{"id":1025,"date":"2014-12-28T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2014-12-28T17:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/?page_id=1025"},"modified":"2015-07-09T10:10:45","modified_gmt":"2015-07-09T16:10:45","slug":"locker-room-comparison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/locker-room-comparison\/","title":{"rendered":"Communal Comparison"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Emilyinaspens\"It has been so long since I was in junior high and high school that I guess I forgot what P.E. was like. Our family attended an evening performance of the symphony in a local public high school auditorium. Afterwards, a trip to the restroom gave me some surprising insights. Since my children have never attended public school physical education, they had never seen the girl\u2019s locker room before<\/strong>, particularly the communal shower. Julianna (14 years at the time) was shocked!<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/em> she wondered. \u201cIt looks like they expect the girls to all take a shower together!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYep, that\u2019s it,\u201d I told her.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not really, Mom!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Her surprise and dismay at the arrangement started me thinking. There is no other time in a person\u2019s life that one is expected to disregard normal modesty and walk around undressed in front of strangers (or even friends). Physical familiarity is reserved for those with whom we have eternal relationships (parent\/child, husband\/ wife). Unfortunately, having this experience during the very self-conscious teen years makes it even more detrimental<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I have often wondered why teenagers seem so caught up with their physical inadequacies. \u201cMy nose is too big, my bustline is too small, my face has too many pimples. . . .\u201d\u2014this sort of comment is all too common. I think it is less common among homeschooled children. Maybe it is natural at an age of intense physical change, but I can\u2019t help but think it is aggravated tremendously by the communal comparison of the daily naked shower parade.<\/p>\n

My mind went back to my school days. I can\u2019t remember details, but I do remember looking at other girls\u2019 bodies and making comparisons. I always felt like I was on the losing end (whether that was reality or not). I looked at the girls who were well-developed and physically more mature than I was and I felt childish. I looked at the girls who were thin, and I felt fat. I looked at the pretty girls and I felt ugly. I looked at the girls who were not well shaped, or had birthmarks and felt sorry for them. I think every girl in the locker room was really on the losing end, comparing herself to others<\/strong> strictly by the fickle and ever-changing standards of physical beauty, of which no one can take any direct responsibility anyway.<\/p>\n

I recall dashing into the shower after P.E. with a undersized towel for protection, whirling around once, and rushing to get dressed before I could \u201cbe seen.\u201d Nobody took showers, not really<\/em>. No one stood there and washed their body with soap, and enjoyed a shower, although the \u201ctowel check\u201d required a wet towel to prove you did. (There are other ways to get a towel wet.<\/em>) There were confident girls that didn\u2019t seem in a rush to get dressed, but no one washed up. So what is the shower \"famdec2006-12\"requirement for? Growing up with it, I didn\u2019t question it, but now I do.<\/p>\n

After seeing the locker room facilities, Julianna was certain she\u2019d never want to take the dance class or the other P.E. classes that had looked fun on the school electives listing. She was appalled to even imagine that undressing daily in front of others would be required of her. I found her innocent perspective refreshing. She has never been self-conscious in the least, in spite of the fact that she is very tall for her age (5\u20199\u201d and wears a large shoe size). She is self-assured and graceful. I pondered if her freedom from self-consciousness<\/strong> would have remained had she been thrust into a daily comparison from age 12 through 18 years.<\/p>\n

Something to think about.<\/em>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May I recommend:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\"lifeoflouisa\"
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It has been so long since I was in junior high and high school that I guess I forgot what P.E. was like. Our family attended an evening performance of the symphony in a local public high school auditorium. Afterwards, a trip to the restroom gave me some surprising insights. Since my children have never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,10],"tags":[288,287,286],"class_list":["post-1025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-molding-the-heart","category-why-homeschool","tag-locker-room","tag-modesty","tag-self-consciousness","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Emilyinaspens.jpg?fit=240%2C320&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6IrRN-gx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":580,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/why-homeschool\/","url_meta":{"origin":1025,"position":0},"title":"Why Did You Decide to Homeschool?","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Why did you decide to homeschool? I decided to keep a list of the reasons I have heard from other mothers for taking children out of the public school system: too much disrespect allowed swearing bullies busy work emphasis on peers rather than on family too much value placed on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Molding the Heart"","block_context":{"text":"Molding the Heart","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/why-homeschool\/molding-the-heart\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DCP_4942.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DCP_4942.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DCP_4942.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DCP_4942.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1192,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/homeschool-through-high-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":1025,"position":1},"title":"Homeschool through High School?","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just started and am so delighted with homeschooling! My oldest is 11 and we are having a great time, and he is running a little business from home and learning so much and loving homeschooling. I have mapped out a plan to homeschool my children right through high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Concerns"","block_context":{"text":"Concerns","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/how-to-homeschool\/homeschooling-concerns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/prom2010-07.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/prom2010-07.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/prom2010-07.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1202,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/husband-wont-let-me-homeschool\/","url_meta":{"origin":1025,"position":2},"title":"Husband Won’t Let Me Homeschool","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am desperate to homeschool my child. 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