Do you remember the days of school sports days? Love them or hate them?
I don't think I liked them much. Sack race, egg and spoon race, slow bicycle race, relay, sprint etc.
There was a whole day of races and waiting and at the end of the day there was awards for the best and the fastest. I also remember getting a triangle carton of orange juice with a straw -anyone else have that memory?
I do recall the excitment all the kids in theschool entered into. There was always a buzz and an air of craziness in the run up to the annual school sports day. It was a big event.
It was a day to celebrate the strongest and the best sportsmen and possible the sportswomen, although I do only remember that the guys won the trophies!
However today it seems that sports days are very different.
My kids had theirs last week. There were games and races that were not at all individual based but rather team based. In fact it went further than that, the set up of the teams was not done traditionally, it was a mix up of different ages and classes. Each pupil was in a new group of friends.
The games were also different, there was a combination of skills built into the activities, it was no longer based on what I recalled which were speed and agility, but these exercises were based on other skills. For example the kids were asked to blow sticks though tubes with the aim of hitting a target, then they had to do some running and balancing and then they had to strike a gong in a certain way to gain points for their team. So it was possible for anyone to win, not just the kid who is the athelete.
I have to say I liked this approach.
There was still recognition to the best and quickest teams, but everyone had equal chances.
Times have changed our practices and our schools have evolved. Inclusion matters, as does recognizing many strengths.
Does this make the kids less competitive?
I don't think so?
Does this make the day less fun?
I don't think so?
Does this shift make the world a better place?
I think quite possibly.
Thoughts anyone?
I think it is important to critically analyse why society thinks that competitiveness is such a good thing to engender in our children. This new approach seems to foster team work and it is admirable that learners are asked to work in groups of varying abilities, but why the need for winners and losers?
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