The Windham, New Hampshire school system has removed dodgeball from the gym class curriculum. The reason is to put a halt to the perceived bullying aspect of this longtime gym and playground activity. Myself, I always loved playing dodgeball in school. Never was the champ, but enjoyed it. I can see what they are trying to do, as it is not unreasonable to think that some students are singled out, or ganged up on as targets. This is causing quite a bit of controversy and discussion locally and it appears nationally, as the story gains traction in the media. Nothing surprises me these days, and I think this decision might be a bit extreme. I would think the potential of getting hit in the face might have been a more worthy reason to evaluate the status of dodgeball in schools, just saying.
Anyway, if you care to read more on the story click
HERE, and I would certainly love to hear where you stand on this subject.
As a beanpole of a girl wearing thick glasses and having no measurable physical grace or athleticism -- I'm glad to hear dodgeball is going. I was always confused that we were made to play it in gym class. It seemed awfully mean. Also, I don't like getting hit in the head, which is where kids tend to aim. Just me, probably.
ReplyDeleteI did like the days the giant parachute was brought in and everybody got to hold it and make it go up and run under. And I was a good jump roper. That's what gym class should be about. Giant parachutes and double dutch.
;-)
R.S- I am totally with you on this. Ironically, the giant parachute (a fav of mine as well) got caught under my loose front tooth in first grade when we were waving it up and down, and pulled it out, harshly. Very painful! I was a victim of bullying by one particular dickhead in middle school ( books dumped, fingers slammed in locker, humiliated in front of the girls, etc..) But, once we got in high school, he stayed 5'6" and I was 6'3", so in the end... I won! Hope all is well.
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ReplyDeletealthough I don't feel strongly one way or the other about dodgeball, I enjoyed playing it in school. I don't understand why teachers can't be present to monitor the game and nip in the bud any bullying stuff going on.
ReplyDeleteCharles, you hit the nail on the head. Potential injuries aside, it really is up to the adult supervisors to oversee, prevent, and act on any bullying that might be involved. This is also what many who were interviewed on TV thought as well
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it seem like a good compromise would be to not MAKE people play dodgeball, but to make it available for kids who do like it? Personally, I didn't like it, but I wasn't bullied during the games. I was the kind of kid who didn't really like any mandatory physical activites, though. My friends and I used to run around and pretend we had a vast imaginary farm, which was actually pretty good exercise, but every once in awhile some teacher would feel compelled to make us come in and play more orthodox games. We reluctantly complied, but to this day, I think they were wrong.
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