What do you think about picking teams in gym class?

[eliza61]

Our gym teachers aren't even in the gym during class. My kids are always talking about how they are in their office (with a window to the gym) on their computers or out chit chatting in the hallway



I agree, kids need to learn that they don't always win and that there are those who are better than them at certain things. Crying and whining about it isn't going to change that, if you want to be better than make yourself better at whatever it is. I realize that is easier said than done, but its just how I feel.

The bolded caught my eye, I hope you were saying this tongue in cheek, but if not I see this kind of attitude as exactly why we have the kids with low self esteem because they don't get first picked on the team. When someone values "brains" over brawn its looked down on, and they get a rep for being a nerd and uncool and they end up being the kind of kids who are the last to be picked. Just an observation.

LOL definitely "tongue in cheek". I'm a life long nerd and have quite a few bumper stickers with "nerdy" catch phrases.

You absolutely right, I see enough girls "dumbing" themselves down not take it seriously. I forget that it's hard to tell humor on the web.

Sorry about that.

 

[pearlieq]

Kids might be publically humiliated by being the last chosen but some have made a good point that kids will often groan loudly when forced to take someone they don't want too. Is this less humiliating?

Two differences for me:

1.) The kids who groan loudly are being jerks. They can be called out for this behavior. Often times it will not happen because some kids are actually a little bit nice/compassionate/empathic. Picking teams by its very nature leaves the kids out there to twist--publicly acknowledging that no one wants them.

If the teacher assigns teams, kids MAY still be made to feel bad. If teams are picked, the kids left WILL feel bad.

2.) The teacher sorting out kids into teams doesn't really leave much of a public forum for kids to be mean. The teacher just yells out "Davis, Brown, Jenkins, Kim -- Team A . Smith, Nelson, Tyson, Moore -- Team B. , etc" There's really no public forum for kids to carry on.

 

[Mermaid02]

That is a very good analogy.





Which science competition is at your school?



Ah, all these science teams sound to me like Science Olympiad, one of my favorites... Around my house we're deep in preparation for State right now.

agnes!

I was talking about projects (in school work- like in school gym class)- not OM or anything like that.

 

[luvmy3]

Actually, I'm told that nerds are cool. I guess that it's a matter of perspective.

I know they are cool, I'm the proud wife of a nerd and a proud mom of one too. I just know they weren't the first to be picked on the sports teams

LOL definitely "tongue in cheek". I'm a life long nerd and have quite a few bumper stickers with "nerdy" catch phrases.

You absolutely right, I see enough girls "dumbing" themselves down not take it seriously. I forget that it's hard to tell humor on the web.

Sorry about that.

I figured you were. Unfortunately there are those who aren't when they say things like that, and as a mom of a nerd it breaks my heart for my ds, however he knows that he is just not the right fit for sports and he is okay with that. And I totally agree with your comment about girls, in fact you'd probably get along great with my dh, he is constantly commplaining about that.

 

[jen0610]

I know our grade school teacher had cards with numbers 1-4 on them, as well as cards with all the kids names. When they did team activities, she would draw 4 kids names, to act as captains. Then the rest of the class each drew a number and seperated into their number groups. After the kids were in their number group, each captain drew their number. No arguing over who was on what team and no swapping of numbers. If they were playing flag football or a two team activites, she would do the same thing, only after they made the four teams, one of the other kids would have to draw a number - someone from team 1 would draw a card and whatever number they got, those two teams combined. The kids knew how it worked and it went fairly quickly.

I don't know how the middle school does it. But I do know that when they play basketball, it half court, so that they can have two games going at once. And the kids have the option of walking/running laps instead of playing whatever game they are playing.

 

[Planogirl]

I was always lousy at sports and I was usually picked somewhere in the middle I'd say. I had some friends and kids often pick based on that too.

What I found humiliating was my bad athletic abilities. I couldn't hit a ball or make a basket and so on and I always felt like I was letting my team down.

 

[AKL_Megs]

The way I see it, in gym class, you always wanted the jocks on your team, and not the nerds.

In science class, you always wanted the nerd on your project, not the jock.

It all evens out in the end.

Even in our adult lives, everyone is good at SOMETHING, and not something else.

It's a lesson early learned. Life can be disappointing.

 

[Ember]

I can't help but wondering where we draw this line. People say choosing teams is a form of public humiliation. But what about an oral report in class, is that not also a form of humiliation for some students? Or even reading aloud from a book or play in English... Should we protect our kids from these potentially embarrassing situations, too?

Oh, and if you want to talk humiliating... Remember those dissections in science class? There's always one kid who simply can't handle it and says they're going to throw up? Yep... Only I actually did throw up. In front of everyone. I think we should ban all dissections to protect the weak-bellied like me from public embarrassment. (And if you think throwing up in front of everyone in high school isn't as bad as not being chosen for a team in gym, you've obviously never done it.) I did eventually get over it, but I learned a career in the medical field was probably not for me!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Getting weighed in front of co-workers- I love this comparison. Really, how many of you would want to do this?

I think the team picking in gym is so different than other things at school. If you don't make the ball team, your name is just not on the list. You don't know if you were one of the three worst, or almost made it. If you aren't one of the brightest students, the kids may know, but your tests aren't up there for everyone to know you had the lowest grades. If you don't make honor roll, no one knows your exact grades and there are others who don't make it either.If you're not invited to a party, there are others that weren't either.
But if you are one of three kids that are the last to get picked, it shows that either no one likes you or that you are bad at that sport. Not everyone has to be included in everything, but putting it out in public to humiliate a few is different.

 

[Embel]

I think there are probably some kids who are particularly good at sports & will be picked for that reason....but largely kids will be picked on some sort a popularity scale. That is what makes this a humiliating experience for the kids picked last. It might mean they don't excel at sports, but it might also mean that they don't have many friends.

 

[asta]

There are two ways to react to situations like this. You either work to get better at the activity (sports, classes, work, whatever) or you give up. How you (or any child, adolescent, or adult) chooses to react is up to you or them.

I'm sorry you made the choice you made but to use getting picked last in gym class as an excuse for life is a bit much. You know who else used to get picked last for gym class? Bill Gates. He just concentrated on what he was good at and managed to do alright for himself.

Wow! Your lack of compassion is astounding. I never said this was used as an excuse for life. I was and am very successful in other areas of my life. I was always the best student acdemically but would never think that gave me the right to humiliate others because they didn't perform as well as me. I can't believe that you think that teaching is about humiliation instead of encouraging. You don't know my situation but there is a coordination problem that kept me from being able to perform as well as others. Maybe it could have been helped but our lousy PE programs did nothing to educate me in ways to improve on the situation. Half of the name PE is about education and good teachers work with students to improve weaknesses.

I may not measure up to Bill Gates but I bet you don't either. And Bill Gates success in the business world may not correlate to good physical health. Business, academic and athletic abilities are three very distinct areas. I don't think that we should ignore any one area. I am sorry that you feel that public humiliation is a teaching technique.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

I agree with posters who said that kids these days need to learn that life isn't fair. You are never going to be good at everything, you will be great in some areas, good in some, and other areas you will probaby suck at no matter how hard you try!

In the real world, the interviewer will pick the best people for the job. Team leaders will pick the best people to be on their team, that's how it works.

In my school, teams in gym class were picked by two captains. I was usually somewhere close to the end - it kind of sucked but I never let it bother me. It wasn't about being 'liked', it was about being good at athletics. In science class, I was ALWAYS picked last to be on projects because I was so terrible at the subject! But each year when we did a creative writing project, I was first to be picked and my team always won. That felt great! I knew that was my area to excel, and that's what I focused on.

Oh, and my teachers always posted grades for everyone to see. It was never a big deal.

 

[luvmy3]

I was always lousy at sports and I was usually picked somewhere in the middle I'd say. I had some friends and kids often pick based on that too.

What I found humiliating was my bad athletic abilities. I couldn't hit a ball or make a basket and so on and I always felt like I was letting my team down.

You know, if the PE teachers were there to help kids like you there wouldn't be these kinds of issues. I don't know how it is in anyone elses school but in my kids, the kids are told to play a game and thats the end of it. There is no focus on teaching them the skills to play, so there are kids who have no idea what to do to to make themselves better at the game. I have said before that I think PE is a waste of time in school, if its about getting the kids acttive, give them an extra recess. If its truly suppossed to be a class where you learn something, then my goodness start teaching the kids.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

My gym class did this although our gym teacher didn't let the captains go trhough the entire class they would pick 3 or 4 and she would say okay half go there and half go there. I never saw anyone who cared one way or another

 

[wdwfan16]

2.) The teacher sorting out kids into teams doesn't really leave much of a public forum for kids to be mean. The teacher just yells out "Davis, Brown, Jenkins, Kim -- Team A . Smith, Nelson, Tyson, Moore -- Team B. , etc" There's really no public forum for kids to carry on.

Really!!! Have you never heard the "We got stuck with you comment?".

 

[sunlver]

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.

I think that is the best way to do it. I remember in highschool when teams had to be picked in PE class. Normally I was one of the last to be picked..BUT..then one year, these girls in my PE class all liked my brother, so they would pick me first

 

[Christine]

I agree with posters who said that kids these days need to learn that life isn't fair. You are never going to be good at everything, you will be great in some areas, good in some, and other areas you will probaby suck at no matter how hard you try!

In the real world, the interviewer will pick the best people for the job. Team leaders will pick the best people to be on their team, that's how it works.

In my school, teams in gym class were picked by two captains. I was usually somewhere close to the end - it kind of sucked but I never let it bother me. It wasn't about being 'liked', it was about being good at athletics. In science class, I was ALWAYS picked last to be on projects because I was so terrible at the subject! But each year when we did a creative writing project, I was first to be picked and my team always won. That felt great! I knew that was my area to excel, and that's what I focused on.

But PE is a "class"--it is place to learn how to do an athletic activity. It is not a competition where the best are rewarded with team placement and trophies. It is a place to learn how to play volleyball, softball, track, etc. The teams should be established by whoever is teaching that class in the way that he/she sees would be the best way for the GROUP to learn their skills effectively. One way to make a medicore athlete or a poor athlete even worse is to humiliate them at the outset. Ridiculous.

As for science teams, debate teams, basketball teams, etc that are out competing for excellence in their respective fields, that is a different matter. If you're bad at those, you just don't try out. No humiliation there. There's no choice in PE class.

 

[FireDancer]

Getting weighed in front of co-workers- I love this comparison. Really, how many of you would want to do this?

I think the team picking in gym is so different than other things at school. If you don't make the ball team, your name is just not on the list. You don't know if you were one of the three worst, or almost made it. If you aren't one of the brightest students, the kids may know, but your tests aren't up there for everyone to know you had the lowest grades. If you don't make honor roll, no one knows your exact grades and there are others who don't make it either.If you're not invited to a party, there are others that weren't either.
But if you are one of three kids that are the last to get picked, it shows that either no one likes you or that you are bad at that sport. Not everyone has to be included in everything, but putting it out in public to humiliate a few is different.

That isn't true. When the class spelling bee is going on everyone stands in front of the class and it is pretty obvious who is a good and bad speller. When it is your turn to go up to the board and do a math problem or diagram a sentence everyone knows who has the mathematics ability of an Enron executive or thinks car is a verb. When the teacher pics you to answer a question (that you didn't raise your hand for) and you make a fool out of yourself it is obvious. School is a social setting and all of the social awkwardness that comes with being social comes with school.

Wow! Your lack of compassion is astounding.

I'm sorry if it came across that way. I just meant that we are ultimately responsible for how we react to anything in life. We let it beat us or we beat it. I feel responsible for every failure and every success I have ever had in life. I take ownership of it. That is all I meant.

 

[Planogirl]

You know, if the PE teachers were there to help kids like you there wouldn't be these kinds of issues. I don't know how it is in anyone elses school but in my kids, the kids are told to play a game and thats the end of it. There is no focus on teaching them the skills to play, so there are kids who have no idea what to do to to make themselves better at the game. I have said before that I think PE is a waste of time in school, if its about getting the kids acttive, give them an extra recess. If its truly suppossed to be a class where you learn something, then my goodness start teaching the kids.

I don't think that all of the teaching in the world would have found a talent in me.

I think that PE classes are important. Those kids with skills find out they have abilities and can go on to develop them. The other kids may not be good at athletics but a properly run class can help them stay in shape.

Maybe they should be run as they were at my college. You signed up for something and they went over basics and worked you hard. I was in such great shape after a few college level PE classes!

 

[Katieinwonderland]

But PE is a "class"--it is place to learn how to do an athletic activity. It is not a competition where the best are rewarded with team placement and trophies. It is a place to learn how to play volleyball, softball, track, etc. The teams should be established by whoever is teaching that class in the way that he/she sees would be the best way for the GROUP to learn their skills effectively. One way to make a medicore athlete or a poor athlete even worse is to humiliate them at the outset. Ridiculous.

As for science teams, debate teams, basketball teams, etc that are out competing for excellence in their respective fields, that is a different matter. If you're bad at those, you just don't try out. No humiliation there. There's no choice in PE class.

Maybe my school was different. In PE class, we were never 'taught' an activity. We were put in teams and told to play a game. No one ever taught us how to get better at it - I certainly never got better at any of the sports we played!!! The best athletes were never really expected to help the worse athletes get better, and the teachers certainly never helped us. But I could have just had really bad gym teachers!

In science, math, english competitions, etc, I think my school was different again. Everyone had to compete. It wasn't on any national level, just between the classes in a certain grade - but everyone was expected to participate together.