Sunday, September 25, 2011

Dodgeball in PE Class

I disagree with inducting dodgeball into any kind of Hall of Shame. Dodgeball has always been one of my favorite PE activities for a variety of reasons. It's extremely active and motivates kids to move around in a unique way. If there are students who are unable to throw or catch the ball go over pointers with the whole class to not single them out but still make sure they get the knowledge. It's the way that most teachers run dodgeball that is the problem. You shouldn't just roll the balls out and say "play" without any explanation. Maybe start the first day off by teaching the students and helping them with anything they are having problems with. The biggest issue I have is when people say we shouldn't play dodgeball because of what it does to a child's psyche. That it may hurt their feelings or put them in an uncomfortable situation. Our job as PE teachers is not to shield our students from what the world is really like or be the source of their self esteem. The many perspectives of dodgeball from being the best to being the worst are no different than those the students face in the hallways or outside of school. I believe too many people are trying to get behind the "wussification" of America. Students are supposed to run around and get hurt from time to time. It's not like the game is any more dangerous than anything else. Everyone needs to learn how to deal with things like humiliation and people are just trying to make sure kids never experience any kind of negative situations anymore.
 

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