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An important element of school uniforms and schoolwear is the gym uniform. Even schools that did not have school uniforms had gym suits as they were called in America. Here thre were initinally very substantial differences between boys and girls gym uniforms. One popular early gym uniform for girl was middy blouses, long bloomers, and long black stockings. We notice American girls wearing rompers for gym into the 1960s. Boys generally wore "T"-shirts and colored boxer shorts. In recent years differences between boys and girls gym uniforms have generally declined. Another trend has been dropping or cutting back on the physical education program. This is occiring at the same time juvenile obesity is becoming a serious problem. There were also a wide variety of sports uniforms. These uniforms have varied from school to school as well as from country to country and over time. Schools in American and Britain (especially the private scholls) as well as British Empire countries had strong spotys program. Other countries such as France had more strictly academic schools. We see a wide range of sports uniforms. This varied widely because the various sports unifirms were designed according to the demands of the sports.
An important element of school uniforms and schoolwear is the gym uniform or kit as it is called in Britain. Even schools that did not have school uniforms had gym suits as they were called in America.
There were initinally very substantial differences between boys and girls gym uniforms. One popular early gym uniform for girl was middy blouses, long bloomers, and long black stockings. We notice American girls wearing rompers for gym into the 1960s. Boys generally wore "T"-shirts and colored boxer shorts. In recent years differences between boys and girls gym uniforms have generally declined.
Another trend has been dropping or cutting back on the physical education program. This is occiring at the same time juvenile obesity is becoming a serious problem.
There were also a wide variety of sports uniforms. The British use the term "games" meaning sports. These uniforms have varied from school to school as well as from country to country and over time. Schools in American and Britain (especially the private scholls) as well as British Empire countries had strong spotys program. Other countries such as France had more strictly academic schools. We see a wide range of sports uniforms. This varied widely because the various sports unifirms were designed according to the demands of the sports.
Countries around the world have varied in the attention given to Gym or Physical Education (PE). Often this was primarily a secondary school class. Often schools thought recess provided the necessaet recess. We have, however, note gym classes in primary schools as well. Britain, British Dominions, Japan, and the United States have had important PE programs. Many European countries (France and Germany) have given little attention to PE. Schools often had very strict requirements about gym uniforms, often referred to as gym clothes. Many schools in recent years have relaxed those requirements. This is not a topic we have developed in great detail. We have some infornation from different countries.
An American HBC reader has provided us some details about his gym uniforms in the 1960s and 70s.
We have only limited information on activities at Belgan schools. As far as we can tell they are essentially the same as other neigboring European countries. We do not yet know enough about the school curriculum to assess school activities. We know of no destinctive Belgan school activities. Classroom scenes appear similar to those in other neigboring countries. We note Belgian school gym classess. European schools generally did not give as much attention to gym classesses as American schools, at least in secondary schools. We do not yet have much information on Belgian schools. We note a primary school gym class from an Antwerp school in 1955. The gym outfit was just shorts.
Much of what became Czechoslobakia after Worrld war I spent several centuries under either Austrian or Hungarian control. As a result, Czech schools were heaviky influenced by German education standards and methods. The schools were highly academic with few extra-curricular activities. There were gym classes, but only limited school sports. Sports were pursued in clubs by older boys and adults. One popular youth group was Sokol which was aind of comined patriotic organization and athletic sports club.
The British call gym uniforms Physical Education (PE) kits. Americans may recall the phrase "kit bag" in the song "Pack of your troubles in your old kit bag," here referring to a duffle bag for an army uniform. An English reader tells us, "At all the schools I attended the pe kit was white t shirt, white nylon shorts, no underwear in the junior schools then at senior school we had to wear an athletic supporter for pe and football and a cricket jock and a box for cricket. All sports were followed by showers. I enjoyed pe and cricket but wasn't keen on football, as we were coverd in mud and sometimes played in the rain." Other reader report different practices, especially in their primary (junior) schools. Often boys in primary schools just wore their ordinary school shorts. A reader has provided us an account of gym in his primary school. Anoter reader tells us about his school PE kits in the 1950s ahd 60s. Many schools had regulation black plimsols (tennis shoes) for gym. There were also a range of sports or games uniforms. These varied depending on the particular sport. The major sports played in England are cricket, football (soccer, hockey, and rugby. Cricket uniforms were destinctive because they were white. Hockey uniforms varied. Rugby uniforms are more colorful. Many other sports are played, but this varied from school to school.
France is notable for a highly academic school program. We are unsure about gym (phsical education) programs, nbut French schools generally do not have major sports programs. French children interested in sports generally pursue them through a club program outside of schools.
Germany like France had highly academic schools. Extra-curicular activities were limited. There were gym classes and some limited sports. We know virtually nothing about the 19th century. We have some insight into the 20tyh century and images from the phoographic record. I am not sure just how attention was devoited to gym/physical education in Germn schools. I assume most gymnassiums (secondary schools) of any size had gyms for physical educations classes. Before World war II, most German secondary schools were single gender schools. I am not sure if there was aiufference in the gym rogram at these schools. One might think thst the boys' gymnasims gave more attention to gym than the girls' schools, but we have no asctual dat on this. Nor do we hsave much informnastion on the actual program. We tink activitives like gymnastics were given more attention than sports. Children really interested in sports like football would join sports clubs. Girls commonly wore middy blouses and bloomer with long stockings in the early 20th century. Biys wore knee pasnts and long stockings. After World War I we see the children gradually wearing less restriuctive gasments.
New Zealand schools have an innovative sports program. Sports re very popular in New Zealand and because of the climate can be pursued year round. Most schools have a strong sports program. The philosophy is, however, different from that of America and Britain. The New Zealand emphasis is on participation rather than providing opportunities for especially skilled atheletes. Thus a secondary school in New Zealand is likely to have several teams in any given sport, especially the popular sports like rugby. These teams engage in both inter-scholastic competitions as well as intermural competitions.
The history of physical education in Russia is an interesting topic. There has since the creation of the modern Russian state by Ivan the Terrible been torn between joining the liberal West and the the cotinuing strenth od their authocratic traditions. And this historic conflict has manifested itself in many aspects of Rusdsian life, including gym classes. In the West gym and sport gradually becme seen as a valuable activity in its own right and sport which developed primarily in Europe became an emensely popular activity. Important Russian authors like Vissarion Belinsky (1811-48) saw that physical activity was important in the development of mental capabilities. The Russians were not enamored with the sports that developed in the West and social thinkers like Belinsky promoted Russian folk games. Subsequent social theorists like Nikolai Chernyshevasky (1829-89) and Nikolai Vobrolyubov (1836-61) endorsed and expanded on Belinsky's ideas. These influences can be find in many Russian authors like Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). One author researching Soviet sport writes, "The concern of such thinkersfor the health andf physical development of Russian childrenled to the formulation of theories about harmonmious and balanced development of the physical and mental apects of human life that were to be taken up more fully in Soviet times." [Riordan, p.44.] The Russian Revolution (1917) is commonly seen as asharp break with the Russian past. It was in many ways, but there were also many traditional trends which continued to influence Soviet society. Russian thought on physical education was influential outside of Russia. The Sokol gymnastics movement endorsed these ideas as was a way of expressing nationalist sentiment in Germanic/Austrian empires. And after the Revolution, these Russiuan traditional ideas influenced the Soiviet attitude toward physical education and sport. Western sports were seen as bourgeois and Soviet educators promoted Eussian folk ganes as well as 'production gymnastics and mass physical fitness displays--a popular artifact of most totalitarian systems. (Today such displays are still seen n North Korea.) Affter World War II with Stalin's xenephobia at its peak there was a camopsaign to purge any Western termns from Soviet sport. Then as the Cold War heated up, Soviet attitude toweard sport shifted. The Olympic Games were seen as an area of competition. And this meant the Soviet Union had to promote the samne Western sports that they once vilified. Physical fitness became virtually a state religion. Millions of citizens take part in an elaborate system of athletic instruction and awards and the system now focused oin Western sports. The interesting aspect of this effort concerning Soviet children. While official propaganda clained that the Soiviet Union was to uplift the down-trodden masses, physical education did not emerge as a mass effort to bring the jous of sport to the average child. Rather the emphasis was on finding those few gifted individuals and provide them with coaching and trainng so that they could comete on the internationl level. The Soviet sports machine produced an athletic elite of awesome proportions which regularly demonstrated their prowess at the Olympic Games. The dark side of this was the drugs administered to the athletes, including quite young girls. Sovie gym classes ater Workld war II tended to focus on Olympic sports such as gymnastics.
South African children wear gym uniforms for physical education which was a required subject. The boys gym uniform is basically a "T"-shirt and shorts. I'm not sure what early girls gym uniforms were like, but now are essentially the samr as the boys. We also note the children wearing a variety of sports (games) uniforms. Here the sports and sports uniforms are virtually identical to those in England. Important sports include cricket, football (soccer). hockey, netball (for the girls), and rugby. A variety of individual sports like tennis are also played. The colors of the sports uniform of course vary from school to school, but the basic design is quite similar. One major difference is that it is more common for boys to go barefoot in gym classess. This is less common for sports as there are specialized footwear that are worn for most sports. Boys performing barefoot would be at a disadvantage. We do see children competing barefoot in atletics (track and field). Some schools also play rugby barefoot. Private schools tend to give more attention to sports than state schools, in large measure because of the costs involved.
We also have some information on Swedish gym uniforms.
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