(no subject)

[charliesmum]

I've been reading Charlie this book called "The Math Wiz". It's about a boy who is really good at math, but terrible during "PE" i.e., Physical education, Sport, or Gym class. In the book he is upset because he is always picked last when choosing up teams (and I can't help but wonder if there is a class all Gym teachers go to where they learn how to be as insensitive and cruel as possible)

I liked the book because it was about a boy who was good at maths like Charlie, but always got picked last in gym class. I have no idea if Charlie has suffered that humiliation yet, but I know I have, and it got me to thinking.

When I got to high school, I finally found a large group of friends, and it turned out they, too, had suffered the humiliation of standing all alone in the gym, waiting until the last team captain rolled his or her eyes and said "I guess I'll take (insert name here). My college friends were comprised of the same sort of people, and that helped me get over the trauma that had been Gym Class grade school through junior high.

Since people on flists are also comprised of a bunch of people who share similar interests, I was curious as to how many of you had the same sort of experience - were you chosen last? First? Don't remember and don't care to? So, I did a poll. (I love polls)

[Poll #518569]

Comments

[wolfma.livejournal.com]

Hi. I came across you from jessii_6.

I, too, was always picked last for gym and sports. I hated it so bad that once I begged my second-grade teacher not to make me go out on the field. She looked up at me and, in her most contemptous voice, said, "What makes you so special?"

How about the fact that I was always sickly? I had anemia, asthma, a nervous disorder (physically-based, I was to find out three years later-long story), shocking thinness, and the tendency to nearly black out if I exerted myself too much (caused by the same physical problems)? But there were no exceptions; PE was "good" for everybody.

The other kids were absolutely swinish towards me, but I've pretty much gotten over that, but I have a hard time forgiving the teacher for treating an obviously suffering child in such a way.

[jessii-6.livejournal.com]

you know what. From reading all of the answers above Ican't help but think 'isn't this suppose to only happen in movies?'. It sounds so surreal to me. Here from junior high onwards you could just show up and pretend you did anything and nothing would happen at all. And you can take it from me as a demonstrating case and not the exception because I was in 6 different schools (7, actually, but it doesn't count in this entry)

[wolfma.livejournal.com]

You're slightly younger than a lot of us. During the 70s, the whole additude towards children was different. Bullying was treated with a "let children be children" additude. We were supposed to learn to deal with it by ourselves so we'd know how to do it in the real world.

And the teacher I'm speaking of married my third cousin. I did get revenge on her, in a way. He had the same last name as one of my HS teachers, whom I was trying to reach on the phone (not related, btw, just a common last name.) At any rate, I reached this guy, and he said he had the same teacher in HS. He was actually FLIRTING with this little HS girl until he discovered we were cousins! So, my evil thought was, 'Well, well well. I see how happy she makes her husband.'

It's a sad, sad situation, and I should have pitied the woman, except that she did several things, not just this, to make my second grade experience completely miserable, mainly because I was smart.

In fact, come to think about it, now that I have some perspective, I do pity her. *sigh*

OT

[crossbow1.livejournal.com]

Bullying was common at my schools, but I don't know if the teachers thought it was healthy (forcing kids to learn to stick up for themselves) of if they just didn't notice. Since I was a girl, I only go verbal bullying (also, I established really early in grade school that if you actually HIT me, you were toast, because I actually liked a good physical fight; it was the teasing that got to me) but my brother got beaten up every day, until his voice changed and he learned he could scare the hell out of people by yelling at them...

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

I'm still astounded at the number of teachers I had that were so horrible towards the kids they were supposed to be helping. It's like they were trying to get revenge or something.

Nothing like stomach twisting anxiety to round out a childhood, no?

[wolfma.livejournal.com]

It used to to make me very happy, when that big yellow bus went by, knowing I would never have to go to primary or secondary school again.

[crossbow1.livejournal.com]

My teachers were OK to ME, but I remember them saying horrible things to some other kids. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Turdball - I men, Turnball - was the worst. I remember asking her for help once, and she said "In a minute, I'm helping this BOY here with this math problem," as if being a boy was the most offensive thing he could have done, and teaching him math was a big imposition on her valuable time. I wonder if that poor kid ever did finish school.

Ah, the 70s. (That would have been... 1974?) The woman had that horrible helmet-hair and wore this sky-blue polyster pants suit...