Did you learn square dancing in elementary school? Did anyone ever tell you why?

In My Humble Opinion
101

Once a year in gym, we did the Virginia Reel, which I really liked. In 7th grade, we learned “the Stroll” instead. That was because there was a “sock hop” dance that week and we were supposed to do 50’s dances. (This was in the 70’s.) I won 3rd place in the Stroll dance contest, the only competitive prize I’ve ever gotten for a physical activity.

I loved the parachute! I always wanted to do the bamboo sticks thing but the teacher had to pick you to do it and I never got chosen. Maybe that was because I couldn’t do a backward roll. He told me I wouldn’t be allowed to graduate from elementary school unless I could do it, but I didn’t. THEY LET ME GO ANYWAY.

102

I…I…I thought it was only me…

Takes moment to compose myself :wink:

F.H. Bode Elementary school in Northern Ohio, 1963-64, 5th or 6th grade. Don’t remember all that much except my partner was named Jane and our PE teacher (Mr. Lipinski), who tried to teach us square dancing, was an ex-college football player who had not paid much attention in class in college…lovely man, but not really a good teacher.

I dimly remember taking a after-hours dance class in middle school (did my parents sign me up? Can’t remember) where I learned the waltz and other dance steps that I never used.

Still have two left feet and still can’t dance.

103

I grew up in western Ohio farm country in the 70’s and we did square dance in PE for a very good reason - it was a feature of all weddings and non-school dances in that area. It wasn’t like the boots-and-petticoats thing - it was more like a mosh pit with directions! Very energetic, smiles and laughing all around. Went back for a nephew’s wedding in November and they did 2 dances (we used to do 2 or 3 sets of dances a night). All ages from 12 to 70, all mixed in together.

My early 20’s boys had never seen it before and were dumbfounded how everyone knew what to do , but also intrigued. They thought it looked like fun, but didn’t think they could figure it out in one night.

104

As far as the reason, is it possibly because of the state of Texas’ influence on textbooks and curriculum across the nation?

105

Good lord, I’d completely forgotten about that, but apparently is was de riguer for elementary physical education across the country in that era. It was part of gym class for 4th through 8th grades. I didn’t hate it, but it seemed so silly. We were urban kids, most of whom wouldn’t have known a barn if we’d tripped over one.

If I had to speculate on a reason, it probably seemed like a good way to encourage coordination at a time when our growing bodies made us fairly clumsy.

I never square-danced again after elementary school.

106

First time I held a girl’s hand was square dancing in 7th grade gym class. I think we did it in 8th grade, too. No square dancing in high school, but we did put canvass over the gym floor so that we could all roller skate. There was a bowling section, too, where we used rubber balls in the gym and took a “field trip” to the local bowling alley to use real balls at the end of the semester.

I think in general, they were trying to get across the “structured movement for leisure” concept to the less athletic among us.

107

Grew up in and went to elementary school in suburban SW Houston in the late 70s/early 80s.

We definitely learned square dancing. But we also did kickball, dodgeball, tumbling, all sorts of jumproping other kinds of dancing (mainly popular Texas country dances- some line-type stuff, the Cotton-eyed Joe, Schottische, and the kid favorite Chicken Dance).

We didn’t do a lot of actual team sports, as they didn’t have much equipment beyond a shitload of jumpropes, and a bunch of various balls, and there were a lot of non-athletic kids. So if it was good weather, it was kickball, or running outside, or some track & field-ish type activities. If it was particularly cold and/or rainy (not uncommon in Houston), we’d do the inside stuff, which was mostly in December, January and February.

108

Took you a whole year, huh?

109

MHO: It’s easy to learn and pretty much everyone can do it.

110

We did square dancing in elementary school, but it never struck me as odd. Grew up in rural Appalachian Ohio, my parents met at a square dance, and they were still being held weekly in the same place when I was in high school and college. (It appears they still have square dances there on occasion.) I think I knew how to square dance long before we learned it in school.

111

Square dancing is the State folk dance of most of the USA. It has its origins in folk dances of France, England, Scotland, Ireland and several other European countries (anywhere where you’ll find the word ‘quadrille’ in use, in fact). It was introduced into what became the USA during the reign of Elizabeth I, so it’s an important part of North American cultural history. It’s now standardised with an international syllabus set by the callers’ professional association. You’ll find this on www.callerlab.org under Dance Programs. Anyone who has reached Mainstream level can take part in square dance events anywhere in the world, and visits to other clubs are usually free, so it’s a good, low-cost hobby that you can practise all over North America as well as much of Northern Europe (Wales to Russia) as well as Australia, Japan and China. It’s good for your physical health and keeps you intellectually alert.

Trouble is, it’s very badly taught in schools, many teachers not even having completed the Mainstream course. If you’re going to learn it, learn it properly from a Callerlab-accredited teacher and take it to at least Mainstream level (ideally to Plus level).

112

We moved to a town where the elementary schools had square dancing as a unit of PE. That would have been 1976-1979. Square dancing was not only my favorite PE unit, it was the only one I enjoyed and looked forward to. Nice to see I’m not the only one who like it.

I enjoy square dancing and contra dancing now, and I’m fortunate to live someplace with a great dance community. Unfortunately I’ve fucked up my knee and I’m not up to dancing now.

113

We did square dancing when we were learning about colonial America and the Revolutionary War (and doing all kinds of colonial-themed projects in our other classes), so it made perfectly good sense why we were doing it. I guess it would have seemed a little weird to do it outside of that context.

114

I did square dancing in elementary school, too. This was in Houston, Texas, in the 1960s. During these sessions I always hoped to be paired with Adele, a girl with long blonde hair. I don’t think she was particularly interested in me, though.

We weren’t told why we were square dancing, and nobody asked. I always assumed that it was something my teacher was into. I didn’t learn until recently that it was a commonplace school activity.

115

We not only did square dancing but polkas as well. For one thing we were rural and pretty ethnic so the PE and music teachers both felt they were skills we could use. And for another it was an indoor activity for rainy days (in elementary and middle school the gym was also the lunch room and library) where things wouldn’t get broken.

116

This thread is killing me.

Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
something something
Get ready to circle left
All join hands and circle left around the ring
when you get home, get ready to swing…

The things that stick in our heads never cease to amaze me, especially given all the crap I learn and immediately forget. Yes, I square danced. But hey, I got a 4th grade boyfriend** out of it, so it can’t be all bad.

**It didn’t work out

117

The real thing is tractor square dancing. It’s been a pretty big thing in PA for the last several years. Now I can handle the normal kind but even the thought of trying this (and I’m a damn good driver) frightens me.

118

Ohh yes…Square Dancing. Where they opened up the mechanical door between the boys side and the girls side; they turned on the square dancing music.

We turned to the left and we turned to the right…we turned to each other, the a left and a right. How stupid as we all followed along. Especially the guys when saying how stupid it was in their heads and later talking about it in the locker room.

While we all knew there’d come a time we’d have to choose a partner…us girls were talking about our choices in our locker room while the boys were laughing about something stupid regarding hoping they didn’t end up with this one or that one…if they even thought out it at all…

Then doomsday came when we had to choose a partner for some stupid dance that called your partner…

As they made us stand in a line like all lines were when you had to choose a team and hoped you weren’t the last one left…the boys got to choose…

Of course the prettiest girls got chosen first…and then the next and the next…

It was horrifying hoping you weren’t the last one chosen!!

I remember getting picked by the guy I liked best…a good friend I’d made and we had the most fun dancing and laughing…Turn your partner right and left…left and right…right and left…tuuurn partners…and back to the right…and down the middle…

How completely stupid!!

More stupid were those crazy Physical Fitness things we had to do to get through gym class!!

I think they included the 600 run, some sort of standing jump where you had to swing your arms and jump out as far as you could; the softball throw; and that thing where you had to hang from a bar with your hands forward, shaking like a leaf and kicking your feet so you could stay up there long enough to pass. Most embarrassing thing EVER~!!

Who ever thought of these things anyway??! I remember running that stupid 600 yd thing feeling like I was gonna die after the first 300 ft!! We had to run up a sidewalk there and back. Wasn’t so bad running it up…but running it back was complete torture as the gym coach yelled out the time. Then in high school we had to to it again, yet around a track…and it was the 440. I remember a friend of mine knew she couldn’t made the time…so she walked it!! Took her sweet time and as gym time was running out…she just kept walking slower…LOL!!

As we all ran into the locker room…our gym teacher had to stand out there and time her as she just kept walking slower and slower…bending over like she was catching her breath, etc. She didn’t finish until half her next class was over while the next gym class was running THEIR 440 behind her and passing her.

We still talk about that as one of the funniest times we had in high school…as she did it on purpose!!

The good ol’ days when it was something simple like that…LOL!!

119

We did it in Kentucky in the 70’s because the state legislature said we had to. Everyone hated it. I actually liked running laps better because after we went a time or two around the gym the teacher stopped paying attention to us and we could hide behind the bleachers and tell dirty jokes.

120

Gee, can’t believe I missed this thread the first 2 times it came up…

I went to a Catholic school thru 8th grade, and we never had any kind of PE program, so, no, I never learned square dancing. All I know about it is what I’ve seen on TV, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.