What do you think about picking teams in gym class?

[ADisneyQueen]

I thought this practice was outdated, but apparently it is not. My dd13 said that in her gym the teacher picks 4 team captains and they call out who they want one by one. It seems really unfair to the unathletic or unpopular kids who are the last ones picked. If a science teacher wanted to have a game where the kids would have to answer science questions by teams, and he let them pick their teams out this way, the school would be mad. It would be "unfair" to the kids with lower academic ability. And, yes, the kids always know who they are. I didn't even think schools were allowed to do this anymore. What are your thoughts? I am thinking about discussing this with the guidance counselor when I see her next month.

 

[Mermaid02]

I thought this practice was outdated, but apparently it is not. My dd13 said that in her gym the teacher picks 4 team captains and they call out who they want one by one. It seems really unfair to the unathletic or unpopular kids who are the last ones picked. If a science teacher wanted to have a game where the kids would have to answer science questions by teams, and he let them pick their teams out this way, the school would be mad. It would be "unfair" to the kids with lower academic ability. And, yes, the kids always know who they are. I didn't even think schools were allowed to do this anymore. What are your thoughts? I am thinking about discussing this with the guidance counselor when I see her next month.

It will never change- it's always been this way. I do love your analogy though- and you're right, it wouldnt' fly.

When my dd was in 7th grade she and her 2 friends paired up for a project. The teacher split them up saying it wasn't fair to the other kids that all the "brains" be in one group. She actually went to see the vice principal about it- on her own.

 

[NY Disney fan]

Picking teams is a way for the students to run the gym class instead of the teaacher. This method is stupid and mean-spirited. Why can't teachers just do their job and run the class?

 

[Mermaid02]

Picking teams is a way for the students to run the gym class instead of the teaacher. This method is stupid and mean-spirited. Why can't teachers just do their job and run the class?

Gym teachers are sadists and they love this crap........

~The girl who was always picked last, or close to it.....

 

[eliza61]

I'm of 2 minds on this one. I work with young teens who I call "tissue teens". One problem and they crumble. part of this I think comes from us over sheltering our kids and never letting them deal with disappointments and failure. Let's face it, the real world is competitive and not always fair. The stuff we learned long ago in gym class and on sport teams prepared us for that. Nowadays kids don't learn that. Every body gets a "trophy" even the losers and every one is told how "special" they are.

Science teams do pick their members. My sons school has a science team that competes in regional competition. They pick the nerds who excel in science.

Now hopefully the gym teacher is not an sadist jerk and is keeping tabs on it.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I know, it would take them 5 minutes to write up a team roster. The other teachers have to work hard, they should too. I hope they're not getting paid as much.

 

[Mermaid02]

I'm of 2 minds on this one. I work with young teens who I call "tissue teens". One problem and they crumble. part of this I think comes from us over sheltering our kids and never letting them deal with disappointments and failure. Let's face it, the real world is competitive and not always fair. The stuff we learned long ago in gym class and on sport teams prepared us for that. Nowadays kids don't learn that. Every body gets a "trophy" even the losers and every one is told how "special" they are.

Science teams do pick their members. My sons school has a science team that competes in regional competition. They pick the nerds who excel in science.

Not at our school....

 

[eliza61]

Not at our school....

Oh heck yeah, we have tryouts for the teams. man, my son's school participated in the Jepordy national team competition. I seriously think it was easier for the kids to get into the naval academy.

Do you guys have a science team? How do you get members? I mean seriously, I really wouldn't want a kid that has a D in science on the team.

 

[golfgal]

It's called life, folks. Who I REALLY feel sorry for are the kids who's parents think it is their job to shield them from every little disappointment that comes their way. That is a lot more damaging then being picked last on a kickball team. Someone is ALWAYS going to be better than you, get over it.

 

[MIGrandma]

Most of the time our gym teacher had us line up in a single line and she would walk down the line pointing at us and giving us a number, 1-2-3-4, depending on how many teams there would be. All number 1's were a team, #2's were another, 3's, 4's, etc. I thought that was a very fair way of doing it, I wonder why more gym teachers don't do it that way.

 

[FireDancer]

The good kids have always been picked first and they will continue to do so in life. It may seem unfair to the nonathletic kids but life isn't fair. When grades are given out the smarter kids will have the advantage. When it comes time to date the better looking kids will have an advantage. It all even out in the end.

I don't like the 'everything has to be equal' mentality that seems to be prevalent all of a sudden. It is like awarding all the teams a trophy or not keeping score. There are winners and losers in life, that is how it is. There are people who are better at other things then others, that is how it is.

I have no problem with the better kids getting picked first whether it is more athletic kids for the sports teams or smarter kids for the academic teams. In the real world everything isn't equal. You succeed or fail on your merits and it is never too early to start learning that lesson.

 

[Minnesota!]

It's called life, folks. Who I REALLY feel sorry for are the kids who's parents think it is their job to shield them from every little disappointment that comes their way. That is a lot more damaging then being picked last on a kickball team. Someone is ALWAYS going to be better than you, get over it.

The good kids have always been picked first and they will continue to do so in life. It may seem unfair to the nonathletic kids but life isn't fair. When grades are given out the smarter kids will have the advantage. When it comes time to date the better looking kids will have an advantage. It all even out in the end.

I don't like the 'everything has to be equal' mentality that seems to be prevalent all of a sudden. It is like awarding all the teams a trophy or not keeping score. There are winners and losers in life, that is how it is. There are people who are better at other things then others, that is how it is.

I have no problem with the better kids getting picked first whether it is more athletic kids for the sports teams or smarter kids for the academic teams. In the real world everything isn't equal. You succeed or fail on your merits and it is never too early to start learning that lesson.

Ditto. Life isn't fair. If you aren't good at something, deal with it. Either strive to improve that or let it roll off your back.

Not a big deal IMO.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Oh heck yeah, we have tryouts for the teams. man, my son's school participated in the Jepordy national team competition. I seriously think it was easier for the kids to get into the naval academy.

Do you guys have a science team? How do you get members? I mean seriously, I really wouldn't want a kid that has a D in science on the team.

This is an apples to orange comparison. A science TEAM for competition outside of class should have tryouts, just as a sports team for the school outside of calss does. This is different than what happens IN class. Personally I do think having kids regularly pick teams in class is a bad idea. It encourages making fun and bullying behaviour and should only be done if the teacher does so for a specific reason and not just out of laziness.
IF the teacher wants to teach the kids how to think about varying factors and assemble a good team (so you choose people with various complementary skills and people who can work well together, etc) AND possibly the life skills of handling disspointment and covers how to assemble a good team and then rotates team captins so that every child will choose at some point in the year, then I can see it as an appropriate idea.

 

[NY Disney fan]

Most of the time our gym teacher had us line up in a single line and she would walk down the line pointing at us and giving us a number, 1-2-3-4, depending on how many teams there would be. All number 1's were a team, #2's were another, 3's, 4's, etc. I thought that was a very fair way of doing it, I wonder why more gym teachers don't do it that way.

That's an excellent way of doing things. I know life is unfair but why can't it be unfair in the real world? School should be a nurtuing place and a place for learning leadership and team building. It shouldn't be all hard-core and mean.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Most of the time our gym teacher had us line up in a single line and she would walk down the line pointing at us and giving us a number, 1-2-3-4, depending on how many teams there would be. All number 1's were a team, #2's were another, 3's, 4's, etc. I thought that was a very fair way of doing it, I wonder why more gym teachers don't do it that way.

Way back when, when I had teachers who did that kids figured it out fast and the popular or atheltic kids conspired to line up spaced in such a way as to all end up on the same team and feelings were still hurt but it was less embarrassing than being hte last kid left to be picked every time (I know becuase I was that kid).

 

[ZephyrHawk]

That's an excellent way of doing things. I know life is unfair but why can't it be unfair in the real world? School should be a nurtuing place and a place for learning leadership and team building. It shouldn't be all hard-core and mean.

No, that's what home is for. School is the closest thing to the real world young children get.

As an academically gifted person I was always annoyed to have to carry the "less fortunate" members of any intellectually focused team. I assume they felt the same about having me as a team member in volleyball. The difference is, in gym, if you have a cruddy team member you lose a game and everyone still gets an 'A' for participation. If your lab partner accidentally floods the science class with a noxious gas and everyone has to flee the room, its gonna bring your grade down, too.

 

[DrCavin]

Suck it up, not everything "fair". The kids already know who is good & who isnt...

 

[hedgehog2owl]

this is not allowed at our school, it is one of the main rules. It is an elementary though, k-8

 

[wenrob]

As the girl who was always picked last I think I preferred, "I guess we'll take her" instead of the groans and complaining when the teacher put me on team. Much more humiliating IMHO. Either scenario felt awful but you know what? I excelled in Reading/English without much effort while most jocks really struggled with it. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses it's our job as parents to help our kids play on their strengths and learn to accept and handle disappointments. A little character building is a good thing and in the real world not everyone excels at everything. Better that lesson is learned now then to get slapped in the face with it later.

 

[MiniGirl]

Speaking as the girl who was always picked last....

I guess it kind of bothered me. Maybe. But I got over it. Truth is gym class was not important to me. If I thought I was good at it or I saw it as a popularity contest, it would've bothered me; but I knew I wasn't athletic and I knew it wasn't a popularity contest. In the classes that were important to me, I was always picked towards the beginning. It all evens itself out in the end.

I just really don't see what the big deal is. I also don't get the science class analogy and why it wouldn't fly or why it would be unfair. It would only be unfair if one team captain got to pick his entire team before the other person got to chose. As long as the captains alternate picks, it probably is actually a very fairly divided team -- as far as abilities go.

Even the pro drafts are done this way. It is a part of life, and recruiters (in ALL fields, not just sports) will pick their team according to an individual's abilities and what their team needs at that point.