Phys. Ed. Failure - Let's Get Real, Homeschoolers!

By Sabrina on 06 December 2011 / Healthy Living, Phys Ed, Stories / 4 Comments

When I was a child, I was a Phys. Ed. failure.

I'm talking "last-one-picked-was-the-least-of-my-problems" failure.  I was actually given a tutor by my gym teacher.

I wasn't particularly coordinated.  I came from a family of non-athletes.  I was an intellectual kid who needed to have an explanation for WHY gym class was important.  I was a creative kid who didn't understand how this type of activity was an expression of anything.  I was a sensitive kid (everybody-be-nice-to-everybody-else-please) who disliked the competitiveness that was encouraged in gym class.  I just wasn't wired to succeed in that environment.

I'm sure my elementary school gym teacher meant well.  His name was Mr. Johnson, and (bless his heart) he had no idea what to do with me.  I wasn't disruptive or stubborn; I tried to follow his directions.  I was just so incredibly AWFUL at the games we played in gym that he scratched his head in confusion.

Then, in 5th grade, a strange thing happened.  One day my homeroom teacher told me that I would be excused from our reading period to meet with a student teacher who was working on a special project.  We would do this 2 times per week for the next several weeks.  It turned out that Ms. Susan was a Phys. Ed. teacher, and her special project was to work with me one-on-one on the Presidential Fitness Award program.  ("Mr. Peanut" was the mascot that year....I still remember his picture on the certificate.  I'm not sure what a peanut with a top-hat and monocle had to do with fitness, but that's probably off-topic.)

Basically, friends, I now had a tutor for gym class.  I guess Ms. Susan's specialization was remedial gym or something.  I was just that bad.

I'm happy to say that Ms. Susan and Mr. Peanut worked very well for me.  I wasn't an UNHEALTHY kid - no weight issues, no laziness - I just didn't fit the gym class format very well, and when you gave me individual challenges that I could go after on my own, I did pretty well.  I remember that doing the required numbers of jumping jacks, sit-ups, and lunges was a piece of cake for me.  I did well jumping rope, too.  Pull-ups were out of my reach, but I was able to do chin-ups on the monkey bars.  And while I wasn't going to win any medals for sprinting, I could run just fine; my distances increased and my heart and lungs proved strong.

When I started homeschooling my kids, I wondered how I should handle the Phys. Ed. problem.  I had certainly never been involved in organized sports (I'm chuckling to myself just trying to picture that, actually...), and wasn't sure how to encourage my kids whether they were athletic like their dad or not like their mom.

Sure enough, in His infinite wisdom and humor, God gave me some of each (athletes and non-athletes), and He guided us through choices over the years that kept them all fit and instilled a willingness to try different types of fitness activities.  But through the memory of my own "Phys. Ed. Failure" in gym class, He also guided us into a confidence in making choices to NOT continue a type of Phys. Ed. that wasn't working.

My oldest was not a team-sports guy.  He was uncomfortable with the competitiveness, and coordination did not come easily to him.  So we started with things he loved to do (bike riding; walking/jogging; strength training) and logged the hours he spent doing them.  He began to very naturally compete with his own last entry in the log; he wanted to go farther, push harder, lift more.  If you saw him today, you would assume that he loves sports.  At 21 he is built!  He goes running a couple of times a week and has encouraged his younger siblings (especially my youngest, who is very much like him) to exercise with him over the years...but all in a "Do this for yourself; we are not competing against one another" environment.

This 30-second video was created by my son Sam and stars his two younger brothers (one a team-sports guy and one a solitary workout guy).  It's just one more unusual way we found to incorporate fitness into what we love in our homeschool....Jonah (the youngest) did a LOT more chin-ups for this than you would imagine.  Filming required lots of takes, and he got quite the work-out the night this was filmed!

My daughter was driven by creativity, especially through music, so dance became an outlet for her.  She took dance classes for many, many years, and the flexibility, strength and aerobic benefits kept her healthy along the way.  In addition, the personal discipline of dance carried into her adult life, and now while she no longer dances she has a variety of work-outs that she does on a regular basis, incorporating ellipticals, treadmills, yoga, and other opportunities at her local gym...and always with her music in her ear.

Jake's my team-sports guy.

Others in my family are much more comfortable with traditional sports and games, and it's been interesting for me to learn the team-sport world a bit as they have joined leagues to play what they love.

There is no WRONG way to stay fit.  With hindsight, I am thankful for Mr. Peanut and my Phys. Ed. failure as a child; it helped me learn things about myself that helped me raise my own kids to take good care of their bodies and be healthy....whether they can hit a baseball or not!

Your Turn:  Any other traditional gym class failures out there?  How did you go on to be healthy on your own terms?

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