Reply #91: My Elementary School Had Bare-Bones PE - Especially For Girls

[NashVegas]

I went to a k-8 Catholic school (attended k-6) and was a fish out of water when the transition was made to public school.

As I remember it, we had dodgeball, wiffleball, kickball, and that was about it. There were no uniforms for PE, so activities were limited to whatever we could do in our skirts, once a week, which was not bloody much. The boys at least got basketball.

When I came out of there into public school I was so awkward it wasn't funny. I was too uncoordinated to do well at most of the offerings (a huge range) and embarrassed about that lack of coordination. Bad, bad combo.

I will say this, though, about the orientation: when I was a kid, there were also playgrounds and rec fields all over the place and kids used them. That was where the boys learned to hit those home runs and score basketball goals. I didn't know any girls who were much into baseball or basketball.

Cartwheels were for those who had the families who were inclined to teach them. I think that's something that schools shied away from, for fear of liability. We were only able to use the serious gymnastics equipment in high school.