Am I really that dogmatic??

Horseman42 · Apr 23, 2012

What's been going on at RW forums lately?? I would have thought I would have had some support in my opinions but I guess not....

http://www.runnersworld.com/communi...barefoot-running/im-being-blamed-daughter-did

curraheeeasyc · Apr 23, 2012

No, you're not. I think this is a case of people making up their minds and defending their original position with passion. However, I think what everyone is saying is that there is a time and place for everything. I'm in the military, so I'm not going to insist that shoes are bad and that I'm not wearing combat boots anymore. Likewise, schools are tradition based in many ways and cannot adapt to the whims of one child, so in this case the teacher cannot/should not be blamed.

ajb422 · Apr 25, 2012

Meh, I think all of Jonix comments highlight exactly what is wrong with our schools and our society. This is why I don't go over to RW. I used be a lurker when I first started bf running for the advice that would who up, but I got sick of arguments like that. Really you are going to argue conformity and common wisdom on a barefoot running forum? If we are saying screw you and your shoes why can't the kids do it too. A lot of people here walk into places barefoot and take flack for it, why can't our kids? Why is it ok to waste, waiters, checkout people, and managers time, but not the kids teachers, the ones who are supposed to care about the children's well being. Your daughter's "whatever" comment was completely justified as well, the teacher wasn't going to sit down and listen to her reasonings so what was she supposed to say? If she had tried to argue her point logically she would have been called insolent as well. And as far as it sending mixed messages, adults can't agree, adults have no idea what we are talking about half the time, the sooner kids learn that the better. How are we going to raise children capable of questioning things that need to be questioned when we suppress that their entire childhood? We need to question authority, otherwise it will run amuck. I was told as a kid I had to read books way below my level because of my age, I argued with them and got in trouble. Trouble for wanting to read more challenging books. My parents went in, defended me and I got to read chapter books, exactly like I should have been able to. I remember them defending me on this to this day. It made a huge impression on my 2nd grade self. Authority could be wrong, I was allowed to question it, I could find people who'd support me if I was correct and could logically reason out my arguments. Situations like that actually make a big impact on kids, or at least did for me. I think I would have went in and raised hell with the teacher. I'm resigned to the fact that at some point if I have kids I am going to get into a knock out drag down argument with at least one of their teachers.

lol see this is why I can't spend any time over there

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NickW · Apr 25, 2012

I could only read about half the arguments myself. Too much arguing.

Horseman42 · Apr 30, 2012

Yeah I probably got more upset than I usually do. The biggest thing that got me upset was when it was mentioned how gym teachers should only basically manage dodgeball, and other sports and not actually teach any biomechanics. They should be more concerned about teen pregancy, and gang violence, and just simply encourage more physical activity. WTF is that??

If I were a gym teacher I would be very insulted by this comment, and while I may say it's ignorant (lack of knowledge, no insult) to ignore running biomechanics I would never suggest that a gym teacher's job was that easy, or simple! Let's give our highschool teachers a little more credit than this!

ajb422 · May 1, 2012

I think I would have enjoyed gym significantly more if they had focused more on things like proper biomechanics than on forcing us to play stupid sports. At least I could have learned something while being mortified by my lack of talent instead of just feeling like it was some sort of cruel punishment for something I did in a past life. Gym like so much else in school just focuses on the wrong things and the teachers don't seem to care enough to change it or there are so few of them that they can't.