Gym Class Woes

Today I got to talking to someone about gym class or Phy Ed as it was called at Holy Apostles (Thanks Mr. S. It was called Phy Ed because the gym is the building, but the class is physical education), and I thought about my experiences in gym. Kindergarten through 2nd grade gym was fun. We played the games that had people in the middle, and then you had to try to run across the gym and reach the other side without getting tagged by one of the people in the middle. I also loved parachute day. This is the day that Mr. Dorlack brought out the parachute and we swayed it back and forth and had to run under it and do the crab crawl. Gym class was so much fun! But in 3rd grade we started actual sports, and I'm not the most athletic person so it was not much fun for me. I remember during football, running along the wall on the playground to make it look like I was doing something, but I had no idea what was going on. In 5th grade I was at a new school (Holy Apostles) and Phy Ed was started. Mr. S. would give us lectures on sports and then give us tests on them. (i.e. When was basketball invented? and where was it invented?) BTW, I still don't know the answers to those questions! Presidential Fitness Testing also came along with Phy Ed, and the dreaded mile. In 5th grade I was forced to run my first mile around the cemetary (yes, that's right a cemetary, because the road around it was a circle so we ran around the raod three times (apparently that was a mile). In fifth grade, I got a DNF which stands for did not finish (thanks for waiting 2 more minutes Mr. S.) and it 6th grade I finished it 11 minutes (I know that's terrible, but at least I finished it!) In 7th grade I got a 9:15 and in 8th 8:45? So at least I got better. Here's the question, what purpose does running the mile serve? I didn't learn anything except the fact that I hate running, and I hate it even more when I have to do it around a cemetary. What happened to gym class with the silly games? At least I was encouraged and had a good time. I agree with physical activity in school, but why did Mr. S. have to give us thoe stupid tests? and in 6th grade we had to write papers! Yes that right! Papers in Phy Ed! Haha.......I wrote mine on volleyball and got a D from Mr. S and an A- from the Language Arts teacher. I enjoyed gym class in high school, mainly because of Stro (Ms. Stromilla!) haha...line dancing with a woman who taught my mom when she was in high school! And roller-skating. Pius understood about fun activities. Don't humiliate kids because they are bad at sports, just encourage them to do physical activity and have fun. So ends my rant on gym class. Games in gym = fun, and presidential fitness tests and written tests = a horrid experience!

The book this time is:
Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser)