Page 2 | Cannot believe boys & girls are still taught different sports in PE..

CityFox · 2016-02-11T21:10:31+00:00

When I was at school 20 odd years ago, girls played netball, tennis and hockey. The boys got yo play basketball, football and rugby... I always thought this most unfair, and after much petitioning we were offered an after school rugby club for girls. I am [shock] to hear via another thread that this is still the case, why??? Aibu to think it's pretty sexist all round?

JasperDamerel · 12/02/2016 10:09

I care less about gender segregated sport in schools than whether or not girls' sport is taken seriously. I would much rather DD went to a school with kick-ass hockey and netball teams that were taken seriously than that she got to do rugby with the boys in a school where only traditionally make sports were taken seriously.

helenahandbag · 12/02/2016 10:19

We did some mixed stuff like basketball or athletics but they would generally offer two choices of activity: football or dance. Rugby or gymnastics. I couldn't dance if my feet were on fire but I also didn't want to be screamed at on a football pitch by hairy guys who were a foot taller than me. Eventually we sloped off and played ping-pong every week until we were finally allowed to drop PE from our timetables entirely at the end of 4th year (Scottish high school).

Original poster

CityFox · 12/02/2016 10:26

I'm not talking about co-ed sports. I'm talking about having the opportunity to learn the same sports, this could be done in single sex or mixed lessons but that's not my gripe.

I feel that the sports you are allowed to learn should not be dictated by your gender.

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enderwoman · 12/02/2016 10:27

Our school does the same. Girls play rugby and boys do gymnastics etc.
Teaching is done is single sex groups.

timelytess · 12/02/2016 10:29

Cannot believe that people still haven't noticed that boys and girls are not the same.

Inkymess · 12/02/2016 10:37

Where I am girls primary and secondary football is really popular and booming. The same girls want to play rugby and team sports etc as well as dance and gym etc Some girls like mixed sport. Others like to just play with girls as overall less physically aggressive. All options should be available. Girls drop out as they are not encouraged to see these sports as for them - same with boys and dance etc SIGH. There are timid girls and boys as well as both girls and boys who need to be able to play more team/physical stuff

Original poster

CityFox · 12/02/2016 10:40

"Cannot believe that people still haven't noticed that boys and girls are not the same."

I think you may be missing the point somewhat...

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Witchend · 12/02/2016 11:27

Dd1's school they do all sorts. Which means that they have 6 lessons on each one before moving on.
So that's Lesson 1: Introduction to the new sport. Safety explained, talking through any extra equipment (no I'm not going to buy rugby boots for the next 5 lessons etc.)
Lesson 2: Doing the very basics.
Lesson 3: Rained (went to gym and played dodge ball with the other outside groups)
Lesson 4: Persuaded teacher to let them watch a match on TV as it's cold outside.
Lesson 5: Teacher on training, supply teacher who knows nothing about that sort so takes them inside to play something else.
Lesson 6: They play half a small game, then spend the rest of the lesson being told how they could improve if they had any more lessons on it...

Result is: I would say "Jack of all trade, master of none" but I don't think they even get to the Jack of all trade level. They don't have a clue how to play anything.
I suspect for a non-sporty child it's much better. But for a sporty child who hasn't opportunities outside school it doesn't even give them enough knowledge to be able to say they enjoy the sport enough to join a club.
At my secondary we did hockey and there were people that got to county level just from playing at school. (not me!)

Nataleejah · 12/02/2016 11:52

I remember at my school we played basketball in mixed teams of 15-16yo girls and 12-13yo boys was great fun

Inkymess · 12/02/2016 12:05

Cityfox I'm totally with you. Girls should get a chance to try rugby and footy along side other stuff and boys the same. A lot of girls schools near us don't offer anything except traditionally girls activities. It can be beneficial in fact for girls to have a go at girls only football or rugby initially for example before playing mixed if they fancy it.

chilipepper20 · 12/02/2016 12:14

I am over 40 and american. this type of thing was just being phased out when I was a child. Seems oddly old fashioned, and I don't understand how it persists in this day. I don't know if netball was ever a thing in america, as it would have to have predated my school days.

it's a shame too. I only heard of netball since moving here and it seems like a much less rich sport than basketball. I don't understand the assumption that girls can't dribble the ball, especially when european and american girls do it all the time.

SquirmOfEels · 12/02/2016 12:20

Our secondary has the sort of carousel of sports described above for one PE lesson a week, and the main team sports the other (boys football/rugby/cricket, girls netball/hockey/athletics or tennis). But there are clubs for both sexes at lunchtimes or after school.

The carousel sports and the clubs would be done together, but could be either alongside or mixed, depending on the activity as there are real physical differences by the secondary years. So you'd get mixed badminton, water polo and basketball, but parallel football, gymnastics and track and field.

redskytonight · 12/02/2016 12:27

DS's (secondary) school divides boys and girls for PE but they do the same sports albeit not at the same time. For example this term, DS is doing football, which the girls in his class did last term. I always assumed this was just a timetabling/resource thing i.e. not enough football fields.

Same sports available for boys and girls as lunchtime/after school clubs too.

My niece and nephew go to a school where boys and girls have separate classes and separate sports for PE (girls play netball and hockey; boys football and rugby) from age 7. That is truly disappointing.

TheCaptainsCat · 12/02/2016 12:29

We weren't allowed to play rugby at school because apparently it was too rough, and we might 'damage our breasts' I didn't mind though, as instead we got to use the indoor fitness suite, it had water coolers and a flatscreen with MTV playing! I do remember the same teacher instructing us to use the rowing machines to the beat of 'I must I must I must improve my bust'!! Shockingly this was 2005/2006 so I doubt much has changed! Dance classes were mixed though.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 12/02/2016 12:32

My son did a couple of weeks of netball (mixed class) but they all, boys and girls, requested basketball instead so they switched.

BatmanLovesPeaceAndQuiet · 12/02/2016 12:35

When I was at secondary (20 years ago ) there were about 100 children in my year. There were three PE groups - Boys Who Were Good At PE, Girls Who Were Good At PE, The Rest.

Boys Who Were Good At PE did rugby, football and cross country
Girls Who Were Good At PE did hockey, tennis and aerobics
The Rest did all of the above plus basketball, used the gym, rounders, racquetball, volleyball, javelin etc

Miss West - you may have been terrifying but you were brilliant. I hope you know that.

Ellybellyboo · 12/02/2016 12:37

At my DD's high school they do split classes into boys and girls, but they all get a chance at all the sports.

Over the winter DD has 2 lessons a week, 1 outside doing football and rugby (6 weeks of each) and the other lesson inside doing trampolining and basketball. The boys have done the same but opposite IYSWIM - while the girls did rugby, they did football and vice versa

Boys and girls did netball last year

OneMagnumisneverenough · 12/02/2016 12:55

I don't know how streaming for PE would work as presumably the whole year doesn't get PE at the same time. Boys and girls who are good at PE generally do afterschool activities in sport I think (not having children who are good at PE maybe I don't actually know :) )

As far as I understand the PE group is the same as their general group for other subjects such as Art, Tech etc where they are limited to 20 in the class rather than their academic class group.

Inkymess · 12/02/2016 13:10

I missed the original thread - where was it?

OneMagnumisneverenough · 12/02/2016 13:11

I'm assuming it's this one?:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2568519-To-be-unhappy-about-mixed-sex-PE-lessons-at-secondary-school?

GreenTomatoJam · 12/02/2016 13:28

it's a shame too. I only heard of netball since moving here and it seems like a much less rich sport than basketball. I don't understand the assumption that girls can't dribble the ball, especially when european and american girls do it all the time.

Netball and basketball are just different games - dribbling isn't part of it, like picking the ball up isn't part of football. Not less rich, just different.

I was rubbish at all sports, but quite enjoyed netball - the fast thinking and accuracy required when you're not allowed to move with the ball is good. I've also played basketball, and am involved with it for work, and TBH, it's fine, but I don't enjoy the stop/start nature of it as much in the professional game.

In feel I'd almost say that netball is a fast, flowing game more like ice hockey than the almost turn-based basketball.

LaurieLemons · 12/02/2016 14:29

When I was at school 10ish years ago I remember the PE teachers having a tough time getting us girls to do anything in the lesson. A lot of us (including me) just weren't interested so we ended up doing netball or rounders 70% of the time because it was the only thing we would do without dragging our feet about. The boys seemed a lot more willing to participate. Obviously there were exceptions but that was the majority.

I think they should be mixed, it must be hard work for the teachers when 80% of the class want to do netball/football then what do you do? I think mixed classes would've given us all a nice kick up the backside.

chilipepper20 · 12/02/2016 16:28

I was rubbish at all sports, but quite enjoyed netball - the fast thinking and accuracy required when you're not allowed to move with the ball is good. I've also played basketball, and am involved with it for work, and TBH, it's fine, but I don't enjoy the stop/start nature of it as much in the professional game.

I have never seen a live game of netball, only on youtube, and it really does seem like a much more restrictive game than basketball, rather than a different game altogether. I am from the northeast of the US and know ice hockey (and basketball) very well. I don't see any similarity between netball and ice hockey (no restriction on "dribbling" - stick handling, or movement in ice hockey, accept for the goal keeper. I would say of the two, ice hockey is much more like basketball).

I think what you may mean is that in ice hockey you have a lot of turnovers, perhaps like netball, whereas in basketball teams generally 'set up' on offence. I don't know about netball, but ice hockey and basketball both have a mix of back and forth and set up play. But I can see that point. But the restriction in movement I think really makes netball very different than the other two.

In any case, why would you stream the genders into playing one or the other. if netball and basketball are two genuinely different sports, give people the choice. It really feels here that netball is a girls game and basketball is the more complicated male game.

Original poster

CityFox · 12/02/2016 16:33

Netball was rubbish, when you have hold of the ball you can't move, only do a little pivot. Lots of petty rules about footwork.

Basketball, now you're talking!

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Inkymess · 12/02/2016 19:45

I hated netball as too slow for me but having seen adults playing near us in a huge ladies league I now think it's a really skilful fast sport !!!