Did you dislike PE? Do your kids dislike PE?

[chris1987]

I'm studying to be a PE teacher and I'm curious to know what people's views are on how PE has changed over the years. Do your kids enjoy or dread it? Why? How could it be better?

Hated it; cold, wet, forced to shower, shouted at for not being able to do certain things even though it wasn’t my fault (tight ham strings), made to do cross country. It would have been a whole lot better if we could have chosen certain sports - for example I was good at table tennis and not bad at badminton, but these never featured as part of the PE curriculum (this was the 80s). Being able to wear thermals and a tracksuit in winter would have helped too. Oh yes, and getting changed in front of the others who were more developed than me and enjoyed pointing this out was no fun.

My children love PE and have areas in which they excel and it’s noticed by the teachers, so they don’t have the dread I associate with it. However, one of my DS’s is bullied in the changing rooms and because staff aren’t in there, it carries on.

Oh also:

Actively teach the core skills. At primary a secondary PE teacher came down to the school and taught DD1's class 'multi-skills'. She said that some stuff most kids just pick up but some kids need to be taught.
Like

• throwing
• catching
• how to use your arms when you run

Hated. Hated. Hated. The way it was ‘taught’ in my day (70s and early 80s) was exclusively competitive sports-based. This excluded any child not fast, tall, strong or coordinated enough (or not interested or competitive enough to give a flying fuck). Team picking was an opportunity for ritual humiliation as were communal showers. I think I’m a reasonably fit and active 50-something who enjoys yoga, hiking and running - and who still doesn’t give a flying fuck about sport. I think I’ve been lucky in that grim experiences at school didn’t put me off being active - it probably does for many people, particularly if associated with bullying. Also: adolescent young women and body development. Running was painful without a proper sports bra and running shoes. So: please have a range of fitness activities for the non-sporty kids and be sensitive to adolescent self-consciousness. Here endeth the rant!

After being keen on PE at primary school, I enjoyed it less and less as I went through secondary school and it became more focused on the talented kids and more of just an ordeal to get through for us middling types. I think you suddenly have a realisation that you’re never going to make any teams or anything, and just lose enthusiasm. Also, my vision without glasses is terrible and I used to be made to take my glasses off for PE so couldn’t see properly to catch balls etc. I think I would have been a lot happier if we could have done fitness classes, dance etc indoors.

My DS14 enjoys PE, even though he is pretty average at team sports. He is into fitness though and always enjoys it when they get to use the gym, which was never a thing in my day!

DS12 however has had a lot of problems with anxiety at school and PE is one of the worst lessons for him. He hates the focus on individuals who aren’t deemed to be trying hard enough, and I was shocked to find out that his teacher still makes anyone who comes last do push ups as a punishment. He is very shy and also hates the whole changing room ordeal too.

Cold, boring, girls outfits much smaller than the boys, made to do team sports with the boy’s who would then scream at us for being shit/comment on our bodies. Meh, hated it.

i hated pe and had my mum write me notes every single week from around year 8! i was a chubby teen until about 14 and the regulation kit was shorts and a short sleeved tshirt. if i had been allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms and a different top then maybe i would have participated more. my partner was - and still is - sports obsessed and was a part of about five teams! my eldest son goes to boxing, football, rugby, and cricket in the summer and absolutely loves sports whilst my youngest son will only go to boxing and hates any other sport.

Sports bras - they should be compulsory. Schools should be able to buy job lots of compression tops in various sized and give girls guidelines on fitting - might not be as good as a professionally fitted bra but better than nothing.

I didn’t mind PE. Was in netball team for a while and was good at swimming. Was also good at lacrosse but then swapped schools as a teen and the new school did hockey which I was shit at. I went to a number of different schools, and the year we had in the States I didn’t enjoy as I was crap at basketball and they didn’t do netball.

My kids are at secondary and are very different. They both enjoy PE for different reasons. DS is doing it for GCSE and has played for his county. He’s very competitive and has to win. He’s also a trained ref.

DD plays in two netball teams, and also enjoys badminton. She’s the most uncompetitive person imaginable but enjoys the team aspect of sports. It helps that most of her friends are sporty.

Sadik I'm shocked about the glasses thing! That's awful and blatantly ridiculous. I wonder how those teachers think Martina Navratilova - to pick just one example - would have done without her glasses?! The mind boggles.

I enjoyed PE lessons that included the sports I enjoyed anyway: tennis (not that we played it much), netball, rounders, hockey. I hated cross country, gymnastics, athletics. I think in PE you should be allowed to play to your strengths. That's what brings out the best in people.

OP, if you have a look at some interviews with Judy Murray, or even just her twitter feed, she has some great ideas on getting girls into PE/sports.

Hated it at secondary which is such a shame as I loved it at primary. The reason I hated it was the humiliating communal naked showers and aggressive way we were taught. I want the opposite for my daughter and hope to Instill a love of sport. It’s such a shame PE wasn’t enjoyable

Oh and I agree with pp that it should be improved by:

• not making girls wear tiny outfits in freezing conditions
• letting the focus be on fitness rather than winning
• offering a range of sports/activities not just hockey!!
• not letting students pick teams themselves
• create a more supportive and encouraging environment

Also, I don’t understand why kids are still made to do PE after they’ve chosen their GCSE options. They get to drop other subjects they don’t enjoy or aren’t good at. Kids who don’t play an instrument aren’t forced to carry on taking music, for example (and I say this as someone who did take GCSE music!). I think if it’s still compulsory after year 9 there should be a wider choice of non competitive activities on offer.

1960’s. I loved it! I was small but agile. I could jump rope for hours, jumping jacks non stop. We did loads of gymnastics, archery, basketball, floor hockey, badminton, track and field it was a blast.

I hated it . My Ds loves it but has Adhd so loves the chance to move

I agree with the poster I was often last but even numbered 1 2 etc you knew no one was pleased you were on their team.

Liked some of it, found some of it boooooooooring. I’m a teacher and I find it astonishing how PE teachers get away with having loads of pupils just sat about on the sidelines chatting for the majority of the lesson. I wouldn’t get away with it in my lessons!

Secondary ?

It was OK. It was just the same as many lessons - depends on the teacher and, to some extent what you are learning at the time, with the added in, 'it depends on the weather' which you don't get with most lessons. I think all my dc felt pretty much the same.

What I hated was when there wasn't enough time to get changed afterwards - dried if swimming, or washed and dried if doing something muddy like cross country, and then having to go through the rest of the day uncomfortable with drying mud on you or sit through the next lesson with hair dripping down your back.

All 3 of my dc have had the opportunity to do SO much more / so many different types of PE, which is great - finding your 'groove' as it were is going to be more likely if you are offered more opportunities.

I do like the idea of 'setting' for PE in some ways - as others have said, if you are new to a sport you don't generally get much chance to practice if those who are already good at it dominate the game.
I like things like 'Kwik Cricket' where EVERYONE bts for 2 overs and EVERYONE Bowls for 2 overs, and if you are out you lose points but carry on and if you get someone out you gain points but still only get to bowl your 2 overs. It is so good for developing skills, as opposed to the full game where, if you are out first ball, you don't get to practice, so have no chance of getting better. I'd love to see this philosophy adopted across more sports, where it is in the rules that everyone has a fair crack at the whip.

I was at high school in the early 80s.

I hated doing PE and Games.

My reasons are the same as many other PP have stated:

Inadequate kit - pleated games skirt and white tshirt - even in midwinter. How many young teenage girls are body confident enough to run round the streets in that outfit?
No training on how to play each sport. Tennis/hockey/netball - I still have no idea of the rules and scoring.
Team picking - I wasn't last but def quite far down the line.
Communal showers afterwards - I wouldn't give two hoots nowadays, but back then I didn't want anyone to see me naked. None of us did but we were forced to walk through. So we all got wet, but very few actually lingered in there long enough to use any soap.

Strangely I love being active now. Took up running at 40. Now 10 years later I have a few half marathons under my belt, and have taken up residence in the gym - doing heavy lifting, and a lot of strength training classes.

I didn't hate it, but I was useless at it because my hand-eye co-ordination is poor and I'm not a fast runner - I was therefore bad at all the usual school sports - netball, hockey, tennis, athletics. Fortunately I had a lovely PE teacher who was encouraging, so it didn't put me off for life, but it did take me years to discover I'm actually quite good at some sports, like martial arts.

I'd say make sure you have a variety of sports and games, to suit different abilities and temperaments, so you don't end up with kids like me failing at them all.

Hated it. Put me off sports for life. Like others have said, I had no idea on the rules for tennis, netball or hockey as we didn't play them in our small primary school.

It was assumed we all knew the rules. I was constantly put down/ yelled at/ pushed for doing the wrong thing or being offside.

Showers were torture.
Short skimpy skirt was horrendous.
Whole lessons were spent watching those who 'could'.

Hated it. No interest or ability for it, and also horrendously self conscience, particularly in secondary school, as I was physically developed very young (already reached my adult height by the time I started first year at the age of 12, and was wearing a D cup bra...) so stood out like a sore thumb.

I did, however, have a wonderful teacher who looked out for me and encouraged, but never forced, me to participate which made me want to try more than I probably would have done and made those few hours a week a lot less painful.

But nah, PE definitely not for me. I can't spend any more than half an hour at the gym without losing the will to live.

I'm 62 and a lifelong exerciser
Maybe because my mum & I walked 2 miles each way to kindergarten - most folk didn't have cars then

I enjoyed sport at school - I was good at some things, not at others
but I enjoyed moving and being out in the fresh air, whatever we did then
We didn't have to stand around much; it was all fairly active and kept us occupied

Yes, we had communal showers etc at secondary school, but it didn't bother me much, or other girls afaik (single sex grammar)

I am still very active: cycle 30 km most days, lift weights in the gym or jog by the Rhine

I hated it. My DD (aged 9) enjoyed it for the first couple of years but is now old enough to be aware that she is not naturally good at it, and for other kids to make comments about it which means that she is already really self-conscious about it. She has hypermobility (I think I do too, though it was never diagnosed) and has huge difficulty with catching, throwing, anything involving strength and natural co-ordination.

I was discussing PE lessons the other day with a friend who is good at sport and she expressed the idea that it was so good that schools focus on team sports so that everyone can play a part on the team even if they are not the best. She thought it would be awful to just do athletics or whatever as they are so competitive. I explained to her how this feels to the non-sporty kid and she said she had no idea. At least in an individual sport you are not letting down anyone except yourself, so don’t have everyone berating you for the rest of the day/week because you dropped the ball or whatever, or the public humiliation of no-one wanting you on their team. I didn’t mind long distance running - I knew I would be last but didn’t care, at least everyone left me alone to run at my own speed. Setting would be good too.

Totally agree about actually teaching skills - teachers don’t assume that everyone knows how to add so why assume everyone knows how to run/ catch/ hit a ball etc.

My dd loves PE but doesn't really do it at school as it's a specialist school.
Just wondered if you had seen this OP, just thought the difference may be of interest to you as a student.
This is what my dd has once a week.
www.musicalimpact.org/fittoperform/

As a chunky teen I hated the tennis skirts which barely covered my arse and the football socks which didn't go over my chunky calves. Had I felt less cripplingly self conscious I would have been more inclined to join in. I can't see how a skirt and gym knickers enhance performance. Leggings or tracksuit bottoms would be loads better. Also running - we did a short warm up and then sent off on cross country or 1500km which the majority of us struggled with. Had we done a program like c25k I bet we would have excelled.

I absolutely loved it took it up to standard grade and got a 1. Didn't take it for higher.

My eldest liked it until 14 she's a girl.

Middle child, girl whose 9 likes it and my youngest who is almost 6 and a boy loves it.