<![CDATA[ - Jezebel Comments]]> <![CDATA[ - Jezebel Comments]]> <![CDATA[]]> in seventh grade, i was boob-grabbed by a classmate in the kiln room during art class. i slapped him, and he was choking me against the wall when a teacher walked by. it shocks me now that my parents weren't notified and the kid wasn't expelled. he was gone from the classroom for about a week, but everyone just kind of pretended nothing happened. ah, texas in the 80s!

fulana.de.tal

]]> <![CDATA[]]> This doesn't surprise me at all, but I think it's an example of researchers inferring a cause from an independent variable. The girls who actually changed for and participated in gym in my high school were the girls who cared about not failing gym. The girls who didn't change were the same girls who didn't give a shit about high school or middle school grades, and usually spent gym smoking by the tennis courts.

allypanda

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @Sunshineyness: My first high school had various choices for PE after ninth grade (ninth grade was a six-week rotation of gym, weight training, and swimming). I took "individual and dual sports," which was supposed to be tennis, golf, bowling, badminton. Much less intimidating, b/c at the worst you'd only let yourself and one other person down when you inevitably screwed up (look, I was REALLY bad at PE, but I tried hard). However, the teachers always ran out of individual and dual sports, and so we always wound up playing the very sport I signed up for individual/dual to avoid: volleyball.

snarkhunting

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I was first harassed in 1st grade, and it was an endless parade of horndogs from there on out. I hated school so, so much. I'm so glad it's over.

rubalicious

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Maybe someone said this already, but sexual harassment isn't just guy on girl, I can't tell you how many times I have heard girls talking about other girls and boys. Especially the really pathetic wimpy boys.

Chivone

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Here was the thing: I actually LIKE things like softball, volleyball, soccor. (the three sports I played in HS) and was mildly good at them. But I refused to actively participate in gym class. It was so pointless. The boys would get so fucking hyper competitive it would be more like torture than fun and I'd be all "IT'S ONLY FUCKING GYM you assholes!" I could never wrap my head around why they cared so much and I would just only do the minimally required work possible to not get yelled at.

Though, we had a cool gym teacher in HS. She'd only make us do the team sport of the month for the first week- after that if we didn't want to participate we could grab our headphones (she was seriously the coolest) and go to the weight room and spend the class there. (We had an ancient Nordic Track I'd just rock out to on) It rocked one year when I had a small class and I was the only one who didn't participate. Had the whole room to myself. They also didn't make us shower. There were ancient looking showers in the locker room and no girl (no matter how girly girl they were) was willing to ever use them no matter how sweaty and yucky they felt.

I really wish gym was set up as more of a choice thing. Like, if you want to play basketball- here, go for it. But if you want to just use the weights- here, go for it. If you want we can put on an aerobics DVD over here, etc. It's the forcing to do things you don't like the destroys the point of Phys. Ed.

And I feel like that wouldn't cost that much money either.

Sunshineyness

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @Sugarless: No, I wouldn't. ; )

Gingerlime

]]> <![CDATA[]]> in high school, we could elect to do our year's gym requirement during 3 weeks of the summer (from 8am to noon). it was awesome, and coed, and we got to do a lot of it outside.

faire-la-moue

]]> <![CDATA[]]> After hearing several of you talk about problems on the bus, and remembering my own horror of the bus ride and all that came with it (esp. in fifth grade), I hereby declare that BUSES should be made single-sex.

And thank God, I've never been hit on by a teacher.

My PE experiences were traumatic (I swear to you, I have *flashbacks* to volleyball), but only b/c I was a painfully sensitive, shy, nerdy klutz.

snarkhunting

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @flackette: yup. clearly, girls can't run as fast as boys (even two skinny jock girls, as compared to a group of rather overweight video game guys), so he said we must have cheated and made us run another lap.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @BrutallyHonestBabes: Agree on the benefits of exercise--I find that when I can get my ass out to do it in the morning, the usual roller-coaster of energy throughout the day becomes a non-issue--and without caffeine!

That said, elementary and high school gym for most of us was probably a drag--and it's even worse when a school either has poor shower facilities, or has a population of girls who refuse to undress and shower in front of one another, which was my grade school's issue.

But what worries me is that like music and art, phys ed is practically non-existent for a lot of kids these days. Friends of mine who have kids in some NYC/area schools say that their child will have gym once a week for a semester, then none at all the next. Sure, they talk about being able to do cool things like yoga or dance, but challenged funding means more test prep and less phys ed. Depressing!

Is it any wonder that even the smartest teens have negative body issues?

thatgirlinnewyork

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @lina_lamont: Happened to me, too. Starting in *second* grade.

snarkhunting

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @Gingerlime:

Because of all the drama of going to school w/ boys I demanded to be sent to an all girls highschool and later college.

You'd be surprised at the number of girls who dumb themselves down in the presence of a penis.

CreoleSugar

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @BrutallyHonestBabes: I hate exercise desperately. I lost a lot of weight through diet, hit a plateau, and decided the new gym opening in my building was a sign and I joined. My sign up conversation went something like this. The guy's name was "Prince"... that's right. Prince. With a smile to match.

Prince: So, has fitness always been important to you?
Me: No. In fact, I would rather drive nails through my eyes than run for ten minutes on a treadmill.
Prince: *personal trainer laugh* Well, at least you're keeping it real.
Me: ... I'll probably die here, you know.

LaComtesse

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @LaComtesse:
Not necessarily. I'm a stress ball when I don't hit the gym regularly. A couple of months ago, I was having major sleep issues due to the stress. Once I started getting to the gym again, I am sleeping and coping better with everything. The same benefit holds true for anyone else, the school kiddies included. It would improve their ability to manage work load, concentrate, etc.

BrutallyHonestBabes

]]> <![CDATA[]]> To my mind, there is no argument that can be made in favor of single sex education. There is, on the other hand, an argument to be made in favor of teaching boys to respect girls, and teaching girls to stand up for themselves.

Gingerlime

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @Archetype:

Silly. Don't you know that it's OUR fault? That's why we wears the Burkas in Middle East, so the mens don't get boners and stone us.

BrutallyHonestBabes

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @onthecornerofparkerandwoolf: Wait, so you were punished for running fast in PE?

Flackette is a Red State Elitist

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Also, our gym teacher was a 28 year old guy who slept his way through half of the senior class. Strangely nobody every seemed to notice these girls vanishing from school in the middle of the day, ending up at his house down the street.

Flackette is a Red State Elitist

]]> <![CDATA[]]> My sexual harassment at school could have easily been stopped by teachers, who I did tell about it. They knew a senior boy was following me (a sophomore) between classes making lewd remarks, calling me a bitch, etc. One day I turned around and screamed at him at the top of my lungs to get out of my face and leave me alone. At least 3 or 4 teachers saw this. None of them said a word to him. One female teacher did tell me later that she thought it was good I yelled at him, but my brain was just screaming "WHY aren't the adults helping me?". Now I know the answer; it was easier for them to stay out of it, especially because he was popular and an athlete and a relative of school administrators. So I think the answer is just having teachers who give a shit.

Flackette is a Red State Elitist

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Yeah well I was sexually harassed by a girl so I don't think it's a very good argument for single sex education. How about: we pay more attention to what kids do to each other and punish them accordingly?

Door

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Here is an interesting story about inappropriate student-teacher crap (can you tell I have a lot of free time at work today?):
A friend of a friend had a HS history teacher who was 24-25. (This was at a tiny school where her graduating class was only 16 people). Anyway, they started a relationship her senior year (she was 17). Everybody found out, they both got in big trouble, yadda yadda. Now, ten years later...they are married and just had their first kid.
It was so inappropriate but yet is it OK because they were and are in love? Soooo conflict-y.

TheGintheCity

]]> <![CDATA[]]> In elementary school the gym teacher totally played favorites, and he loved the cute little gymnast-type girls. He would invite those girls to have lunch with him in his office, give them nicknames, stuff like that. I was a tall gangly basketball player, so I wasn't his type, but I was so jealous and I always wanted to be among his favorites. He eventually moved to North Carolina, and years later I heard he'd been arrested for molesting several of his students. I think my gangly self really dodged a bullet there.

Jerseylicious

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: God, pls. accept my apologies, I hadn't meant to be brusque but I wasn't fully worked through all the comments here yet! Hit me up and I can send you a bunch of information, because if they haven't got a sister studio down there, surely they can recommend one. It's national but extremely, extremely close-knit.

On that note, if anyone - but especially mothers and daughters or extraordinarily cool aunts and nieces and/or ESPECIALLY if you're wanting queer-friendly training - in the SF Bay Area has been playing with the idea of taking up some self-defense, find me. They have really great, inexpensive mother/daughter sessions and you can get a month of unlimited training for an extremely dirt-cheap price, if referred.

SBJ

]]> <![CDATA[]]> The worst harassment I ever dealt with was on the bus, starting in about sixth grade. I had to sit in the back of the bus with high school boys who made constant comments about my tits (I had 'em then), as well as what they'd like to do with me.

Fun times. Getting my driver's license was freeing in so many ways.

touchmyshoe

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @Skinny Bone Jones: Seriously. then when i was in 10th grade they decided to make it mandatory. i was SO MAD. thank god i went to a school with a lot of frou frou rich girls, whose parents immediately complained "how dare you make my girl exercise when you dont have showers for her to not be smelly all day" or something like that. it lasted all of 2 months if that, i think. ha.

ineffable.me

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Like many have said, I was the big dork nerdy kid terrible at all sports.

But, later in life, 6 years ago, I came back to exercise on my own and discovered I loved loved loved it. @littlebunnyfoofoo: My son age 13 is on the track team. They don't make him lift weights. His coach is a female. yay.

arodriguez.romero speaks java

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Ummm... anyone ever think that the kids who do well in school are going to be the ones who don't skip gym class... so... it's not gym class that's making them do better it's that they are overacheivers?

Fortunately, I had a pretty harassment-free experience in school. Nothing in High School. But PE is WHERE any sexual harassment I experienced in jr. high HAPPENED. I had DDs by the time I was 12. We had to run the mile every year: there was ACTUALLY a spot the boys would sit to watch me run by.

LaComtesse

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @ineffable.me: See? Me, too. Would you prefer getting into trouble over running your lap(s)? I would. All the time. Or I'd walk. Then get in trouble. Fucking HATE. OMG, it makes me stabby just to think of it. (Man, I must have been a hot handful when I was little.)

SBJ

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @TheGintheCity: I fucking LOATHED and DESPISED PE with all my heart. It never changed. I was mildly fond of and good at volleyball. That's it. Dreaded everything else. Was beyond relieved when I got to opt out and take dance instead in HS. I AM NOT SPORTY. It's just how I do. Or don't do, rather.

SBJ

]]> <![CDATA[]]> It's interesting and shocking to think back on the MANY instances of harassment and generally inappropriate behavior exhibited by teachers when I was in school, which I was simply too young to recognize. Although we recognized the stuff as inappropriate, but it was in the same vein as complaints about teachers' harsh grading practices... we were so powerless. In-class shoulder massages or picking one female student to call 'milady' is NOT okay. Adults need to stand up for that shit though, they're the only ones with the perspective and the power to deal with it.

LyrasDice

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: No, ma'am.

SBJ

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I was treated horribly by the boys in my PE classes in middle school. If a girl missed a catch in softball, they would yell out things like "Aha, this proves girls are only good for one thing." I seemed to be the only girl who got pissed off about this, and they excoriated me for it.

Our whole class once had to have a sitdown discussion ("Only the person holding the ball can talk") on the field during a game because I got so upset by this crap. There was screaming. Interestingly, my female gym teacher did not punish me for the screaming...

Oh how I longed for single-sex PE classes.

TheGintheCity

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @LadyNo: I had a serial harasser in 3rd and 4th grade; it was hell. My house was the last stop on the bus route and his was right before mine, so I'd have to spend time alone with him after school every day. He used to torment me in so many ways. My parents got involved with the school but nothing substantial ever happened to resolve the issue. He killed himself after highschool.

SarahMC

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @smiththecat: 10 miles a DAY? as a WARM UP? i ran cc and track in high school, and we did like, 5-6 miles on a hard day. your sister's coach should be fired.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @BeckyIva: The school where this teacher taught beforehand knew that he had a record of being racist and sexist, but when this particular teacher came to my school at a time when the school was going through the coeducation process (my school was an all male school until the early-Eighties) so it wasn't that big of a deal. A lot of the male students really liked him and a few girls thought that he was great and I specifically remember people crying when news spread that he was fired. Most of the students who complained about him were too afraid of what the consequences would be if they actually sat down and filed a formal complaint, I mean who wants to go to court when you are 16 and 17 years old to testify against a creepy teacher? Private schools have their fair share of creepy, pervy teachers as well. Paying over 30k per year doesn't protect you from shitty teachers.

mepc

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @mepc: that's not true, actually. if a teacher is accused of sexual misconduct with a student, it's taken very seriously by everyone-- teacher's union as well. people who go into education (teaching and lobbying) generally have children's best interests at heart and would rather die than pass a child molester to another school.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @lina_lamont: Me, too. Fifth grade, I had a boy in my class get mad that I wasn't his friend anymore once I found out that he "liked" me. So he started threatening to cut off my tits and hang them on his bedroom wall. His words. At 10 years old. I'm surprised I wasn't upset by it, but I just saw it as taunting and pretty much ignored him and told him he was gross. If I ever found out a kid talked to my theoretical daughter that way, I would be getting that kid expelled so fast...

LadyNo Fondles Sweaters

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @Skinny Bone Jones: Are you in the Los Angeles area?

littlebunnyfoofoo

]]> <![CDATA[]]> while we did have one kinda skeevy P.E. teacher who always seemed a little hands on while teaching self-defense our other gym teacher was majorly harassed by us girls. He was yummy! and once we saw him out at the local bar he was fair game.
Moral of the story: The girls at my school were all drunkard floozies

LinaLamont

]]> <![CDATA[]]> OMG, I was just telling some friends of ours that I have NO fucking idea what I'd do without my petite's 3x per week, rigorous martial arts training. She gets to burn off energy, get exercise, learn to defend herself, acquire discipline and respect and ceremony, be in a community accepting/inclusive of "the gay" and to make friends as well. It's better than any crap after-school program I could possibly have her enrolled in. It's amazing. I am so lucky to have found them, and that she took to it. So. Fucking. Lucky.

SBJ

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @bananaballs: Y'all are so right. I definitely will say something. (Why do surly PE teachers still scare me a little?)

littlebunnyfoofoo

]]> <![CDATA[]]> God, I hated P.E.

The only time I enjoyed it was the quarter my friend and I were the only girls to take up the teacher's offer to have P.E. with the boys. It was awesome.

LipstickLibrarian

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: my sister does high school track and cross country. apparently the way most track and cc teams train in general is not good for the body. your body and muscles needs to have time to rest, but unfortunately, running 10 miles a day (as a warm up at my sister's high school!) does not allow for the body to do that.

be careful! and if she's that sore, she needs to do less weight and reps.

smiththecat

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @mepc: AHHHHH! That is pure horror movie! How could that go on at a private school? I understand that there's so much red tape at public schools that it's nearly impossible to fire a teacher, but I thought that was one of the benefits of private schooling--a more selective standard for teachers.

BeckyIva

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @hortense: We ALL squared danced at my school. I still remember that crap.
I also refused to run or play any kind of ball that wasn't kickball. I wore a bra by 3rd grade so no, I didn't wanna run much and sports bras weren't invented yet.

On the harassment point, my favorite 9th grade honors teacher played Santa that year. When it was my turn he hit on me. I blocked that out for decades it hurt so much.
I feel like I should see if he's still teaching and confront him.

CreoleSugar

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: I'm so sorry for your daughter! As a parent, you have a right to observe practice. Get as bitchy as you have to. Weight training at that age can cause serious injury if not done correctly. Their muscles, ligaments, bones, etc...are still growing and a bad injury could do a lot of harm.

AthertonMerriweather

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I thank my lucky stars that my high school experience was lovely and free of lecherous teachers. I don't remember being harassed by any boys, either. That was mostly in middle school and elementary school. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. But nobody really bothered me in high school. The boys in my classes were pretty cool.

SarahMC

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @hortense: well I had to do wrestling first year of high school while boys and girls were still in the same class. Yeah, 13 years old boys and girls wrestling together is really a grrrreat idea. It made me feel soooo uncomfortable and I hated PE even more, if that's even possible.

Josie

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @howdybeep: That sounds like my school, we had a band director-student fling, but he was much, much older. We also had a guidance counselor sending inappropriate emails to a student and a track coach getting blow jobs.

katieb: in charge of the war on the poor.

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @vivresavie17: yeah, i just dont care for doing aerobics or running or playing basketball. in elementary school the only thing i liked playing was kickball. that's it. and when they brought out the trampoline and we would spend time jumping like maniacs.
other than that no thanks.

and i went to an all girls school, just in case.

ineffable.me

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @howdybeep: Wait. Now that I think about it, both incidents happened the same year. Huh. Funny how things run together after more than a decade.

howdybeep (runs with monkey wrenches)

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @deidreann: Depending on the state, it's very hard to fire teachers and usually schools will remove a teacher and give him a glowing recommendation to another school and make him someone else's problem. It has something to do with the teachers union which is very, very strong.

mepc

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I was sexually harassed, and assaulted, multiple multiple times in school. I was an early developer and an easy target for the older boys. But, you know, it trained me well for the real world.

BeckyIva

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @onthecornerofparkerandwoolf: It seemed like we'd get one of those scandals a year in my high school. On year it was a 27 year old choir director with a 16 year old junior (knocked her up, paid for the abortion and then promptly moved the wife to Colorado ahead of the angry mob), the next year it was the 24 year old band director and my best frienemy (who was a senior). They managed to keep it under wraps until after graduation, though the entire student body knew about it.

howdybeep (runs with monkey wrenches)

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @KittenFluff: I don't understand why schools don't remove these type of teachers. It's ridiculous. I remember when I was in high school we had a physics teacher who was pretty much known around campus as being the local misogynist and racist. He was known for making lewd comments and some rumor had it that he had touched a few students as well but no one was willing to make a formal complaint so there was nothing that the school could do (so they said). One day in class (mind you this was physics class so there really shouldn't been any idol chit chat about anything non math/science related) he said, "All women enjoy being raped and right now every single girl in this class is just aching for me" and I went batshitastic and then he kicked me out of the classroom and said that I was going to fail physics for the year. I went to a very small, private school and word spread and our head of upper division overheard some people talking about my "outburst" and he called me into his office and basically admitted to me that they had ten years worth of stuff on this asshole and that if I was willing to write everything down and would be willing to testify against him they would pull him out of the school. I was willing to do so and my mother agreed and needless to say around twenty other girls signed statements as well and asshole was fired within five hours of shit going down.
I'm sure that there are other teachers out there like that but girls are just not willing to speak up and schools aren't willing to take action. Such fucking bullshit.

mepc

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: YOU SHOULD SAY SOMETHING.

bananaballs

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @AthertonMerriweather: Oops, I didn't finish my statement. I wanted to tell you that I will try to sit in on a session. It's definitely a good idea. I fear he won't let me but I'll get BITCHY on his ass. Yeah?

My child is in severe pain and cried herself to sleep last night.
But then she's hyper competitive and probably outdid herself. I don't know. I worry.

littlebunnyfoofoo

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @braak: What's scary is that most private schools don't have the same requirements.

MaeHemm

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I failed gym... twice eighth and ninth grade. I wonder what that says about me?

PugsNotDrugs

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @AthertonMerriweather: Thanks. This guy is a real old-fashioned bastard.

Catholic schools for ya.

littlebunnyfoofoo

]]> <![CDATA[]]> God I hated gym, I'm just not a team sports kind of person.

I also had this handsy guy who sat behind me in the eighth grade who would pull at my bra strap, along my shoulder, all through class. I would tell him stop and he would just tell me to ignore him and he'd stop on his own when he got bored.

katieb: in charge of the war on the poor.

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: I don't think weights are a bad idea when used properly, but they should certainly be adjusted to each child's ability. Same goes for adults. She should not be in that much pain!

squirrelcop

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @vivresavie17: Yeah. Also, I think PE classes should be tracked, so that lazy schlubs like me didn't have to play football with the guys from the football team.

braak

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @petuniacat: yes, schools do background checks, but sometimes records are sealed/nothing was ever proved. or, the person was never caught before. we had a teacher-student sex scandal at my high school, and my dad (a teacher at my high school) told me about it right before it hit the news. he sat me down and said, "well, you'll hear about this soon, but there was a teacher caught having sex with a student." i immediately said "oh, so mr. p finally did it, eh?" my dad looked at me strangely and said "ah, no. it wasn't him. but you'd better believe i'm going to be telling the administration your reaction."

the teacher i thought it was was known among the student body for hitting on female students and being generally inappropriate-- but the one that was sleeping with a student was someone else entirely.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: Oops! they coach = the coach (which actually = tells the older girls they need to "work off those big hips before it's too late.")

Grrrr. Stabby!

littlebunnyfoofoo

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: It's safe as long as they're not lifting too heavy and using proper form. If she's in pain, I doubt the coach is teaching them how to lift properly. You should go to practice and check the situation out. Your daughter could suffer a serious muscle strain or pull.

AthertonMerriweather

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @petuniacat: A person like that can't be employed by public schools in PA. I'm not sure what the laws are nationwide, but I always assumed that every state had something similar. In PA, if you want to be a teacher, among the paperwork you've got to provide is the state-authorized "I've never been guilty of molesting a child" form.

braak

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @littlebunnyfoofoo: Regardless, she shouldn't have to do something that's causing her pain, right? Maybe she can do some isometrics or something instead.

Hope that gets resolved.....

Archetype

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @ineffable.me:
@petuniacat:

I wish gym classes had more choices. Really, the point of gym is to teach good physical health and build those habits while someone's young. So why force a child to do nothing but team sports, or say, high-impact sports, if that's not what they prefer? I'm not a competitive person and I hate any kind of competitive sport. If my gym classes had offered courses in yoga or dance or wall-climbing or swimming or spinning (which some schools do, but obviously that kind of thing costs money), I probably wouldn't have been so turned off on being active at such a young age, and I would probably be a lot healthier now.

vivresavie17

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I hated gym & got out of it by perfecting the "I'm about to cry if you try and make me do a trust fall/participate in dodgeball" look. And it was mainly because of other girls that I hated it so much.

AlmostZooey

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Single sex education wasn't going to stop my physics teacher from looking down my shirt and calling me "princess" every day. Unless I went to all an girl all female teacher school.

BlondeGrlz is having a BlondeBoyz!

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @petuniacat: I've been wondernig this for a while too. At my former high school a teacher was just "let go" because they found explicit e-mails to students on his harddrive oh and he was smoking pot with kids during lunch in his locked classroom. He should not be allowed to teach again, but I'm afraid he might.

steeny

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Question: My daughter (11) is in track for the first time at school and they coach is a guy straight out of the 1950s, very old school.

He's making the girls lift weights. My kid is a tiny, skinny thing and comes home near tears and in pain. The weights are set for the boys and he makes the girls do the same amount.

Is it safe for girls that young to be weight-lifting? I'm kind of pissed off.

Anyone know?

littlebunnyfoofoo

]]> <![CDATA[]]> My middle school P.E. class forced the girls to do square dancing while the boys did wrestling. Whatever.

hortense

]]> <![CDATA[]]> @KittenFluff: Wow, that's so sad, for the students, and most especially for his children. I cannot imagine how someone who gets found out for molesting/abusing chidlren can ever again be employed by a school. Don't they do any sort of background checking?? It's not like they're applying for a job to work around computer servers.

petuniacat

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Whatever to working out in school. I doubt I burned the calories in a piece of sugarless gum in P.E.

I blame Sting and The Police for sexual harassment. They inspired to many skeevy Professors with "Don't Stand So Close To Me".

AthertonMerriweather

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Yeah yeah yeah. I feel like I've heard this for while. Nevertheless, I was painfully non-athletic all throughout elementary and middle school and was consistently in honors classes.

vivresavie17

]]> <![CDATA[]]> my middle school gym teacher made another girl and i run an extra lap on the mile because we beat too many boys and "girls can't run that fast." he was completely ignoring the fact that she and i were jocks and the guys we beat were all rather overweight.

even with the extra lap, we still beat most of them.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

]]> <![CDATA[]]> One of my favorite things about my high school was that PE was an elective. It's probably the reason why I can't run a block without passing out, but I don't care. I hate exercise.

ineffable.me

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I was sexually harassed by another fifth grader when I was ten. I didn't think of it that way, and I'm sure he didn't either, but the teacher should have stopped it. I dreaded school because of him. He thought it was hilarious.

lina_lamont

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I would have enjoyed and participated in PE a whole lot more had I been able to choose my own sporting attire. Red shorts and a white T-shirt? So that everyone in the whole school could see what color of bra I was wearing? Thanks, high school. Thanks.

Lady Skittlehattington

]]> <![CDATA[]]> teenage boys can be so disgusting. i'm sure life would have been a lot different for me in HS if there were no boys around.

bananaballs

]]> <![CDATA[]]> The most freaked out I have ever been was when I yelled at the male TA in front of the class (and the prof) for talking into my chest. I thought I was going to be expelled.

howdybeep (runs with monkey wrenches)

]]> <![CDATA[]]> One of the teachers at my high school was known for being lecherous toward the girls he taught. After I graduated, I came back to visit one of my favorite teachers and she told me, "I can say this now because you're no longer a student. That man should not be around children." Apparently he had some sort of molestation issue at the school he'd taught at previously. Aside from teaching high school, he coached one of our junior high sports teams.

I was friends with his daughter and she alluded to the fact that she and her siblings were removed from the home at one point because of something her father had done. She implied it was because of his drinking, but something tells me that was not the case.

KittenFluff

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Not a good argument for single sex education in my book. If this is that boys do when they've been around girls their whole lives, imagine what it would be like if they suddenly had to interact with them in the workplace after years of gender segregation?

onefishtwofish

]]> <![CDATA[]]> The only sexual harassment I ever got in school was in P.E. and pretty consistently.

steeny

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Makes sense. I do my best work and am at my most alert when I'm working out on a regular basis.

About sexual harassment - that's deplorable.

Most of my gym class trauma was inflicted not by boys, but by teasing from other girls. Fortunately, I liked taking long walks by myself, and working out at the YMCA after school. I'm not a team sports person, and unfortunately, 90% of our gym classes were just that.

petuniacat

]]> <![CDATA[]]> Now, why can't boys and men just learn not to be fucking assholes?

No, we must remove girls from school because the males can't keep their hands to themselves?

Archetype

]]> <![CDATA[]]> I had a friend who dropped out of chemistry because the teacher wouldn't stop looking down her shirt and rubbing her shoulder. And she was totally convinced it was all her own fault.

lisas

]]>