Physical Education of the 60s
I am so embarrassed for our country right now. We have de-evolved into a protoplasmic mess. Look at these kids. Look at what they are doing. Look at their bodies. They were doing Cross Fit before it was a fad. Now think about them when you look at people today. Remember, this was Kennedy’s dream, not some Siberian prison sentence. We should be horrified at ourselves. We are what was mocked in the movie Wall-E. I wish these filmmakers the best in getting the La Sierra program started again. I know a lot of lawyers are excited about it because they will get to sue some more schools for “harsh conditions”, etc.
I wish they really had gotten phys ed for girls going strong back then. I remember a little exposure to the idea, but the emphasis on upper body strength left us girls in the dust, and I remember a lot of feelings of inferiority about it and the boys’ accomplishments. The running fad of the seventies and the aerobics fad that followed were probably better for health and at inspiring girls and women. Now many young people are doing even better, and don’t seem to feel limited by their gender, though the problem remains of a wide gap between the fit and the unfit where there should be a bell shaped curve. The challenge is in inspiring the unfit to be average or better, when we glorify only the extremely fit. Your peers don’t see your grades, but they see you struggle to lift your heavy body and not even come close enough to envision success. I hope this program gets that, but if it puts all the emphasis on lifting your body with your arms, most girls and heavy kids will feel way more discouraged than they would from virtually any other activity.
“Chicken Fat’—I still have the 45 RPM record.
Chicken Fat, also known as “The Youth Fitness Song.” Composed for President Kennedy’s Physical Fitness Program. Recordings of this song were sent to school districts throughout the United States to accompany the official U.S. Physical Fitness program of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. Composer: Robert Preston