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BBP
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Oh god, don't talk to us about bad PE teachers! There were two at my school who were such a complete nightmare to have. They just wouldn't accept that
there might be something you can't, and if you're too heavy AND too weak to climb rope, you're not going to learn it in two days time. I was
relatively lucky, being a terrible sweetheart I never had much teacher trouble, but my sister once got kicked out of class because she wouldn't do a
handstand on one of these things http://www.gymnastiekwinkel.nl/gymnastiek-toestellen/springkasten, and it looked downright dangerous, so she wouldn't and got kicked out.
He punished her by putting her in a handstand position for 15 minutes.
Anyway after three years of terror I finally had a good teacher. It didn't stop me from having a severe elbow bruise and a ring finger which I think I
may have broken back then. And at least two concussions from balls hitting my head.
I'm completely in favour of banning PE from schools.
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Huck_Phlem
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A dresser drawer?
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BBP
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It's some sort of thing you're supposed to jump on and off. My sister, and classmates, had to do a handstand on the end, then flip over to the other
side (that is, off the dresser). Since those things are built from several partitions, the end of the ones on the top came loose and flew up whenever
someone performed such a stunt.
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DED
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this one
Attachment: springkast2.jpg (27kB)
This file has been downloaded 368 times
[Edited on 30-3-2011 by DED]
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polydigm
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Wow Bonny, those PE teachers sound awful.
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BBP
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Say, how did you break a wrist? Did you fall or something?
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polydigm
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It happened early in my first year in high school around my thirteenth birthday. We were being introduced to the parallel bars in PE. This basically
weak bunch of 12/13 year olds were being asked to do a reverse dismount from the end of the bars set to the full six foot height, which is just
insane. The person behind you in the line was supposed to support you if you came down awkwardly which was way too much to be asking of us - both in
terms of the person doing the manoeuvre and the responsibility for the person behind. I was the pigeon who was first in line and the PE teacher left
us unsupervised. I fell backwards and landed with my hands underneath, the person behind me just stepped out of the way.
My wrist was badly distorted by the fall. A couple of GPs in the local hospital thought they could fix it without help from a specialist and it's
never been right. I had some exploratory surgery done when I was 26 after having some trouble with my wrist at work. It was found that my trouble
stemmed back to the original break and the incompetence of those GPs. I had a cyst removed which helped me big time because it gave me back full
movement of my wrist but I was told there was nothing they could do about the break.
It's not as bad as it sounds. They said that building up the strength in that arm would help a lot, which turned out to be true. It gets a bit sore
sometimes but I can still play guitar, piano and sax and most of the time I barely notice it. I've had problems with my back from that fall as well,
but it's hard to quantify just what those problems might be. But exercising and keeping fit helps and like I said, I've been able to play squash which
is a pretty vigorous and demanding sport.
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BBP
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That IS insane! I could never do a reverse dismount due to the combination of heavy weight, little muscle and big feet that get in the way, so after a
couple of failed attempts in which I hurt my feet badly, I just switched to forward. But at least my teacher had the decency to have them set to
height. We did have to do a forward somersault on them by second grade, when I was 13.
Of course I have to note we had mixed PE in school. Which sucks from 4th grade or on, when you're playing basketball against people who are a head
taller than you. Or when you're on your period and staying on the side (which I by consequence never did, too embarrassing). Or when your breasts have
grown too large to control, even with sports bra.
That's pretty careless from your GP's. If you were in the States you could sue them.
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polydigm
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I was told when this was discovered that I could sue and legal aid were pretty keen to do it but my head was in a bad space at the time and I didn't
get my act together to do it. Money aside, I should have done it because a message needed to be sent to that hospital about what was taking place
there.
Sounds to me Bonny like your school was pretty insensitive. I expect stories like mine from people my age, but schools and, the law along with them,
have changed. It doesn't sound like it has where you are, or did things used to be a lot worse? DED?
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BBP
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Actually that somersault was not as bad as it sounds. English language doesn't differentiate between a somersault on the ground, which all kids do
when they're young and during which you always have support from the floor, and one in the air, which is only for gymnasts. The MO was, first you
swing and put your legs on the bars, one on the left, one on the right, so you have your legs spread.
Then you move your hands in front of your legs, then you pull up your lower legs and hook your feet behind the bars, and then push off. While you're
turning, your shoulders and upper arms are always supporting the rest of the body. It's pretty easy, but naturally quite scary looking.
Also: P.E. class is always dangerous. I broke my finger when a very fat girl ran into me during basketball. I always assumed it had been bruised,
until I broke my ankle and realized I wasn't immune to fractures.
I bruised my elbow when, during basketball, I tried to get the ball from someone, but I fell, and he fell on top of me. We're still very good friends.
And there was some charm in walking around with a black and blue arm with a gory wound, creeping out the girls.
My school wasn't really careless. It was a bit of a posh school, with very little foreign kids (three in my year with 110 kids), an inter-school
sports competition between 4 schools, an artistic competition between 4 schools, and many after-school activities.
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DED
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Main problems in Holland are "the quality"of teachers esp. at Gymnastics. They don't seem to understand that we not all are alike.
Speaking with them on this issue seems to be not done. I was send out of the classroom many times and punished even often. Only because I was not the
easiest guy around. For me, teachers are only right in what they say if they can prove it. When you say that things are the way the are, or because
they say so, have a hard time educating me. It started out when I was six. I wrote done milk when I had to wrote milk, unfortenately by that time I
wasn't aware of different languages. I had a Corgi Toy Milkvan with a large sign on top stated MILK. So when I had to wrote down Melk (Dutch for milk)
I wrote milk. The teacher stated that I was wrong and I couldn't accept that. She didn't explain that people in England and some other places speak a
different language and say milk to melk. If she had done that I could have some understanding, but to say I'm wrong was the start of a strange career
in education.
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polydigm
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I was humiliated by my teacher in front of the class in grade 3 for not knowing my times tables properly. I decided on that day that no-one was ever
going to do that to me again, so I learnt my tables quick smart and other stuff besides and went on to become the one who corrected teachers whenever
they made mistakes. She created a monster.
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BBP
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 Go Poly!
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polydigm
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Those humiliating experiences can go both ways, they can cause some people to shut off from education altogether.
Anyway, starting the day before yesterday I got back to playing my alto sax. I'd just transcribed the melody from "Overture To A Holiday In Berlin"
and got really curious to hear it on my saxophone. I went back to it momentarily around October last year but that lasted 2 days. Other than that I
haven't played it since before I got really sick back in May last year.
I've been kind of battling with what I'm doing with my life ever since my second surgery in July last year and music has taken a bit of a back seat.
Although, I've been trying to keep my chops up on the guitar, but that's been about it. My brother bought me the book "The Rest Is Noise" for my
birthday in March. I've been reading it bit by bit ever since, over 600 pages, and finished it yesterday. It's a history/critique of 20th Century
music. I've found it very inspiring. I'm right back into full blown composition again and did that transcription on Tuesday as an exercise which then
led to playing the sax again.
Remarkably enough, I haven't lost a lot from what I learnt at the start of last year. It all comes back pretty quickly with a little reinforcement.
It'll need a little more time and practice before I can play OTAHIB well but I'm already happy with my progress after only two days. I don't exactly
push myself, I'm just driven to keep playing and eventually I have to stop because my face muscles just can't do it any more. Maybe that's where the
saying "chops" comes from: building up your jaw muscles playing a reed instrument.
Talking about composition, my latest is a major one, bringing together all kinds of seemingly disparate elements with a fairly large ensemble in mind.
I've no idea yet how I'm going to get it performed properly, but I will at least put together a demo using my studio. Firstly, of course, I have to
finish it.
Anyway, better go have my breakfast, I'm off to the hospital for a routine check up with my surgeon. Don't worry, I'm well, they just need to check up
on my progress periodically. I'm fairly fit and back to being slightly overweight; taking the dogs for long walks with my wife; been to the beach
swimming several times since Christmas; working in the garden and doing plumbing odd jobs and so on. The only physical challenge left for me now is to
try some squash again.
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punknaynowned
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good to hear Geoff!
Overture to Holiday In Berlin is one of my faves!
Would love to hear any new songs when their ready too 
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polydigm
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Just today I made a new section for my music on my web site. Try the following link:
Geoff's Music
I hope you like some of it.
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punknaynowned
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there's a number of pieces under 'perfect time' that I like. Haven't listened yet to 'Can't Stop It'.
The first one sounds almost zappa related. 'Been There' and 'It's Not What You Think' are actually compelling. Many of them I wanted them to keep
going. Reparturnling starts out very atonal or dissonant and ends up in a very different place. Neat. Dabbling starts out intriguing and stays there
almost til the end. I like it all and will be back.
Thanks for sharing!!!
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punknaynowned
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I have to do errands today and don't want to.
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polydigm
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Thanks for the feed back Ned.
Reparturnling has three components, each of which has a very different harmonic basis, but are none the less thematically related. The piece is
ABABCD, I tend to use mostly pretty classical forms to structure my pieces, I don't buy into the total serialist view of the world. A is serial, based
on a twelve tone row. When I work with serial composition I have my own way of doing things. I don't like really abstract mathematical type serial
stuff. Sometimes I develop a series that I like the sound of, which is the most important thing, then I experiment with it and see what kinds of
chords I can get out of it and other melodic variations. I try the retrograde and inversion but I'll only use these if they sound good to me, my
variations are mostly non standard. B is kind of tonal, inspired by Stravinsky. It's not tonal in the sense of having a key centre but it's
constructed using diatonic elements. C is modal using the dominant mode of F# ascending melodic minor. D, the cadence, is based on elements of A and
B.
Been There has a similar mix of atonal, non tonal diatonic and modal elements.
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BBP
Super Administrator
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Attempted to do some gardening, lost to the stinging nettles.
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