Vent: Was my kid handed an unfair/unjustifiable punishment in Phys. Ed?

13

Replies

  • rayneface
    rayneface Posts: 219 Member
    If I was the parent - my kid didn't follow the rules, he was not punished, he was given consequences. Consequences that would discourage him in the future from not following the rules. I say good on the coach - kids don't need to be coddled and babied when they are in middle school. Scrapes and bruises and cuts and sore muscles tends to go with the territory when you are an active/athletic kid or even adult for that matter.

    Being physically uncomfortable or sore is not torture or an infringement of rights.
  • moesis
    moesis Posts: 874 Member
    Muscle Memory: Helping people remember since 1776.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    dolliesdaughter wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    I wouldn't do anything. I bet your son doesn't forget his gym clothes again! Sucks to learn lessons...but ya gotta learn sometime.
    Exactly. So are going to complain because your son didn't follow the rules? Not a good example that you would be setting. Plus you said he wasn't bothered, he knows better he was just being a lazy kid.

    I agree with the first part, but it does sound like the kid genuinely forgot to take his kit to school. Forgetting about something isn't the same as being lazy. She specified that he had to borrow a uniform from the school, so he still had to do P.E. It's not like he got out of it by leaving his kit.
    Other than that, yeah, just forget about it, OP. Could have been worse.
  • TheLegendaryBrandonHarris
    TheLegendaryBrandonHarris Posts: 502 Member
    Our coaches just had us do the same exercises in our regular clothes.
    In the Army, we'd get PT'ed for forgetting stuff and wearing the wrong clothes. I thought it was stupid to make people view exercise as a punishment. Push-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks, running, all for punishment---great way to teach a healthy lifestyle. [eyeroll]
    And then you had those who enjoyed the physical exercise and didn't 'learn' from the punishment because they viewed it as a reward anyway.

    Just because someone is a teacher or a coach doesn't mean they're good with kids. I don't think the coach did any damage---he just isn't good with kids.
  • noclady1995
    noclady1995 Posts: 452 Member
    noclady1995 wrote: »
    Okay. Thanks guys. Maybe I was just being overly sensitive. I'll let it slide. My son will be grateful
    _incogNEATo_ wrote: »
    If y'all keep talking to OP like this, there will be a "mean people" thread before Friday...

    Haha...I have thick skin, no biggie. People have their own way of thinking and doing things w/ regards to their children with disciplining and education. Thankfully, I have a great, well-rounded son has a thick skin too. My mama bear instincts just popped out a bit fast...
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Ya know, I'm all for kids following rules and the like. I almost always side with teachers in cases like this, even when it involves my own children. Especially so then. And I'm fine with, and support, physical education in schools.

    But did no one else ever get punished by a sadistic gym teacher? Is whatever punishment the teacher doles out OK?

    I was called out in front of my entire class by the gym teacher on the first day of fifth grade in a new school for not locking my gym locker correctly. I bore anger at that teacher for many years and stopped taking gym as soon as I could, but I always remembered to lock my locker. So lesson learned, but probably not the lesson the teacher intended.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    edited May 2015
    ^ I was never humiliated, interestingly enough, by any of my gym teachers...I always flew under the radar. I wasn't overweight, but I was lazy, and did just enough and put just enough effort in for them not to notice me one way or the other.

    Changing my mind - it was my 5th Grade English teacher - who humiliated me in front of the entire 5th grade (yes he took me from classroom to classroom to shame me in front of other kids) because I left my English book in my other classroom. Had he done this to all students, I wouldn't have been so angry and wouldn't still be angry...but other kids who were his favorites were allowed to go retrieve forgotten items without humiliation...

    Some teachers just should NOT be teachers, that is true.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,592 Member
    wtf is wrong with people. its just gym clothes there should not be any kind of punishment for forgetting them ( & there sure as hell wasent at my highschool we would just sit out for the day)

    id be pissed off if I was you OP & also if I was your son

    actually knowing me I would of laughed right in the teachers face for thinking they could treat me like that & my mom would of backed me too

    "punish" kids when it is actually deserved
  • _incogNEATo_
    _incogNEATo_ Posts: 4,543 Member
    salembambi wrote: »
    wtf is wrong with people. its just gym clothes there should not be any kind of punishment for forgetting them ( & there sure as hell wasent at my highschool we would just sit out for the day)

    id be pissed off if I was you OP & also if I was your son

    actually knowing me I would of laughed right in the teachers face for thinking they could treat me like that & my mom would of backed me too

    "punish" kids when it is actually deserved

    If there are rules in place, then it doesn't matter if you agree or not. I guess there's always home school.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,956 Member
    edited May 2015
    I'd be pretty darn impressed that my kid could pull off 100 burpees...

    In all seriousness, he hurts, but he will recover. Do you want to make a big deal of it, and make youir kid THAT kid? If the gym teacher is actually a sadist, you could just be making it worse.
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
    My middle school gym class was more or less a joke. But on the basketball team, we'd get in huge trouble for not dressing out or not having the right shoes; coaches would make us run for. But we needed to dress out, and we needed to run...running an extra half mile will suck for that day in practice, but it increases stamina(gotta stay positive hehe)
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    edited May 2015
    Wow! Your son can do 100 burpees? He's a badazz! Also Ibuprofen helps with those kinds of muscle aches as does the foam roller. Also if he's "over it" and does not want you to interfere, you shouldn't.

    P.S. I'm from California too.

    P.S.S. I have boys too. One of which is graduating from college this year and has paid for all the tickets of everyone coming and has coordinated a celebration afterwards complete with dinner. The other who has turned around a negative school social and behavior situation to the point where he is referred to by Administration as a "success story".

    P.S.S.S. My points above were not to brag but to point out that an important part of parenting is to know when to step back and let things work.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    That does sound a little excessive, but I'd honestly not do anything. Just let it go for now and see how it goes. If these type of things happen again, or become frequent then I'd go in for a talk.
    Sometimes emails aren't the best way of communication because it's hard to show emotion through writing often. I'd rather go for a face to face meeting(if this type of thing continues)
  • angellemailow301
    angellemailow301 Posts: 8 Member
    I think you really need to speak to phys ed teacher, 100 burpees seems excessive! I hope your son's view of staying in shape isn't compromised
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    :)

    I was upset one time when my daughter's 4th grade gym teacher made them run outside in the rain. It wasn't a nice warm rain, it was cold and damp. I did call and complain and was reprimanded that being cold and wet doesn't give kids colds. But it sure doesn't make them look forward to gym class does it, lol.

    When I was in Jr. High we used to play keep away with some boys. But ONLY on cold wet rainy days. So there would be mud. And sliding. And swerving. And sloshing. We'd go back to class cold wet and covered in mud. The only thing distracting about it was our passing notes with big smiles to invite who was up to doing it again tomorrow and who had heard the weather forecast if it's gonna rain again. Neither my father nor my mother raised an eyebrow at my clothes upon returning home. They just washed them.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    salembambi wrote: »
    wtf is wrong with people. its just gym clothes there should not be any kind of punishment for forgetting them ( & there sure as hell wasent at my highschool we would just sit out for the day)

    id be pissed off if I was you OP & also if I was your son

    actually knowing me I would of laughed right in the teachers face for thinking they could treat me like that & my mom would of backed me too

    "punish" kids when it is actually deserved

    Wow. That sounds like an easy system to exploit. Just broke up with b/f and don't feel like archery? Just say you forgot your gym clothes! In my day we had to have aunt flo emergencies to get out of gym. Oh, or get a teen pregnancy. For some reason, gym seemed easier.
  • TheBeerRunner
    TheBeerRunner Posts: 2,777 Member
    I'm really not seeing the issue here... If we forgot our gym clothes we lost the points and we had to run or do some other miserable, degrading physical task. BFD. So, your kid got to find out he can do 100 burpees? Awesome. Maybe if kids actually faced real punishment in school they wouldn't be such insufferable little ****s like most of the overly coddled little brats are these days.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    The only time we have ever intervened when one of our kids got in trouble was when my oldest got a day of "disciplinary management class" (aka in-school suspension) because another kid accidentally tripped over my son's feet. The crazy teacher also gave the same punishment to the kid that tripped. My husband spoke to the vice-principal and to his credit he talked to some of the other kids in class and found that nope, neither kid was goofing off or anything, just one tripped over the other and the teacher freaked out. The VP said we could consider the matter closed. LOL Other than something like that, they take what they get.
  • GreenGoddess22
    GreenGoddess22 Posts: 3,821 Member
    Your "momma bear" came through, I understand. No parent wants to see their child in pain, hurt, etc. However, rules are rules and if he didn't have his clothes, he should face the consequence.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    Actually...Have you ever tried to do 100 burpees? I think that was a little harsh. Some push ups? Sure. I don't agree with this at all.

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