# What was Phys Ed/Gym like in your school? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926 "2025-01-13T20:02:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/61 "2025-01-15T19:05:23Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > The school had this weird rotating schedule: there were six periods, A-F, but only five periods per day. So on Day One we went A-B-C-D-E, then on Day Two we went F-A-B-C-D, and so on. So every sixth day, I had no PE class. Those were my favorite days. We had a somewhat similar scheduling, but with an ‘X’ period that changed everyday (like first period on Monday, second period on Tuesday, etc.). The way it worked out Tuesday afternoons had two after lunch “open periods,” which were reserved for special meetings, performances, testing, etc. This was in the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/62 "2025-01-15T19:15:13Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Girls had 3 on 3 on 3 on 3 basketball years ago in many states: half the team was consigned to the offensive or defensive end (couldn’t cross midcourt) and had to wait for possession to change, thus giving these delicate ladies a rest for half the game. We had that format when I was in junior high. If you were on a team that was very offensively-minded, you might not “play” at all. > [@enipla](#): > > And then it came. A notice that she could not graduate because she did not have enough PE credits, but she could do make up PE over in Brooklyn. > > She did finally convince TPTB what total BS this was, and they let her graduate. Heh. I don’t know if PE credits were required for graduation, but I do know that our grades in PE were not included in our GPA. My final senior year grade in PE was a D, because the teacher didn’t have the balls (literally) to flunk me. I was crazy proud of that D for years. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/63 "2025-01-15T20:18:42Z")
NYC 1977-81. My school ran on “cycles” which were basically quarters . Sixteen cycles - I was required to take gym for 15 of them and health for one. That meant up to 15 different classes - I could take gymnastics or multiple types of dance or basketball, tennis etc. or the survey classes , which introduced a different sport each cycle. \* My freshman year was the first year the girls wore tshirts and shorts - previously the girls wore one piece uniforms with shorts that looked more like a skirt. Showers only for swimming class. Gym was every day, just like any other class. \* the bad part about this was when mistakes were made. I almost didn’t graduate because in my last cycle I was accidentally scheduled for an advanced dance class. I was moved to another class but the paperwork got messed up and the dance teacher failed me for non-attendance. Wouldn’t have happened if everyone had to take the same gym class. I found out a couple of years ago through a Facebook group that there were a number of graduation issues involving gym. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/64 "2025-01-16T09:18:05Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Girls had 3 on 3 on 3 on 3 basketball years ago in many states: half the team was consigned to the offensive or defensive end (couldn’t cross midcourt) This is basically the same as netball. You are assigned to a section of the court and can’t cross a line. Only the ‘centre’ position/person can roam freely around the whole court ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/65 "2025-01-16T13:29:51Z")
One PE memory from high school was playing pickleball and thinking this was the dumbest most made-up bullshit imaginable to just keep us busy. Whacking a wiffleball over a net with ping-pong paddles? Obviously the school just made this up to make use of some crap in the storeroom and with the least potential for bodily harm among the students. It was quite a surprise to wait 40 years then see pickleball become a huge thing. I guess it was a real sport/game after all! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/66 "2025-01-18T16:11:11Z")
Cape Town, South Africa, very late 80s, Coloured government school - we had PE twice a week. In the first quarter it would be athletics prep, as Interhouse was at the end of that quarter. So a cross-country run, and various athletics stuff, as well as physical gym exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, mat exercises etc. The rest of the year, we’d do a cross-country run every couple weeks or so, and alternate between playing soccer, volleyball or cricket one session and doing gym exercises the next session for the rest of the time. Girls did volleyball with us, but when we did soccer or cricket, they were doing netball. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/67 "2025-01-23T02:42:04Z")
I went to a variety of schools, and in every one the gym had the same acrid chemical smell. I’ve gotten a whiff of it a few times since, and it always has me looking for an exit. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926/68 "2025-01-23T05:54:14Z")
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention - there was no such thing as an indoor gym at any school in our system. All our gym stuff happened outdoors, on the school fields or in the quad. If it rained, we didn’t have PE. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-phys-ed-gym-like-in-your-school/1012926.md?page=3)