I remember heading down to the gym for some exercise. I don’t remember what we did there except for playing dodgeball. I did not enjoy that since the teacher would pick 2 team captains who would then call on kids to be on their team. I remember standing there praying I would be picked. When my name was finally called, I breathed a sigh of relief. I guess I was not too athletic even though I spent my days at home roller skating, bike riding, jumping rope, playing stickball after dinner, and singing the silly songs that went along with stoopball using my Spalding ball.
We always sang the alphabet song like “A, my name is Annie and I like apples”. If you couldn’t catch the ball or if you couldn’t think of responses for the alphabet letter you were up to, you were out, and the next person took a turn. We would also bounce the ball and for the letter of the alphabet, the girl’s name, and the object that started with the letter you were on, you would have to circle the ball with your leg without missing a beat or letting the ball bounce twice.
We moved to Teaneck, New Jersey when I was ten, and after the summer break, I started 6th grade at Eugene Field Elementary School. I was very shy and didn’t know anyone, so when my teacher said we were going down for PE, I always walked to the back of the line.
For weeks, we would walk down one set of stairs, turn around, and then climb back up again. Sometimes, we walked up and down more than one time.
Whenever we reached the bottom, Mr. Lewis, my 6th grade teacher, would say something to the class that I couldn’t hear, and then we would turn around and go back up the stairs. To me, PE meant going up and down the stairs.
One day, when we got to the bottom of the stairs, to my surprise, Mr. Lewis walked us to the gym. An actual gymnasium! I didn’t realize the school had one! Then Mr. Lewis announced to our class that we were finally going to have some PE, and he gave us directions to play a game. I was totally confused. We were in the gym, but we didn’t walk back up the stairs. Were we going to leave the gym and finish our PE stair climbing at the end of the game? I quietly asked someone what he meant. I was informed that PE stood for physical education, which meant the same as gym class.
I later found out that all those other times, Mr. Lewis scolded the class for being too noisy on the stairs. He had said that if we couldn’t be quiet, we would not have our time at the gym. He repeatedly decided the class was too noisy, so he would always have us turn around to march back up to our classroom. I never heard him explain that since I was way back at the end of the line. What a surprise to find out that PE did not mean just walking up and down the stairs!
Once I entered Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, PE became a separate class. However, you had to buy a gym uniform and had to have your name embroidered on the back and onto the front pocket.
All the girls had to have the same one-piece romper-type (a short jumpsuit) blue uniform that buttoned up the front. The embroidered letters had to be a certain size and in a certain font. They had to be embroidered in white thread. If everything was not exact, you got in trouble and could not take gym until you corrected the problems.
Of course, if you missed too many gym classes, you would not be able to pass on to the next grade, so it was imperative to get the embroidery right. My parents always hired someone to embroider my uniform knowing that it would be done correctly. We also had to bring sneakers to school just for gym. We wore white canvas Keds sneakers. We were not allowed to wear sneakers to school. Popular school shoes were penny loafers (the penny was for good luck), or saddle shoes. Note the penny in the middle opening of the loafer on the right. That is the exact spot where we placed our penny.
I remember liking the volleyball unit and I stayed after school with my friend Sharon Maloney for Intramural basketball. Back then, girls only ran half the court if you played guard which I did.
The other unit that stays in my mind is the posture unit. My father always yelled at me to stand up straight and now the school was making us, too! We had a picture taken at the beginning of the unit to show how our posture looked.
Then we had to practice standing straight against a wall with our heels and the back of our heads touching the wall. In that position, we had to walk forward away from the wall.
Sometimes we had to put a book on our heads and practice walking with it without letting the book fall. Inevitably, the book fell off. You just hoped you got to walk a few steps with the book on your head so you wouldn’t get laughed at by the rest of the girls watching. Did I mention that the girls and boys had separate gym classes?
“Stand up straight. Head up – shoulders back”
We heard that phrase over and over and I heard that from both my teacher and also from my father. We were constantly reminded to check our posture when we walked past a mirror or store window where we could see our reflection. However, looking back, I am thankful for the advice as it did improve my posture. I still check it to this day when I see my reflection.
Once in high school, we still had gym uniforms, and we still had to bring our sneakers. In both middle school and high school, we had a gym locker room. The lockers were grabbed when you walked into the locker room, so you wanted to get there early to get a good one of your choice.
You had to change in front of everyone else and being modest, I was in a constant state of embarrassment. In high school, there were also showers which I never used as they were also public.
I remember the gymnastics unit since I could not climb up the scratchy, free-swinging ropes attached from the ceiling, but I was amazed watching my friend Sharon reach the ceiling like a monkey! No matter how determined I was, my scrawny arms just couldn’t conquer that scratchy, swaying rope.
I’d grab on tight, my fingers gripping the rough fibers, and heave myself up, unable to move after one or two desperate pulls. My arms trembled as I tried to raise one hand above the other. The rope swung mockingly beneath me, and no matter how much I willed my muscles to cooperate, I eventually slid back down in defeat. I really struggled to get my feet off the ground while Sharon seemed to defy gravity. From up near the ceiling, she would wave down to me and laugh.
I did like the pommel horse, though. For some reason, I was decent at that. It was scary sitting on top with my feet bent behind me. From that position, we had to jump off without holding on to the handles. Once I mastered that, I actually thought it was fun! Another skill we practiced was swinging around the horse while holding onto a handle. One day the teacher spotting me asked if I was double-jointed. I did not know then and I still do not know. I was pretty flexible, though.
Another unit I remember, besides sports and gymnastics, was the unit on relaxation. That was the best thing I ever learned as it taught me to take cat naps and just close my eyes for a minute or two to feel refreshed.
Lying on a floor mat, Mrs. Eisenberg would tell us to relax every part of our body, including our forehead, eyes, mouth, chin, arms, legs, and feet. I remember feeling a bit confused. What did “relax your forehead” mean and how did you do that? However, whatever I did, it worked for me!
Looking back, gym class was a mix of embarrassment, unexpected life lessons, and a few small victories. I never did master rope climbing, but at least I can still walk with a book on my head and take a good cat nap when needed!
