Showing posts with label teacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teacher. Show all posts

Friday, April 03, 2009

Boys can be Gymnasts Too!


Always rigid in my rigid stereotypes, I have always held the popular belief that women were more flexible than men. Of course, right, who in their right minds would ever think it could be the other way around!!!!! WELL, honey, I've got news for you!


In the last six months or so, I have been dare I say "introduced" to the gymnastics of males. No, I'm not talking about any nasty bedroom circus routines; I'm actually referring to kids too when I say males.

I think it started with an extremely unique 6th grade student, who the other kids at my school adoringly call "Starboy". (He himself, prefers to be called Coco, which is the nickname he created for himself, but the story of this and his homeland Cocostan may have to be reserved for another day). My interest in Starboy began when on the third day of school I turned around from writing on the board to find him completely under his desk balancing his body on one kneecap with the other leg arched out at about a 75 degree angle. Since then, he has amazed me with similar antics, my favorite one probably being a stunt at the last school dance where he managed to lower his legs down into the splits position, stopping just inches from the ground so that his mouth was at the right proximity to munch on a giant cupcake that he placed on the floor in front of him for such reason (really probably the funniest thing I have seen in my new adult life).

I could write "Starboy" off as one of those delightful freaks of nature, if it weren't for other recent unrelated events, such as another random 7th grader doing a cartwheel down the hall in his trek from room 801 to 802, or the tantillating observations I've made in the past two weeks while the gym students are forced to dance. I've been very impressed with the flexibility of these boys.

Ok, so some junior high students are minor league acrobats. Apparently, this is not a talent that some owners of the Y chromosome grow out of. I had never known my boyfriend, Mr. Ashley Bennett to be super acrobatic. However, since he's gotten the puppy and I've starting paying more attention to it than him, he's had to result in carrying out puppy-like maneuvers himself in a fetish attempt to regain my eye. The acts have included several somersaults, flips, off the wall jumps, and of course your standard stand on your head upside down move (don't think I've seen Ares do that trick yet).

I guess boys always had the skill, I just never had my eyes completely open to it. Let's remember, everyone, that boys can and are gymnasts too!