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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| America is Becoming France |
| 2007-12-03 |
| As 500 or so teens gyrated at the Lake Oswego High School homecoming dance, administrators noticed what one described as a change in "the atmosphere." The football players had won the game, changed back into their street clothes and gone straight to the dance. No showers. But they aren't the only ones to blame for the malodorous environment in schools. It's a rare student who showers after sports or gym classes these days. A quick dab of deodorant and a dousing of cologne or perfume, and it's on to the next class. Communal showers -- the awkward rite of passage into puberty -- are a thing of the past. In fact, Oregon schools haven't required showers for at least a decade. The same is true nationally. Students say they don't have time to shower. Psychologists and educators say kids also are more sensitive about body image partly because they live in a world saturated by the media's idea of perfection. For some athletes, such as wrestlers, showers are mandatory because of the threat of skin infections. But for most students, toweling off at the sink after P.E. is the closest they come. "The only person I saw take a shower this year was a Canadian kid that moved here," said Jack Taylor, a Wilsonville High sophomore. |
| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #5 The trailing daughters have never showered after gym. As far as I know their schools -- public, all buildings put up within the last two decades -- were built without locker rooms or showers. They've always changed for gym in the regular bathrooms. It's a budget thing, the parents were told; we could have locker rooms or classrooms, but with everyone wanting their taxes reduced, the district wasn't even going to try to ask for both. And given that for a while the levies weren't passing, so that for a number of subjects at the high school there was only the classroom set of textbooks, not one for each student to take home -- the parents weren't about to make a fuss over a bit of soap and water. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-12-03 21:44 |
| #4 Reminds me of that gym teacher who wore the mirrored sunglasses. It's even more creepy in retrospect. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2007-12-03 20:23 |
| #3 Seems to me that the real story is that the kiddies aren't taking showers after a PE game, but that they are afraid to shower in front of other kids. If true (and I have my doubts)that is an interesting twist. I would have thought they would be less shy. They don't seem to have any hesitation in stripping for sex. |
| Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 2007-12-03 19:11 |
| #2 In that case France and Amezrica have swpped places. FRench have come a long way about showers since 1944. Hint: demographic stagnation had led to most housing being from 19th century and these had no showers: you had to go to public baths and showers. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-12-03 17:33 |
| #1 Non! Quelle horreur! |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-12-03 14:10 |