A soft, foam ball hits a student in a high school gym class. Nothing happens.
No shattered limbs or fractured jaws.
No tears of pain or cries of anguish.
The student smiles and proceeds to walk back to the side of the wrestling room, content to watch the rest of his classmates finish the game.
Not a danger to high schoolers, just a harmless game.
In an unprecedented move, on par with tyranny committed all around the world by violent dictators, the district decided to ban dodgeball for Blue Valley physical education classes.
OK, it’s not quite on par with mass genocide, but to me, it’s a big deal.
Dodgeball is a favorite game of mine, along with many of the other students in my sixth hour Team Sports class. Banning it makes little sense from a logical standpoint.
The district is perhaps worried about bullying within the actual game — maybe kids will get targeted more than others. Well, when a player is targeted, it means that they pose a threat. Being targeted means you warrant respect within the game, which is not bullying.
If you can eliminate the best players early, then you don’t have to worry about them coming back later to get you out.
This strategizing represents that dodgeball is more than just a competition of who can throw a ball the hardest — it becomes a thinking man’s game.
If the district worried about injuries, then they have little idea how dodgeball is actually played at BV.
Dodgeball is played in the wrestling room, which features both padded walls and floors, so there’s no hard surfaces to bump into. The balls themselves are, as previously mentioned, soft and don’t hurt at all.
We do not play with those hard, rubber balls that the Board of Education members probably played with when they were in school. I’ll admit, a face shot with one of those would hurt.
When it comes down to it, whenever there are bodies in motion, there is a potential for injury.
If you want to stop injury at school, cancel all gym classes and outlaw walking.
Until that day comes, injuries will happen, no matter what gym activity is banned.
Physical Education classes should not only include games that force the students to be active, but also games the students are eager to play. If you can combine both of these elements, then you strike gold as a teacher.
Why waste that?