In my daily ramblings through the murky undergrowth of the internet in search of entertainment for y’all, I want you to know there are some places I will never go. Like Slate. Somehow though, through careless link chasing, that’s exactly where I landed. It just goes to show ya, that if you take your hands off the wheel for even a second, you can find yourself in some bad juju.
Anyhow, I happened on this article written by Jessica Olien, entitled “Dodgeball Should Not Be Part of Any Curriculum, Ever.” As with any train wreck, I couldn’t look away. I’m sure Ms. Olien wrote this with her tongue firmly in her cheek…right?
The proponents of team sports in schools say it helps kids learn that they have a place in a team. In this, for me, sports were very effective. I learned early on that my place on a team was similar to that of the elderly antelope with a gimpy leg on a nature program. I was a good distraction, being mauled and eaten so the other, less obviously damaged could get away.
If I had not been subjected to such effective team-building exercises, maybe as an adult I would not be such a loner. Experiences in school can have a devastating effect into adulthood. A British study from Loughborough University showed that physical education in school can be so traumatic that it turns women away from physical fitness for the rest of their lives.
Team sports in PE class are bad for the children. Think about that for a minute. Let it sink in…
Huh?!
Have we as a nation become so limp-wristed and afraid that we must eradicate everything in our lives that might challenge us? I suggest that it’s precisely because we try to eradicate everything in life that might challenge us that we are limp-wristed and afraid. I’ll leave off ranting about the more obvious benefits of physical education and team activities for now. What I want to know is,
What are we so afraid of?
Afraid of catching icky germs? Medical science shows us that exposure to different types of germs and allergens when young, actually serves to protect us from illness later in life. But it doesn’t work if you walk around drenching your children in Purel every time they come in contact with…well, anything!
Afraid of getting hurt?
Life hurts. If you can’t take the bumps and bruises, it’s gonna be a long haul to the grave.
Afraid of looking stupid?
Ah, now here’s what I believe is Jessica’s problem. And not just Jessica, but all of us. We don’t want to appear foolish in front of others. This is true of kids, young and old.
We shy away from trying things in which we might fail. If we drop the ball, miss the kick, blow the assignment, others will laugh at us and deride us as uncoordinated doofuses. Yeah, they might. But that’s part of the lesson. If you run to kick the ball, and instead fall gracelessly on your butt, you have two choices: you can lie there like Charlie Brown, or you can get up, join in the laughter, and try again. So what if you never learn to kick the ball? You will have learned a much greater lesson: humility. How not to take yourself so damn seriously.
Jessica suggests that she’s turned into a loner partly because of her traumatic experiences in PE class. This has to be a bit of hyperbole, but even if it’s not, that’s not the real problem Jess. You’re a loner because you fear being vulnerable to others, afraid of showing your true, uncoordinated self for fear of being rejected. Speaking as a professional doofus, I can tell you she’s not alone in this. But it becomes harder and harder to let go of those fears the older we get.
That’s why kids need all the chances they can get to try things, and yes, maybe even fail. They need to get bruised once in a while to help them learn that the bruise will heal and it’s not the end of the world.They need to see the winners get the trophy and be satisfied with just a handshake. It’s learning how to deal with failure in a healthy way that is all important; how to persevere even when you’ve been knocked down for the hundredth time, because nobody is perfect.
Obviously you were never picked last in school 😉