Gym Class-Part 2

Everyone I know had dance instruction as part of their gym class. The public junior high school in my hometown requires dance for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I believe they run through dances like the Fox Trot and Waltz. They probably cover other ballroom dances. I didn't go to public school until 9th grade, so I avoided that.

I did have square dancing in third grade. One year of learning how to dosado and promenade. I thought that was pretty silly until I learned that, because Illinois's offical state dance is the square dance, they have to learn how to perform it for years on end. It's either 4 or 5 years, I can't remember which. I can't imagine what great skill you'll gain in the 4th year that you didn't get in the 3rd year.

The only other dance I learned in high school was Tinikling. I do not know why a traditional Philippine dance was taught to high schoolers in Wausau, WI, but we spent two months on it. Instead of bamboo poles, we had PVC pipes. Instead of gorgeous outfits, we had a gym teacher with Parkinson's in coaches shorts. A quick Google search reveals that this dance is being taught to many students in states all over the US.

If you compare this to the other humiliations that gym class provided, they're not so bad. I just not sure if they really taught me anything about being physical in a way that would carry over to adulthood.