I have to say, almost with a blanket statement, that gym/PE teachers are intellectual idiots, but not so stupid that they didn't figure out that they could work for twenty or thirty years have great perks and benefits while teaching, a short work year, long vacations and retirement funds.
I usually don't like generalizations, but in this case I have to agree. I had a phys ed teacher in third grade and then again in seventh and eighth grade who was a sadistic bastard. He really had very little interest in actual education. If that had been the case, he would have spent time with the kids who were struggling in class (like me) instead of singling us out. I was the "fat kid" (which was rare in the late 60s, unlike today) and I had a very hard time with physical activities. Because I was also a stutterer I was pretty much shunned and left out of most play activities with other boys, I had not learned coordination, how to throw a ball, or much of anything about how my muscles worked. I had a particularly hard time with running, as it made my ankles hurt so much that I could barely walk.
So when I couldn't keep up with the other kids, I was made to do laps at the end of the class. This was torture. When I finished I could barely hobble to my next class, and then I got into trouble for being late. During PE class I was frequently singled out by the teacher and the more athletic kids and verbally abused. This extended to physical abuse in the locker room, where the teacher looked the other way while I was groped, among other things.
I couldn't wait for 8th grade to end, so I could go to the high school and get away from this asshole PE teacher. But when I got there, I discovered to my horror that I had been placed in a "special ed" class for PE, with kids who were physically and mentally disabled. Of course this was arranged by my former PE "teacher". I never went back to that class after the first day, and hid out in the library during those periods. Luckily we moved away a few months later to a state where phys ed was not a required class.
This all affected me strongly and has had a negative influence on the rest of my life. Until recently I had no interest in any kind of sports or physical activity. I realized I really needed to lose some weight and had an opportunity to join a group of larger guys in classes designed for those who needed some extra help to get into shape. I called the gym to make an initial appointment...and hung up the first three times that someone answered the phone. The idea of setting foot in a gym terrified me after my childhood experiences.
I'm glad to say that is all behind me now. Three years ago this week I had my first session at the gym, and now I hate to miss a workout. I'm in better shape than I've been in decades.
But I regret not starting a lot sooner, and I know this one phys ed teacher is the reason for it. I have never wished anyone dead except this man. I'm sure he is dead now; I think I even located his obituary awhile back. This is one of the very few people I have ever truly hated. He had a negative effect on my life for over four decades.
I got a little bit of revenge, though. My first job during college was at a bank in my hometown, and my boss was a VP at the bank. His son happened to have the same phys ed teacher that I had, and that boy had been the victim of the same kinds of abuse that I had suffered. The difference was that my boss happened to be on the school board. I heard later that there had been some official disciplinary action taken against the teacher. Unfortunately he had tenure and couldn't be fired, but I hope it was at least something.