Like pretty much everything in our lives, phys ed has changed a lot since we were kids. 

1.)  Self-Esteem

Imagine how upset you'd be if you hadn't even MADE the team!

Gym class meant one of two things for your self-esteem:  you either ended up hating yourself, or carried off the field by your admiring classmates. 

Nowadays:

Everyone Is A Winner

What is up with this "school's care about your self esteem" garbage?  When were kids, if you sucked at sports, you sucked at sports.  Done.  Just because a kid can't throw or dodge a dodgeball doesn't mean they deserve special treatment.  Also, it isn't like if a kid sucks at math the teacher will give them an "A" anyway.  If you sucked at math, then too bad!  Your grade showed it.  School districts across the country have instituted gym class games like aerobics instead of games like dodgeball and basketball.  The idea is that if sports are less team based, kids can't get singled out for being shitty athletes. 

Our day:

Someone ELSE Was A Winner

Hey!  You suck at soccer!  You're getting picked last, and everyone on your team hates you.  What's the result?  You feel like crap for an hour.  Who cares?  Soccer is stupid anyway.  That's what you tell yourself.  Congratulations!  You are now a stronger person because gym class has taught you how to deal with problems.  What if today's kids get singled out for sucking at something that doesn't involve gym?  Crying a lot.  That's what.  They don't have the same training in dealing with bullshit that we had.  AWESOME JOB NEW-AGE EDUCATORS.

Advantage:

Our day.

 

2.)  Actual Exercise:

This beats basketball!...And having a girlfriend?

Sure, gym was fun sometimes, and on certain occasions you got some exercise.  But how often?

Nowadays:

Exergaming

One day, Dance Dance Revolution came out, and it required players to get up and move their fat asses, a lot.  Noticing that kids loved to play and that kids today are getting increasingly fatter, many school districts in the U.S. have adopted "exergaming" as it's lamely called, to their phys ed regimen.  The game requires the player to use their feet to tap buttons on a floor pad, often at high speeds.  The energy it requires, even for the worst players, is significantly higher than the amount a kid spends sitting on the couch eating tube after tube of Pringles.  It's sad that our children refuse to exercise unless video games are involved, but it's working. 

Our Day:

Only running, pretty much

Video games USED to be about sitting on your couch and doing nothing, no matter how much you argued with your parents that weilding the Duck Hunt light-gun made your shoulders sore.  You would never see video games in the gym when we were kids.  Instead, the gym teacher would just tell us we were fat and lazy, and he would be correct.  But that wouldn't fix anything.

Advantage:

Nowadays

 

3.)  Attendance

Why go to phys ed when we can drink these sugar based "fruit" drinks?

Gym class means actually being in class right?  Remember skipping gym because phys ed teachers aren't REALLY teachers? 

Nowadays:

Don't feel like going?  Just take it on-line!

With time constraints and students taking more classes aimed at specializing in certain fields, gym class has taken a backseat.  The unfortunate reality is that lack of physical activity turns people into smelly blobs, so schools are all like "Well, we should probably pretend to make kids exercise."  HERE COMES TECHNOLOGY.  Students who are unable to find time for phys ed in their schedule are assigned futuristic heart monitors and are required to complete an hour of physical activity in a day.  The heart monitor reads their pulse rate.  If the reading is over the required target heart rate, the student passes, if it is under, they fail.

Our Day:

Be there, or you're running laps

In 1991, 41% of students were required to take daily gym class, nearly double that of today, where only about 28% are required.  It was a lot harder to fake exercise with a neckless gym teacher/football coach blowing his whistle in your face.  "I WANNA SEE YOU SWEAT, LADIES!"  Yeah, we all hated the guy, but at least we were working hard.  And if you missed out on gym class without a good excuse, you were running laps, sprints, or the dreaded suicide.  It wasn't just putting a heart monitor into a computer and getting a slap on the wrists. 

Advantage:

Our Day.

 

4.) Useful Activities

When you finish this, it's upstairs for push-ups!

Most of the gym class games we played were sports, sports that most kids sucked at and would never play competitively.  And as we said before, research has shown that kids are getting fatter and fatter.  Some estimates have shown that todays youth could have a lower life expectancy than their parents!  Not good!  Research also said gym classes aren't good enough at getting kids in shape, and there needs to be a change.

Nowadays:

Gym is suddenly full of tools, the useful kind!

Thanks to the "feel good!" era, schools are trying to get everyone involved, that would include both fat nerds and muscle-less nerds.  That's why some classes include hiking, while learning to use a compass, or kayaking in the school pool, you know, stuff kids can take home and use if they ever go outside. 

Our day:

So what?

You swam laps, ran laps, ran the mile twice a year, played dodgeball, basketball, floor hockey, etc.  If you didn't use them in real life, then it was just too bad.  The school just wanted you to get your hour in.  At least it was SOMETHING.

Advantage:

Tie

 

5.)  Your Personal Experience

THIS can be gym?!

Remember how gym class was all "THIS IS WHAT  SPORT WE ARE GOING TO PLAY, LADIES"?  It's different now! 

Nowadays:

Do what you like

Modern gym classes have bought into that whole "everyone is different" mentality.  With that in mind, schools are adopting a method known as "personal fitness."  Students begin the program by completing required activities for a while.  They discover what they like, and can create a semester program around that.  Choices include weight training, cardio-fitness, aquatics, and team sports.  They also manage to apply real world skills by learning CPR, heart-monitor training, and even the difibrillator. 

Our Day:

Slim Pickin's

When you walked into the gym, you were under the thumb of your Draconian gym teacher.  If the next 3 weeks was basketball, you could look forward to a steady dose of air-balls and Michael Jordan references.  And you definitely didn't learn how to resuscitate someone.

Advantage:

Nowadays

 

WINNER?

There really doesn't seem to be a winner!  Old school methods of gym class taught kids to deal with problems, but new school methods allow kids to pick the physical education they like the best.  And it's dumb that kids aren't required to take a class, but old school gym never taught us CPR.  If there was somehow a hybrid gym class...wouldn't life be perfect?