USA HS gym class in 1960s?

[everything]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwf9OwiKZv_/

supposedly footage from USA HS gym classes in the 1960s.

ok if we aren't getting dumber, surely we are getting less fit? if not that, def more obese. not looking up all the data, but the data seem to be overwhelming.

[Steve James]

All i can say is that we had "Phys-ed" classes from junior high to college. In earlier grades, it was called "recess." It just wasn't structured. In high school, you could pick which kind of phys-ed you took. So, some took gymnastics. To me, the vid looks like what we did in gymnastics. There was also wrestling. We also had music classes.

Anyway, for some reason, officials decided to eliminate those classes. If it was to improve scores in math and science, it didn't work. I guess both were done for similar reasons. There was the memory of the war, and the ideals of physical manhood. (I.e., girls were not prodded into sports at all). There started to be a change when the cold war demanded more technological excellence.

Hey, I agree that those classes should come back. But, I think it's a dumb idea to depend on the educational system to provide anything. If parents don't make sure their kids get enough exercise, it's not the school's fault. Otoh, it's like school lunches. Schools used to provide them automatically. Nowadays, there are people arguing that there shouldn't be "free lunches."

[everything]

Not sure about the politics of it all, but I think people can make an argument it's "patriotic" and "nationalist" to make sure your youth are in good shape, physically and mentally. Which on a side note, there is the whole thing of "why is Croatia so good at various sports?" whether that's the culture, national organization, or both or more.

Also an argument that positive peer pressure pushing everyone to do more is good. I like tai chi but still don't do it enough.

[Steve James]

There's definitely a political aspect. German youth were famously portrayed as being fit. That vid from our 60s could have been from Germany's 1930s. But, afa reasons why we've changed has more to do with economics, especially when it comes to public education.

This is all about the general population. The US has more world champion athletes than any other country. Yeah, we may have more obesity too. We've also got lots of overweight people claiming to be athletes.

[everything]

oh yeah general pop is the pop that needs to be healthier, focus of public policy, and ugh, politics

[Taste of Death]

This is from my hometown of Sacramento, California. Before my time, but talking to phys ed teachers and students from that era that school had a charismatic teacher and a bunch of competitive students who strived to better themselves each and every day. Nearly impossible to recreate.

[everything]

very cool, and that makes sense about not being able to recreate it

[yeniseri]

Those type of phy.ed classes area thing of the past!
They are gone. The social media era has weakened a fabric of how young people developed based on the physical activity they went through and survived
and now some even see this as barbaric. Actually, the above was similar to Marine Corps boot.
At some point in the US American education system, it was decided to end that type of activity, not unlike the current banning of books many citizens
do not like and the vitriol against the LGBTQ+ community because someone is offended by truth!

[everything]

I remember (fondly now, at the time it was annoying) in the early to mid 80s in maybe 7th-9th grades, we did push ups, sit ups, pull ups (or tried), 50 yard dash, a "shuttle run" with those old fashioned erasers, and a 600 yard jog. I hated and was meh at everything except for shuttle run (agility) which I was good at so maybe that's why it was fun. Only a few could do more than a half to 1 pull up, probably mostly due to being more advanced outliers in puberty and fitness. Not even close to the activity in that footage, but was probably reasonable "physical education" to get most kids started with some (incredibly basic) fitness. No idea why that bare minimum went away or if it did.