A different kind of teacher
December 14th, 2010
And then there were the sadistic, bullying PE teachers, I hated those bastards and can’t watch this clip without having some very unpleasant flashbacks: The adolescent circle of hell that was the communal changing room, the teacher checking that you weren’t wearing anything under your shorts (was it only my school that had a rule about underwear at games?), or making you feel like a worthless weakling because you forgot your kit or had a note from your mum excusing you. Did I say I hated those bastards?
I share your pain.
PS: ‘share’ is a link to a late, lamented collective endeavour.
Painful to watch.
What language are they speaking?
About halfway through secondary school (aged about 14) my PE department and my art department came to an unofficial understanding. When everybody else was running around in the cold I was sitting in the nice art department working towards my art o level which I took a year early (passed it too).
A lot of that time was spent sitting around listening to music, drinking coffee and eating sausage sandwiches from the greasy spoon next door. I don’t think I would have survived school without that time, because even though I did well at school I hated it!
My ‘games’ career ended when my arm was broken doing Judo (by a teacher!) in the 5th year and we didn’t have to do games in the Sixth Form. Thank Christ.
I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, PE sucks on toast and should not be inflicted on any living being. On the other hand, it is kind of fun going to reunions now having picked up the exercise bug later in life and seeing what the former jocks look like in their 50′s. As Gandalf said, “twas pity that stayed his hand” ;-)
I’d like to scrap every PE department and replace it with a PF (physical fitness) curriculum. Encourage kids into non-team activity such as aerobics, running, swimming, tai chi, or anything that will help develop life-long fitness habits instead of forcing them into jock s**t. The jocks will still have their beloved football, soccer, etc. teams anyway. Why subject the rest of the group to it, when the goal should be health instead of sport (if you can have both great, but why force the issue?).
One of the bonuses of being useless at football and too much of a weed for rugby I ended up some more esoteric sports at school like Hockey, Archery, Rowing, and Judo.
They didn’t let you wear underwear during PE? Good God that is weird. I hope it was just your school, or else my view of England is about to get a bit darker.
I had an arsehole PE teacher who would lounge around in his sweats chatting w/the jocks by the stands while making us weedy little shits run endless laps for their amusement. He once beat my head against a bulletin board, not because I was the only one talking as class started, but because I was closest at hand, the lazy shit. He’s a long-serving member of provincial parliament now, and his son’s just been elected to city council.
Bad memories.
Not just PE, I’m talking about outside games in freezing cold weather. If it was too frozen and wet to play anything they made us run cross country around the playing fields.
I have to say the underwear thing in the US was more to make sure the kids were wearing a jock strap and suitably protected, not really a high crime.
Lee, you are fortunate your school had archery and judo. In the Boston suburbs in the late 60s it was football, hockey, football, basketball, football, track, football, and football (did I mention football?). The school year peaked at Thanksgiving; God help you if you didn’t show up at the big game and act like you gave a rusty you know what.
What I wouldn’t have given for a fencing class!
Lee, you’ve just illustrated the Headmaster Ritual in all its painful glory…I feel sick already
They might and were Bastards and the film shows you what they were like, the good old days?
Still what a brilliant film too.
All P.E. teachers are scum. The one that got shot in the face deserved it.