# What's the deal with PE teachers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437 "2005-08-10T14:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/101 "2005-08-11T04:49:29Z")
BTW, **brickbacon** , I seem to recall you defending people destroying packages while working for Fed Ex because they were frustrated, and because the job sucked and thus, it wasn’t worth it to give it your best effort. Sauce for the gander, and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/102 "2005-08-11T06:18:21Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > No offense, but it often seems that in threads like these, you show a complete lack of empathy and sensitivity. Not only that, but he stretches things all out of shape to make it look like empathy and sensitivity are actually _bad_ for people, because they’re just excuses to sit and rot. Making the world safe for hardasses: it’s a never-ending job, but we’ll thank him for it one day. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/103 "2005-08-11T06:19:09Z")
Gym class was horrible for me. Because I went to a small parochial school before high school, my only sports exposure was kickball and dodgeball. I learned there to fear for my life, as seniors whipped hard _basketballs_ at my 12 year old head. In the changing rooms, I and another boy were always forced by the others to change in the adjoining hallway, because there “wasn’t enough room” for us in the small, makeshift changing room. Later, when I transferred to a public high school, things got worse. During volleyball games, it seemed that some opponents would purposely miss every serve I made. My team would rack up the points, while I became more and more puzzled and embarrassed. Was I _really_ that good at serving the ball into difficult spots? Of course, the teacher never did anything but stand there. The mind games were bad, but worse were the “written exams” we had. Questions like what major sports figures played on what team, and who won the world series last year, and how many points for a touchdown and various other moves ( I dislike team sports so I don’t even know what they are called to provide a better example.) Of course, the teacher never gave us any material to study or explanations. I never was told the rules to any games we played. I fumbled through tag football, never quite understanding which direction I was supposed to run, or why we would stop and then turn around. Anything I learned was purely by guessing, and I didn’t really have anyone to ask. Thank God the tests weren’t factored into or overall average. P.E. tests and vision tests are the only tests I’ve ever failed in my life. The funny thing is, I was actually not too bad, but no one ever knew that because they never gave me a chance. The only thing I actually did well on was the Presidential fitness tests–my sole weakness being the chin-up portion. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/104 "2005-08-11T11:03:53Z")
The bolded part of your statement is one of the most ignorant things I’ve read on this board. Some background: I hated gym, not because I was lazy, but because the ‘teacher’ and his sadistic assistants threw everyone out on the basketball court without any instruction. I’d never had anyone tell me how to play basketball (my father was in his late 70s, and a foreigner to boot), so I was completely clueless as to what those arcane hand signals meant when they blew the whistle on me (I later learned they meant, ‘walking’, ‘three seconds’, etc.) Of course, these idiots liked their power too much to answer my questions about what I was doing wrong. So I had to endure their stupid rituals. By high school, I had taken up karate, which developed my athletic skills somewhat. Also, we were given choices in gym class, and I gravitated to weightlifting, which my physique was better suited to than basketball. I eventually got serious about it, and later took third place in my college’s bodybuilding championships. I’ve continued to train very devoutly – I lift 5 or 6 days a week and (at 46) can run a mile in just over 6 minutes. My point: I’m not a bookish weakling. But I had a horrible time in gym class in junior high, for the same reasons that you would if you came to one of my mathematics classes and I treated you with scorn because your father hadn’t already taught you the subject matter. At the agency where I work, there are plenty of people much smarter than me who are not the least bit athletic. I hope you someday encounter such a person. It would change your perspective for the better on the relationship between intelligence and athletic ability. > [@brickbacon](#): > > **I always find that most physically weak people are also mentally weak.** I’m not talking about people with health problems, but those who are physically able, yet don’t push themselves. It’s akin to lacking intellectual curiosity. It’s about setting goals for yourself, and always wanting to be better than you were yesterday. How many of you people, who had a hard time in gym class, really tried your hardest everyday? I’m sure some people may have, but most of you guys found it to be difficult, and decided to give up. People complaining about having to run a 10-minute mile is pathetic. Any person in decent shape should be able to do that. I’ve never heard of any standards imposed by a gym teacher that are beyond what any healthy person is capable of (with practice). > > The thing that separates elite athletes from good ones is mental strength and perseverance. Michael Jordan wasn’t born a great basketball player. He practiced and set impossibly high standards _for himself_, just like every other person who has done great things with their life. It seems like when a physical activity is concerned, people feel it’s OK to not demand more of themselves. If you take that attitude, then you should expect all the derision and humiliation. If you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences. Save the sob stories about how you were bullied, and always picked last. That’s life. I’m not saying that bullying is acceptable behavior, just that the bigger tragedy is that there are so many weak people with no desire to improve their situations. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/105 "2005-08-11T12:24:15Z")
Background: Gym for me was just another class, except for the excruciating experience of being naked in public. I had not been even semi-naked with anyone except a doctor or a parent before–and those were controlled, private situations. Shudder. My experience as a parent, however, has been incredibly positive. My first two children were enjoyed gym or at least tolerated it. But my son developed a weight problem early, with all the accompanying problems of low self-esteem, ridicule and abuse in gym, and the resulting lack of effort and bad attitude. [Insert appropriate abuse for poor parenting here. It is very true he “should” have learned these skills at home, just as a Headstart-enrolled child “should” have learned her ABCs. Mea culpa.] Luckily, our local school realized that their approach to physical education was failing with a significant segment of the school-aged population. They decided continuing the same approach would continue to fail for these kids. So (gasp!), they decided to do something new. Starting in 7th grade, they now offer a physical education alternative for kids who are struggling. Classes are small (8 kids). They focus on teaching–for example, they do not assume that the kids know how to throw a baseball or hold a bat or have a clue what the rules are. Or even know that there is such a game. When they play team sports, everyone has to participate. Make that everyone GETS to participate. Negative comments are not permitted. With 4 on a team, everyone actually matters. My son came home telling me how much he liked kickball. Why? Because he had mattered to his team, been successful, and been cheered for. They go bicycling, cross-country skiing, do weight lifting. They learn nutrition. They focus on improving, effort, supporting each other, respecting each other, and learning. The teachers meet with each parent, go over goals, etc. The primary objective is to help the kids learn that physical activity feels good and can be fun. My son lost weight and gained self-respect and confidence. He developed a vastly improved self-image, better social skills, and found physical activities he enjoyed. It was as significant a change for him as learning to read would be for a non-reader. Life changing. You would not put an 11 year old child who cannot read in the same language arts class as a child reading at a high-school level. Our school system recognizes the need for special attention in PE just as they recognize the need for special attention in academic subjects. In gym, putting a child struggling with basic skills in the same class as a skilled athlete is doing a disservice to both children. Perhaps the hatred many of you have for “gym” would change if it were taught as “physical education.” ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/106 "2005-08-11T13:25:11Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > You can easily turn the tables and say that it is perfectly fair to those students that aren’t that bright but are naturally good at athletics. Superior performance in trigonometry for example has a huge genetic component as well. Superior performance in most academic sujects require some innate ability that not all students have. > > This country has a huge crisis in adolescent and adult fitness. Good high school PE programs should help to combat that. I am not saying that most do it effectively but the requirements should not be set as just “showing up” anymore than it should be for any other subject. Ah, I have this argument with a friend quite often. My take is that a school’s purpose is to educate a person, not whip them into shape. No one disputes that being in good physical shape is advantageous; but is it the education system’s job to see that it happens? I say no. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/107 "2005-08-11T13:44:17Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > The “learning teamwork” canard has been forwarded to justify sports programs in a supposedly academic environment for years, and it continues to make me sick. It’s funny how the discussion suddenly shifted from PE to football. > [@](#): > > Specifically, coaches laud the forty-odd students picked for the football team because it “teaches them teamwork,” as if the other fifteen hundred kids at the school had no need to learn any. I think every student should have some experience with athletics as well as with the arts. > [@](#): > > The teamwork argument is a complete smoke screen; if it truly were about teamwork then teamwork would be _mandatory_ and graded elements of other school classes, not just the _voluntary_ ones like drama, football, band, etc. The most valuable thing I learned in Algebra wasn’t how to solve equations it was how to think logically. Instead of being graded on how logically I thought things through I was graded on how many equations I successfully solved. > [@](#): > > I agree that teamwork _should_ be taught in school. But in my experience, PE is exactly where it ain’t. What was taught was “stay out of the way and let the jocks win the game for your side.” I simply stated some of the positive influences PE and sports in general could have. I’m sorry you had a crappy experience but I’ve already acknowledged that PE programs aren’t run very well in many places and changes need to be made. If that isn’t good enough I don’t know what will be. Marc ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/108 "2005-08-11T14:51:53Z")
Put me in the didn’t like PE category (although I did like dodgeball, the only game where the object is to run away from the ball.) I didn’t have any sadistic teachers, and in my school district all you had to do to get an A was wear the correct clothes, follow the rules, and pretty much behave yourself. No my complaint is I was never taught the skills needed to play the games. There would just be the sport of the month, teams would be picked, and playing would begin. No learning the fundamentals, such how to hold your arm when throwing a football or how to stand when you’re batting; just get out there and hope the ball doesn’t come your way. And I shouldn’t have had to figure it out for myself. It would be as if you had to write an essay without being taught your letters, or do long division without being taught multiplication tables. I expect teachers to teach, whether the class be math or P.E. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/109 "2005-08-11T15:12:51Z")
Count me in as someone else who hated gym classes. It got a little better when I could take swimming in high school instead of gym, as I was fairly good at swimming, but gym? Yuk. I lived through at least two semesters of getting pelted by dodge balls before swearing that I’d never do it again. But my real beef on this thread is all you people insisting that a ten minute mile is akin to switching channels on a TV set. I run. I’ve run, on and off, for going on ten years now. Currently I’m running about 3 miles, 3 times a week, sometimes more. At times I’ve run more like 5 miles at a time. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten below an 11 minute mile. I think my average is around 12. I know I’m not a great runner. I don’t really care - I’m out for the exercise, and I get plenty sweaty from my slow miles. But the idea that a ten minute mile is something that anyone can do with very little effort just ain’t so. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/110 "2005-08-11T15:20:55Z")
In Junior High, one teacher tried the martial arts thing. Sadly, he had no business teaching martial arts, and didn’t really know what he was doing, so many of us ended up injured and hating martial arts. In theory, the idea has some merit. But in practice, it’s not the best idea. I was graded on ability in High School PE. And not your ability at the end of the 3-8 weeks that we “learned” the sport, your ability at the beginning. And on a curve. So, we all knew who was getting the A, who was probably getting the 2 Bs, and the rest of us had to struggle for the C’s (rather than D’s) while being picked on by the A & B students and the idiot of a PE teacher. I actually flunked tennis. And then got my second year of PE waived rather than go through that again. The way I was taught PE was most definitely neither necessary nor beneficial at all - and if I’d never heard of different PE programs, I would think it needs to be abolished. It was not the least bit useful, and in many people it engenders an aversion to exercise rather than encouraging them to do so. I know I had that aversion for years after I stopped PE. And BTW, I have never in my life run multiple sub-10 minute miles. One maybe and I’m dead at the end of that mile. I have run multiple half marathons, multiple triathlons, and two full marathons. I can add distance, but not speed - even after being coached. I cannot run fast. According to my doctors, I’m healthy. There’s nothing wrong with me. That’s just the limit of my physical ability. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/111 "2005-08-11T16:38:03Z")
PE at my high school was rather silly, but I didn’t go to it. I went rock climbing 3 hours/week and filled out a time sheet :D. That was some good times. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/112 "2005-08-11T16:48:31Z")
Some people got to take showers??? I don’t remember that we were ever given enough time to take a shower after class. I took off my workout shirt and cleaned up as best I could with a wet washcloth. Not ideal, but it’s all I had time for. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/113 "2005-08-11T17:20:21Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > It’s funny how the discussion suddenly shifted from PE to football. Yeah, after I pointed out that PE didn’t teach me either the teamwork or the strategy you purported it did, nor did it grade me on either, that part of the discussion was over. You as much as admitted it didn’t grade for either of the things it allegedly taught. What else was there to say about PE? The fact that the same argument also applies to football is probably what accounted for the heat of my initial response, and for that I apologize. It still doesn’t make your argument any more applicable to the PE I went through. > [@](#): > > I think every student should have some experience with athletics as well as with the arts. … I’m sorry you had a crappy experience but I’ve already acknowledged that PE programs aren’t run very well in many places and changes need to be made. On this we entirely agree. I enjoyed PE overall but taught me virtually nothing in ten years except the rules of volleyball and how use a universal weight set. > [@](#): > > The most valuable thing I learned in Algebra wasn’t how to solve equations it was how to think logically. Instead of being graded on how logically I thought things through I was graded on how many equations I successfully solved. That’s a horse of a different variable, I suppose, but if one is being taught how to solve logic puzzles, how else is one to be graded but by being given logic puzzles, and asked to show one’s technique on the page? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/114 "2005-08-11T17:58:05Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > It still doesn’t make your argument any more applicable to the PE I went through. What you seem unable to grasp is that I understand that it wasn’t your experience nor was it the experience of most others. I enjoyed PE quite a bit but like you I learned very little. I already knew how to play baseball, tag football, and I could run in a circle. Actually I didn’t learn how to climb a really high rope in 4th grade so I suppose it taught me that. The question “why bother with PE at all” was asked. I gave a list of what I thought were benefits of PE and you obviously disagreed. Specifically you disagreed with the teamwork aspect because that wasn’t a part of your course and they didn’t grade you on it specifically. Now, realizing you didn’t have a positive experience, do you think that a PE class can be beneficial provided they had a decent program? > [@](#): > > That’s a horse of a different variable, I suppose, but if one is being taught how to solve logic puzzles, how else is one to be graded but by being given logic puzzles, and asked to show one’s technique on the page? I’m not sure how it’s a horse of a different variable. School is about more then grades and you get more then marks out of participation in a class. Anyway I guess we’ve more then moved on to Great Debates and past IMHO. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/115 "2005-08-11T19:35:11Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > I always find that most physically weak people are also mentally weak. Boy, that’s a mighty big brush you’re using, **bricky**. Me, I hated PE, because I was ungifted athletically, and unpopular as well. I had enthusiasm aplenty, but classmates ridicule will stomp that out of you in a hurry. I wasn’t the only one with lack of talent–some other kids stank at sports as well–but I wasn’t part of the “in” crowd. So no matter how hard I tried, I got crapped on. Oh, I got real popular at test time–this “mentally weak” girl was a straight A student with an insatiable appetite for reading. I’m ashamed to say that my loneliness and desire for friends spurred me to give out test answers sometimes–took awhile for me to realize how stupid THAT was. I also didn’t like cheating and I quit doing it. I recall one PE class where we were all playing volleyball–jr. high, all grades together. Six teams on three courts, and I’m still the last one standing to be picked. Each and every team flatly refused to take me, and one of the older students told me to sit out the games on the bleachers. The teachers weren’t even paying enough attention to put a stop to this–and when they noticed me sitting on the bleachers, one of them came over to order me out onto the court. I said I didn’t want to play (I could barely stand, my legs were shaking so badly, and I _know_ my distress was obvious because my voice was trembling). All he did was bark at ME and repeat the order. When his back was turned, the others motioned me to sit back down. I don’t remember much after that–I never did play. Some lesson in teamwork, huh? I believe that participation should count heavily in figuring a gym grade–and teachers should be there to make sure all students have an equal chance. Ridiculing and belittling other students should also figure into the grade–negatively, that is. But no one should flunk simply because their hand/eye coordination sucks. (AND I think that academics should also be willing to factor in effort to determine grades. In college, I had one algebra teacher that required you to show all work, so that even if you got the wrong answer, he could see how much real effort you put in and he’d give partial credit for it.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/116 "2005-08-11T19:53:29Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > I always find that most physically weak people are also mentally weak. Are you fucking shitting me? Tell that to Stephen Hawking. :rolleyes: BTW, I don’t believe I am weak, either. I am not exactly athletic, but when we did dancing, for example, I did pretty damn well. And swimming-I was rather good at swimming. I’d never be swim team material, but I managed my laps and treading water, and the survival swim test (20 minute float-one of the most exhausting things). If it hadn’t been for that skanky-ass pool, and our perverted gym teacher, I probably would have liked swimming, because, well, I LOVE to swim. Badminton, I loved. I was pretty damned good at that. We had fun and we had SOME teachers who were pretty cool. (Mrs. G, for one-she understood those of us who weren’t jocks and always encouraged us to have fun, give it our best shot, etc). But the mile run? No way. I’m short, and I have short legs, and running sucks. I also find it incredibly boring. **Chanteuse** -that’s EXACTLY why I sat out a few weeks of gym in 7th grade. My classmates flat out REFUSED to allow me to play on their teams, and my gym teacher just stood there and watched. She knew what was going on, and she really didn’t care. Eventually, things got worked out, and my classmates stopped picking on me, (we had all known each other since kindergarten, anyways), but until then, it was pure fucking hell. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/117 "2005-08-11T20:04:13Z")
**Guinastasia** , to be fair, Professor Hawking suffers from motor neuron disease, and **brickbacon** excluded ‘people with health problems’ from his still-ridiculous statement. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Are you fucking shitting me? Tell that to Stephen Hawking. :rolleyes: (snip) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/118 "2005-08-11T20:11:55Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Are you fucking shitting me? Tell that to Stephen Hawking. :rolleyes: I think he should wait to do that until Stephen Hawking really gets a spring-loaded boxing glove mounted on his wheelchair. Or laser guided missiles- that would be good, too. 😃 I don’t get why some people are so obsessed with whether or not others “push themselves”. If we don’t “push ourselves”, but are productive and happy members of society, what’s so wrong with that? I think most people push themselves to accomplish things of interest to them. Of course, not everyone has the same interests, nor should they. How many of you put forth the maximum effort possible for all your classes in high school and college, even the ones you thought were stupid and boring? I didn’t _think_ so. So, really, what you’re saying, **brickbacon** , is that I’m somehow weak and a loser if I don’t push myself to accomplish what _you_ think is important. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/119 "2005-08-11T21:15:38Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > \Marianapolis?\ The very same. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437/120 "2005-08-11T22:02:04Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > It still doesn’t make your argument any more applicable to the PE I went through. I think this is the key to all the posts in this thread. Everyone is basing their opinions on their own personal experience, and having trouble accepting that others experiences are just as valid. I do believe that athletics can teach teamwork, because I experienced it. I also seem to be the only person in the thread to mention having **had** to go out for the school teams. For me, the argument about teamwork is completely valid for the years I spent at that school, because PE was athletic sports. But it had absolutely nothing to do with my experience in High school or especially grade school, where PE was only one more opportunity to be ridiculed. As was recess and any other period of the day. By the way, **Happy Scrappy Hero Pup** , I think that while a little negative reinforcement can be useful it is important to point out that there’s damned little by way of judicious use of it by school aged children. And the teachers that I had during those times were just as eager to join the pile-on. Perhaps you could call it a loser attitude, but I prefered to be left alone to my own thoughts than to have deal with any of my peers after a few years of this constant crap. I also want to see if you made any statements in the post in the Pit about the guy advocating teasing to prevent your children from getting the gay. I’m deliberately not commenting upon **brackbacon** ’s statements, because I can’t, since this isn’t the Pit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-pe-teachers/316437.md?page=7)