is awful.

Yoga and pilates can be quite damaging if not done correctly- I'd imagine a few boys and girls would push themselves beyond what they are capable of.

I won't argue with that but so can the activities normally done in school.
I burst a blood vessel in my leg when made to run round the rugby pitch several times - the class was being taken by a Prefect as the PE teacher was off sick. It really was different in the 60s, Prefects used to take other classes as well. My grandson (who loves sport) broke his arm playing football and his brother injured his foot badly just stepping back off a mat.

Mine would have hated yoga, but I think it does pop up now and again in schools.

I can understand this thread being difficult reading for PE teachers but they are arguable best able to make changes to the curriculum and incorporating suitable exercise into daily school life.
If there are any PE teachers, I certainly don't want to turn this into a bunfight - screaming fits never did any good. I want to meet them where they're at.
I think PE is still run by feelings and less on evidence, hence why it is still a stubborn bastion of magic and ritual in a school setting.
Having said that, my DS1 although critical of PE has given some encouraging comments in terms of having mini-games for football tuition rather than assuming everyone already has built-in knowledge and enthusiasm for it.

I would imagine (especially for primary school) that the other aspects of being in a team such as working together, learning and applying rules, communicating, taking turns, fairness, sportsmanship etc are at least as important as the actual activity itself.

@Fizbosshoes

I would imagine (especially for primary school) that the other aspects of being in a team such as working together, learning and applying rules, communicating, taking turns, fairness, sportsmanship etc are at least as important as the actual activity itself.

Quite. Hit, circuits and aerobics are good for fitness if done correctly but are purely about exercise for exercises sake. Dd loves football because she loves being with a group of mates and being competitive. Although certainly adults aerobics classes are one of the most competitive environments I've ever been in

@Janevaljane

I don't see why it should be logistically more difficult to set up circuits, just to give an example, and let everyone do it at their own pace, than it is to get everyone into a hockey game. It seems like a lack of imagination rather than a problem of resources to me

But plenty of kids love team games and would find circuits really boring.

Christ, you're argumentative. I said "just to give an example" - there are other non-competitive sporting activities. Yes, some kids love team games, but plenty don't. Why are you so opposed to the idea of there being alternatives for those who would like them?

I would imagine (especially for primary school) that the other aspects of being in a team such as working together, learning and applying rules, communicating, taking turns, fairness, sportsmanship etc are at least as important as the actual activity itself.

I agree that that sounds like a fine idea in principle, but kids are kids, and this thread is full of examples of times when those things didn't happen. I think PE teachers really need to be alert to the bullying and exclusion that goes on during their lessons and come down on it just as hard as they would if it was happening in the middle of Maths.

Torture! As an adult I enjoy exercise, but definitely PE put me off for a decade or more. I like individual exercise (HIIT, yoga) but am crap at team sports.

I'm not sure how PE is run these days, but I think they should adapt it so kids that hate team sports are allowed to do other non-team exercise, such as gym, etc.

Everyone is different and being forced to do team sports when you're not that way inclined or skilled is humiliating and emotionally damaging.

Of course it isn't a stupid thing to say. Many of us would like to hear from PE teachers about why their lessons are taught in such a shit way. Why it has remained so poor.

Expecting a handful of PE teachers to come on here to explain to a bunch of beligerant randoms why lessons in 70s/80s were not to their liking is daft. Their brief was to essentially to raise your heart rate by making you move. When I was a teenager the PE budget for most schools was paltry which left few options other kicking a ball about, rounders or netball. When you had a class of thirty odd kids the best way to organise that was via team exercises or were you seriously expecting a personal trainer to draw up an individual programme that catered to your tastes and holistic needs. Yeah, I get it, you did not like games, but given the fitness options available to us now are a world away from running around a muddy field at scool decades ago the whole 'it put me off sport for life' just seems like a convenient excuse.

I think PE for me was a bit of a mixed bag, but the teachers tipped me over into giving up.

I was actually a pretty active child and enjoyed the lessons on first aid and how the body works. I remember we had to write a food and exercise dart for homework once. I had a pony and was on the local pony club gymkhana team. I practiced every night in the lighter months and could vault onto a galloping pony from the floor. I still remember the hot sick humiliated feeling when the teacher scored a thick red line through my diary and declared loudly “horse riding isn’t exercise! You’re just sitting down!” and I had to walk back to my seat while the sporty kids laughed at me.

Then there was the netball incident, when set 1 (the netball team) was told to compete against the group that had no netball skills whatsoever. I think it was clear to us all that we were the ‘No-hopers’. We’d spent weeks standing in a circle passing the ball to one another. They represented the school. I don’t know what anyone thought this competition would achieve. No one actually explained the rules of netball at any point. I had to throw the ball in from the side after it had gone off the court (I think). Wherever I stood, the teacher blew her whistle and screamed “NO!” I couldn’t work out where I was supposed to stand and when I said so I was told to work it out for myself. Eventually she was just standing in front of me blowing the whistle every time I took a step. I burst into tears and had to be taken out by another teacher. Somehow I was still made to feel I was being removed for being deliberately difficult, and no one ever did explain what I was doing wrong.

I wish they’d taught us more useful things like proper running technique. I still run in a way that hurts my knees if I’m not really careful.

I used to help on the schools DofE expeditions and one of the other adult helpers was a PE teacher - current, still teaching. And he fit every macho wanker stereotype going - despised the children that weren't good at sport and enjoyed putting them down. He became a PE teacher because he loved PE - so why would he want to change something that he had loved at school? And he was thick and totally without empathy.

That is the issue for me in a nutshell - PE teachers loved school PE so don't see any reason to change what worked for them. Unless you can persuade people who didn't like PE to train as PE teachers then PE will never change. And who would train to teach a subject they hated?

I'm surprised by the number of people here saying PE was offered as a GCSE subject. I didn't realise it was such a widespread thing. We certainly didn't have that at my school, not that I would've done it anyway!

And he fit every macho wanker stereotype going - despised the children that weren't good at sport and enjoyed putting them down. He became a PE teacher because he loved PE - so why would he want to change something that he had loved at school? And he was thick and totally without empathy

See, it's totally unacceptable to describe any other type of teacher like this.

I wish they’d taught us more useful things like proper running technique. I still run in a way that hurts my knees if I’m not really careful

I agree technique can be taught up to a point. Sore knees are caused by weak quads and badly fitting shoes though.

When I was a teenager the PE budget for most schools was paltry which left few options other kicking a ball about, rounders or netball. When you had a class of thirty odd kids the best way to organise that was via team exercises or were you seriously expecting a personal trainer to draw up an individual programme that catered to your tastes and holistic needs. Yeah, I get it, you did not like games, but given the fitness options available to us now are a world away from running around a muddy field at scool decades ago the whole 'it put me off sport for life' just seems like a convenient excuse.

I don't see how limited budgets forced teacher to:

Belittle and mock students openly
Show blatant favoritism towards the talented ones
Not actually TEACH anything (just moan at you for failing to meet their standards)
Allow horrors like team picking

I really hope PE is taught differently now. It was awful in my day.

Everyone is different and being forced to do team sports when you're not that way inclined or skilled is humiliating and emotionally damaging

Being taught how to work as a team is immensely valuable.

Learning how to play hockey is much easier than learning how to perform yoga safely and effectively. You might not be able to hit the ball very well, but not many can unless they play outside school or are just naturally good at it.

If only the kids who were good at team sports had shown some team spirit to the kids who struggled. What I learned about team spirit was that if you were good at something it was fine to be nasty to people who weren't.

@Janevaljane

And he fit every macho wanker stereotype going - despised the children that weren't good at sport and enjoyed putting them down. He became a PE teacher because he loved PE - so why would he want to change something that he had loved at school? And he was thick and totally without empathy

See, it's totally unacceptable to describe any other type of teacher like this.

I was describing this particular teacher & this is what he is like. You may not like this information, but that does not mean I should not share this information.

But @DillonPanthersTexas it's still going on. My fit and active DC who are in their early twenties now run, play squash and lift serious weights. Yet at school they loathed PE and would come home with cracking examples of bullying and off putting teaching. It was school's loss really because DS would have won them some x country medals. But he didn't enjoy rugby or the culture around it which was allowed to thrive.

@ancientgran

If only the kids who were good at team sports had shown some team spirit to the kids who struggled. What I learned about team spirit was that if you were good at something it was fine to be nasty to people who weren't.

Did you really? That's sad.

But plenty of kids love team games and would find circuits really boring. Well maybe it would do them good to have to do something they find boring, kids who hate team sports could give them some survival tips.

PE has changed a lot over the years and so has the teaching. There have been a lot of intiatives to encourage girls in particular to try football, and to offer dance etc. Our local comp even has e- sports as an option on sports day.

I do wonder if mumsnet has a high proportion of insular people who just hate exercise and/or joining in.

teamsports are great as (in theory) there are niches for everyone.

but I agree that teachers need to let dc try things out. and encourage without patronising and not being blind to bullying.

I realised that I was very good at midfield hockey. I had untreated asthma thanks parents and couldn't run much but was fine with short sprints and great a streching out to stop a far away ball.

Hated it with a passion. It also really rankled that if you were crap at sports, as I was, there was always an element of public humiliation. I never understood the mentality that was prevalent in my schooldays of public glory if you were good at sports, but god forbid you were recognised for being strong academically. That was definitely the attitude amongst the pupils and, sadly, a fair number of teachers seemed to follow suit. After I stopped having to do school PE, I actually became a massive sports fan (strictly spectating!), which I wouldn’t have believed possible when I was at school.