How My Kickass PE Teacher Helped Me Set Boundaries

20 years later, I finally get it

Photo by K’LeAnn on Pexels.

Parasite!

That must have been her favourite word.

We liked to count how many times she used it in one hour. In athletics, in gymnastics, in basketball. Her world was full of them, parasites.

We laughed at it, not understanding why she used it so much.

Now I know what she meant to teach us.

Boundaries.

Her approach was radical, but life has since then showed me that it’s often the best way to proceed.

Her Unique Way to Share the Message

Our Sports teachers hated it when anything physical distracted us from performing well.

She was against unzipped hoodies, jewellery, or hair.

She wanted us to keep everything closed and tight. I remember her screaming parasite! so many times. During team sports, gymnastics, track and field.

Any time we’d place back a strand of hair, spin our rings, or zip up a jacket, she’d react to it. She’d explain that we couldn’t perform well when these behaviours happened.

Back then the main thing it did was to make me laugh. She was only exaggerating.