Barefoot PE in school - still popular?

When I went to school in the UK from the mid 1970's through to the mid 1980's, it seemed that doing PE like this was extremely popular. We had footwear which I think teachers expected us to wear for both inside and outside lessons. In truth nearly everyone chose to do inside PE in bare feet, telling teachers we'd 'forgot' our plimsolls. We sometimes got asked where our plimsolls were but to be honest the teachers never really bothered

One or two did wear plimsolls, it was interesting trying to avoid getting toes trodden on, but sometimes the teachers would ask the plimsoll wearers to take them off. We loved that, they certainly didn't.

I'd like to think that barefoot PE is still as popular as it once was though it may not be. What do others think?

 

I went to school in the U.S. Nowadays just about every child wears sneaker to school, so there's very little chance that they might forget them. It might be a thing of the past, I don't know. Gymnastics are often done barefoot but however I've seen situations where the participants were wearing socks instead of being barefoot. Our country is quite germaphobic these days.

 

I'd like to think attitudes differ between the U.K. and U.S these days, though similar to what you say if it differs these days the dreaded health and safety may be a contributing factor.

 

When I was told by that idiot in this convenience store that the insurance company said I am not allowed to be barefoot in there I suggested he call them to come down and do something about it. Then I went on to explain that an insurance company has no police powers to tell anyone what to do, they are just a group of private citizens. Its not your job to be their enforcers, you get nothing in return.

And as much as insurance companies like to try and boss the public around posing as legitimate authority they don't have any dress code requirements for shoppers.

 

i never heard of the barefoot PE thing until it started appearing on hipforums a few weeks ago. i don't know if anyone would have stopped me if i tried; i just don't think it ever even occurred to anyone.

well they can increase the store's insurance rates, which for a business is comparable to a police power to tell them what to do.

 

I made this its own topic, we always need topics.

 

i never had to take PE in high school. I was in a type of special education for emotional issues.

 

I think one thing that made barefoot gym the norm was that most of of us didnt own more than one pair of shoes, and those usually had hard soles. Tennis shoes were the only sport shoes, and a lot of us never owned a pair until the 1960s.

 

When I was at school in the 1970s and 1980s, It seemed quite a few of my friends didn't have a pair of indoor pumps or plimsolls preferring to keep the shoes they had for any outdoor lessons we did. It seemed that such shoes were more expensive and less commonplace than today. I was one of the few who did in my class, though I readily ditched them upon seeing the fun my class seemed to have without their indoor PE footwear.

 

Was the same here as I was in school in the 90s/00s ... we needed special indoor plimsolls due to the floor there (to avoid black abrasion from the soles), so outdoor/street sneakers were not allowed. And some of my classmates just couldn't afford special shoes for just one hour each week.

One good friend of mine did even outdoor lessons barefoot one year. She had only chinese slippers as shoes and they were just not suitable for outdoor sports.

 

Yea, don't blame you.

 

At school (Uk) in the seventies, i can remember PE indoors would usually be barefoot, and when outdoors plimsolls or barefoot (if on grass many would be barefoot - i can recall school sports day on the playing field most were barefoot). This was certainly true at primary level (up to age 10/11). Much less so at senior school - i guess changing times, and teenage peer pressure has an effect.
hard to imagine being barefoot in school in UK these days

 

I think doing PE barefoot is a very English thing and I believe it still happens today especially in first schools. I remember back when I was at school (90s) all indoor PE was done in bare feet and outside PE and cross country was barefoot by choice.

 

Unfortunately, we had to wear sneakers for P.E. at school here. Thinking back, that might have been the last time I've ever worn those accursed things anywhere. Even before I started actively barefooting I've hated how I had to take off my lightweight school slippers or slide sandals and put on a pair of bulky, ugly sneakers that my parents bought just for P.E. class. Those were usually just a pair of cheap, canvas Converse knock-offs that would start falling apart at the seams after a couple of months, but to me wearing them still felt like I was running around with weights on my feet. Thankfully, those sneakers only left my school locker about twice a week, so my feet didn't get too much torture from them.

I can only imagine how nice it would have been to do things without any footwear at all, because I've otherwise found P.E. to be quite a hoot - and, just like most other things in life, it would have been even better barefoot!

 

Oh god, sneakers. Stinkers.