To be annoyed with the PE teacher

[legofansmum]

My DS sprained his ankle in PE last week, no one’s fault , just an accident, possibly more likely due to his ASD and dyspraxia.

He had it X-Rayed, the nurse did think it may be broken, but fortunately it wasn’t.

I wrote him a note excusing him from PE today, it’s still healing. The teacher didn’t read it but told DS he looked fine and expects him to do PE Monday, next lesson.

His ankle isn’t better yet, it’s still healing. I’ll be working, I work in a school myself so can’t tske him out for that lesson etc... DS is is all worked up and anxious now. I’ve told him I won’t be sending the kit, he can take part when it’s healed more.

What would you do ?

Your poor son. PE needs a massive overhaul or to be removed from the curriculum because it isn’t fit for purpose.

The nation is getting fatter. That is a fact. Physical education and sport is scientifically proven to improve mental health leading to better exam results and more success in academia

And yet for so many it’s just not working is it. For decades school PE has been a source of stress, fear and attempts to avoid it. Every active woman I know came to exercise later in life only after getting over the school PE experience.

Wow I’m really sad to see all the hate for PE and PE teachers on here. I’m not a PE teacher but very fortunate to visits a different school on an almost daily basis, with much of that time being linked to the PE department. I don’t recognise any of those comments as commonalities in schools today (though they were 20/30 years ago, I experienced it myself). Lack of physical activity in our children means they are now more likely to die at an earlier age than we are and have fewer healthy years, I’m afraid the stats around how many children meet the governemnts minimum guidelines (and they should be minimum not the target) are truly truly awful. For many children PE is the only physical activity they do and the evidence base is very clear around not just improved physical health but improved mental health and academic attainment for children doing regular exercise, in fact in schools where PE is done daily children’s attainment and progress is raised beyond that of schools where it is not, take a look at the work being done by Prof John Ratey at Harvard it’s very interesting in this field. OP depending on the severity of the sprain, your child should have been given some exercises to commence relatively soon post injury, if not I’d ask for the hospital advice leaflet and suggest using PE as a time to do these.

Elvis She said 'had' in two separate posts so I assumed it wasn't a typo. I thought it was the first time I read it but changed my mind after the second. But OP had already explained that he still has it anyway so there was no need for that attitude. If it was clear to me I wouldn't have asked.

@MitziK

My DSis had the same experience as you when signed off PE because of a broken coccyx, which was also dislocated. She was also made to be ballgirl in the cold, which really was too much for her.

In the end she was signed off school for 16 months, because she was unable to sit down for any length of time.

Firstly OP I agree that your DC should be excused from PE until he is healed properly.

To those who say that PE should be removed from the school curriculum you must be PE dodgers. You know the ones that wrote their own excise notes

I didn't like Art/Music/Drama but I don't ask for it to be abolished!

Excuse

Wow.. I'd be inclined to phone the school and ask when the PE Teacher started moonlighting as a medical professional.

Its not up to them when your DS is fit to begin doing PE... they need to STFU.

As for PE, I hated it, the teachers were all arseholes and because I wasn't the sporty kind (I preferred academics) didnt much like me either.

PE doesn't do anything for fitness. Its ritual humiliation, the changing rooms are prime location for bullying, theft and perverts... they make no adjustments for childrens different skills, fitness levels or abilities.

TBH they'd be better off just running a single taster lesson for each sport, then going to general fitness type stuff rather than forcing everyone to do athletics.

Can't believe teachers get away with this. I'd be keeping him off school. A sprain can be a serious injury and can lead to permanent damage. I had to have three surgeries on my ankle after a sprain, it was not possible to fix completely and now I have post-traumatic arthritis. I'm in pain all the time. I didn't rest after the sprain because I 'had' to go to work. I'll never know if it turned out worse because I didn't rest it, but it's really not worth the risk.

Sorry, Rachmack, but you might well get to give highly inspirational talks in assembly about how everybody can do anything if they try hard enough, but there are large numbers of children - and staff - whose minds are a million miles away behind their glazed expressions. And then they'll clap at the end whilst wondering how they managed to stay awake.

I love going to the gym. Really, really love it. One of my friends had been going swimming since she was 5 and taught me to swim, which I also enjoy. I'm also an adequate indoor rower (despite the long term health issues).

But school PE was the worst subject ever. The only time it had some merit was the single occasion when I barged the teacher onto her arse during a hockey lesson by tackling her like a steamroller (learned from having three big brothers). Had there been access to gym equipment, I would have felt completely differently, as there was no element of failure, no having to walk past boys whilst dressed in only a swimming costume, thus making it easier for them to see up close the arse and tits they were compelled to comment upon, no comparison to others and no feeling of unease at unrelated adults getting a good look at our bodies when we weren't even comfortable with seeing one another.

(By the way, why in blazes do Inspirational Speakers from sport cost so fucking much? For the price of one person who got near to international level, fucked up their joints and never competed again talking for 20 minutes about themselves, we could actually get the hole in the Hall roof fixed properly).

To get kids interested in sport past Primary playing, they need decent footwear for every activity, proper exercise clothing (not the PE kits schools insist upon), expensive exercise bras, contact lenses, somewhere warm, clean and private to get changed, decent facilities, adequate and safe equipment and something to do beyond the fucking Bleep Test, which seems to be used purely for punishment and humiliation of the majority in favour of the few. Try making it fun and pleasurable first, instead of something to make sure adolescents meet conventional standards of attractiveness - which is exactly what it feels like; it's more about not being slim enough, not about enjoying it or wanting to take part in activities after school.

You don't make somebody want to do something by forcing them to do it when it hurts, it's embarrassing and deeply unpleasant. That is what PE lessons are like for all but the few children who have both a liking and ability for the particular things timetabled.

Dippy - at least you weren't forced to do those subjects until you were 16. Unlike PE.

A sprain can be a serious injury and can lead to permanent damage.

Definitely. I've been there; both my ankles have been sprained multiple times. I also had one fracture which wasn't discovered for 12 years until the was X-rayed after another injury, this time torn ligaments and bruising to the bone because of the old fracture. My hips then suffered from weight bearing on one side after months of limping. That's never gone away; if I sleep on a bed that's not right for me on holiday, I end up paying for it.

So the lesson is that the ankle must be given time to heal properly, even if it means a full-scale war with the PE teachers. Your DS's ankle has been badly sprained from what you've described, so don't let him be bullied into going back to PE too soon.

To those who say that PE should be removed from the school curriculum you must be PE dodgers. You know the ones that wrote their own excise notes 

I definitely was yes. And?

A few years after I left school I joined the army, passed basic training with all the physical training that entailed, and routinely did lengthy marches and runs sometimes in full kit. I still run now three times a week between 5-10km each time and until I developed adult asthma a few years ago it would not have been unusual for me to do a 15 km run before the school run. I've become a single parent since then so less time, plus getting older and various niggly injuries prevent me from doing that kind of distance now.

So that's MY fitness history even though I did everything I could to avoid PE at school. Between the encouraged public humiliation, the supervised open plan showers and my overweight friend being poked in the stomach regularly by the bully girls with whichever sporting implement we were using at the time, I couldn't see, to summon up and positivity towards school PE.

To those who say that PE should be removed from the school curriculum you must be PE dodgers. You know the ones that wrote their own excise notes

I love running now and have run half marathons 10ks etc. but at school I hated PE and sport. I wrote my own notes or persuaded my mum to write them. Sometimes i went to sick bay the lesson before with headaches/sickness symptoms. I can remember trying to injure myself to avoid sports day as well.

PE teachers should have made it more accessible for non sporty types. A pp has it though, they don't get that we find it difficult/humiliating they think we are "PE dodgers"

You don't make somebody want to do something by forcing them to do it when it hurts, it's embarrassing and deeply unpleasant. That is what PE lessons are like for all but the few children who have both a liking and ability for the particular things timetabled

yes yes and yes!!

Don't forget, it's their life work making sure that most children are as miserable as possible during PE with the added bonus that it will put them off sports and being active for life.

This was my experience too. She was a horrible bully who had to have someone to pick on in every class. Made my life a misery even though I was the highest-achieving child in my year academically.

OP I second the suggestion that you send in another note, copied to the head teacher, advising that you are withdrawing your DS from PE until his injury is properly healed. Send him in with the notes and no PE kit.

I never dodged a PE lesson in my life. I did them all, The only thing I was excused from was the cross country because of my asthma.

I still think PE is shit and pointless though. It puts girls off sport, it does nothing to encourage them into a love of physical activity.

If any teacher ever bullies any of my children they will find me waiting by their car or outside the school, and they will be warned that if they ever bully my children again I will be back to bully them.

I always had awful PE teachers, every one of them was an unprofessional bully with a chip on their shoulder. Because of this I am quite prejudice towards PE teachers and i probably judge them too quickly.

However I understand that this was my experience and it's not fair to tar them all with the same brush. There must be some great ones out there who get loads of flack for their peer's bad behaviour. It can't be an easy job...

I used to love PE in school. Was very competitive outside as well.
Then I changed schools. It was awful. I remember the last PE lesson I ever did when I was 12. Cross country in the snow in one of those shitty little skirts that cover nothing and a fucking t-shirt. Asthmatic who was anaemic at the time. It was hell and the PE teachers were aware, but everyone had to do it. Didn't make it all the way around. I sat in the snow freezing my ass off literally and refused to go any further even when I was able to breathe. Got detention for that and never did PE again. Either wrote letters, bunked or just sat on the sides and got another detention.

Before that. Allowances were always made for health.

Swore that if I had kids the PE teacher wouldn't treat my kids like that. Their's were all great.

Didn't meet any other nasty ones until I worked in a school. And wow. She was thankfully sacked. Then her replacement worse. Many put in complaints including the kids, some of the tamer stuff caught on camera (had to legitimately film lessons) she was never fired. Teflon woman.

You know the ones that wrote their own excise notes

That was me. The alternative was constant lewd comments from the boys about my breasts when running because the PE department decided mixed sex lessons were a good idea for 15/16 year olds. It was awful for all the girls and loads of us skived. Not ashamed to be a PE dodger, the PE department should have been ashamed at the fucking awful environment they tried to force girls into twice a week.

PE 'dodger' (only a handful of times) and damn proud of it, @DippyDuck123 . You say it like is a bad thing?!?? And music, art and drama actually contribute to a child's education. PE doesn't at all. It is a waste of time. Schools are for learning. Not kicking a ball around an oval. Also, your point is null and void because you weren't forced to do music, art and drama up til leaving year like you are PE. So you don't even have a point there.