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NAYSI News FYI:
Wednesday, June 6, 2001

Number 432    ~    © 2001 NAYSI

  • Silly Dodgeball Debate Continues
  • NCACE workshop by Jack in Indianapolis
  • NAYSI Activity Tip of the Week - new feature
  • Calendar
  • See May 2001 issue of Sport Scene on line at www.NAYSI.com

Silly Dodgeball Debate Continues

by Jack Hutslar, Ph.D.
North American Youth Sport Institute
www.NAYSI.com
May 30, 2001

Much to my surprise, I received a telephone call from NBC in New York City. They wanted me to appear on one of their morning shows. Given the nature of the news today, I fully expected to be asked about injuries in youth sport or violence among players, coaches and parents. Those ³bad news² topics dominate my calls from the media.

As we should be coming to understand, the media tends to pursue anything that can be portrayed as dirt. They seldom call me about or otherwise deal with good news. As you know from the title of this article, this was another call from the big time media about these silly little games of dodgeball. I have fielded a number of them in the past month.

I suppose that it should not surprise us that there are people in the hinterlands who have adopted the elimination of dodgeball in the schools as their current mission. The media, operating as it does, sees a hit with this debate. In this case, I believe they are helping to make something out of nothing.

Nay-sayers are positioning dodgeball as an unsuitable activity for students. They seem to be pinning their argument on a position that the powerful players are permitted to dominate or intimidate the weak players. Others say it fosters aggressiveness. There are others who are against competition for children.

We can only guess what the next hot button might be. . . the cannonball off of the low and high dive! Kickball!

My position is that dodgeball is OK. As a former grade 1-8 physical education teacher, I used many variations of the game and the kids loved them. I even used it as a change of pace activity in college fitness classes. All students seem to play it with the kind of enthusiasm that classroom teachers cannot begin to generate. For the nay-sayers, I should mention that, in both situations, we had rules in place that addressed safety issues.

In one newspaper interview, I called the dodgeball debate yet another possible politically correct issue. Could it be that the nay-sayers are trying to extend the de-maculinization of boys to this activity. They have been trying to do this with math, science and the computer. In doing this, these people seem to want boys to be something other than what many of them are naturally - active, physical, impatient and inquisitive. One wonders where the natural tendencies of boys will surface if we attempt to suppress their basic instincts in one phase of their life after another.

Perhaps we have now introduced dodgeball into the correctness (PC) arena. If this is so, then, as a local long time observer noted, political issues are not burdened by accuracy or truth. As we should know by now, political matters need not even follow the rules that greedy capitalist must follow in advertising. That is, politicians are not required to be accurate, truthful or honest. In political matters, the bottom line is money and votes.

I hope this does not occur but this silly dodgeball debate may metastasize in to what has been experienced with anti-USAism, anti-capitalism, global warming, religion and education, correct speech, guns, SUV¹s, energy and environmentalism, Boy Scouts, butterfly ballots, and cell phones. In these political debates, each side has their experts and proponents. The ultimate winners, if any surface, may be the side with the most dominant political clout. Truth, in all likelihood, will not be the determining factor when the dust settles.

In my view, this silly debate over dodgeball is smothering more important issues. For instance, physical education is losing ground as a valid curriculum area. In fact, these throw out the ball PE programs, what I call "Fizz Ed" are professionally disgraceful. Teachers who conduct programs in this manner are just flat out negligent. They should either teach or be dismissed. In contrast to what seems to be developing with dodgeball, I have seen no media barrage against Fizz Ed.

On a broad scale, elementary school through high school physical education needs an intensive promotional boost from the top down. It requires the attention and expertise of certified physical education teachers comparable to what exists in art and music. Otherwise, I believe they can eventually kiss P.E. good-bye. Classroom teachers who take their kids outside for recess and kickball (and dodgeball), not to mention Fizz Ed, address no standard learning objectives. No media barrage here.

Locally, teachers have told me about the scorn they face when they take their students outside on less than ideal weather days. Students have this one figured out. If the kids are exposed to anything less than chamber of commerce weather, they go whining to their parents. Parents then hit the principal's office. The meek leaders give in to a single parent and drop their load on the teacher for how it disturbs the comfort level of these fragile students. There is no media barrage here.

In a related matter, I have seen the media make a public revelation out of unfortunate events that are linked to heat problems. This issue can usually be traced to teachers and administrators who did not learned how to operate in hot and humid weather conditions. The solution for working in heat can be addressed by any football or tennis coach.

Gone are the concerns over running in the hall, spit wads, gum chewing and talking in study hall. Now, we have the well chronicled obstacles to an informed electorate revolving around people in our schools who:

  • cannot read well or cannot read at all

  • cannot write complete sentences

  • cannot spell or use a spell checker

  • resist computers as they would a foreign language

  • do not know how to solve percentage problems

  • have little knowledge of US or global geography

  • choke when testing is mentioned

  • dress inappropriately for school activities

  • have sexual encounters with students

Please understand that the above problems are those of properly certified teachers and administrators, not students.

On the student side, we can add to the previous list many other issues such as: inattentiveness, sleeping in class, physical and verbal intimidation, fights, extortion, drug dealing, alcoholism, hangovers, and assaults on teachers and administrators. In addition to finger guns, butter knives first grade kissing attacks, we can add sexual encounters among students during school hours. With parents standing up for their kids against the schools, is it any wonder that student performance is called into question. Where is the media barrage.

But wait. There is more. Our state uses a competency test at grades 3, 5 and 8. In the past, 45 per cent was considered a passing grade. Yes. 45 per cent. There are very few places in the job world where 45 per cent would be considered acceptable performance.

This year, the test was made more difficult. So, 25 per cent became the passing score on the math portion of the test or perhaps it was the entire test. Incidentally, I understand that this is a four-item multiple choice test. If that is correct, then it is possible for students to score around 25 per cent by guessing. What kind of performance standard is that!

An NC community college administrator revealed this stunning fact to me in a frank conversation over breakfast. About 33 per cent of the students in their nursing program wash out because they cannot pass their college math requirement. Keep in mind that this occurs after passing high school math or taking remedial math in college, thus meeting the math requirement at the college. Students also take a course that covers the math on this gatekeeper test. These students, a majority of whom are female, can take the test three times. A 33 per cent failure rate in a costly instructional area is, well . . . expensive education.

Once again, when these educational issues are examined, it is difficult to rationalize how this silly dodgeball debate can dominate these vital issues. It just does not make sense when the integrity of education is under assault from all sides.

As with some of our other politically charged issues, I foresee the silly dodgeball debate as becoming just another mini-media barrage that smothers serious educational problems. Unfortunately, dodgeball appears to be one of those issues that moves the media, brings out nay-sayers, and sells papers. If it did not sell, the media would not do it.

In case it has not stuck you yet, newspapers are profit making corporations, and sales is their bottom line. If it sells and it is easy, it works for the media. That is what sales is all about. Dodgeball sells. Education does not sell. It is also not easy to change but change is what is important. Now about kickball . . .

NAYSInote: Jack Hutslar, the top dog at www.NAYSI.com, is a former grade 1-8 and college physical education teacher and coach. He founded the North American Youth Sport Institute in 1979 to provide in-service education to coaches (youth and school), teachers, parents and program leaders. He has written manuals and other publication for several youth sport organizations. Hutslar has become identified by the media as a resource and advocate for dodgeball in the silly dodgeball debate.

For the first article I wrote in response to a newspaper article about dodgeball see the NAYSI News FYI Archive on December 18, 2001 at www.NAYSI.com. The link is:

http://www.naysi.com/FYI/fyi_9.htm

Teaching and Administration Workshop at NCACE, June in Indy

Quality sports begins with quality coaches. Would you like your child to be taught that 2 plus 2 equals 5 or that Cleveland is the capital of Ohio. The answer would certainly be no. However, would it be all right if your child were taught that by a volunteer teacher aid. Would that make it OK? Well . . . No.

In some respects, that same thing is happening in sports. Volunteer coaches, bless their hearts, fail to teach, use improper or ineffective methods, teach the wrong thing and fail to correct obvious errors in skill. The most forgivable act in my mind is to not teach. In fact, I would prefer that to the other happenings noted. If coaches are not teaching, then perhaps the players are at least playing. This might give them a chance to learn new skills by trial and error.

Jack Hutslar will lead a workshop at the National Coaching Conference in Indianapolis June 28 - July 1, 2001. Coaching Education is the purpose of the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education.

NAYSI Activity Tip of the Week

 

New feature starting on www.NAYSI.com in May 2001

We are pleased to announce that we will be adding the NAYSI Activity Tip of the Week to our web site at www.NAYSI.com starting in May 2001. Parents, coaches, teachers and kids of all ages seem to be always on the look out for new ways and old ways to teach this and that. Sometimes, however, they just want something fun to do in their spare time. In order to fill that void, we will begin offering a wide range of activities for all ages and purposes.

Want to find a Tip from a past issue. The Archive at www.NAYSI.com will be used to store all weekly issues.

Calendar of Events

  • June 30, 2001. 1:00 to 2:45 p.m. Jack Hutslar to present session on coaching and administration. June 28 - July 1, 2001. National Council for the Accreditation of Coaching. Indianapolis.

  • October 2001. Youth Sport Leadership Forum

  • January 2002. Coaching Clinic, part III - January 2002, location to be announced   

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On video or CD
See: Books, etc at www.NAYSI.com for details

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Keep it fun . . . Jack Hutslar

North American Youth Sport Institute

This email is a free informational service provided by the North American Youth Sport Institute and sponsored in part by Dinn Brothers Trophies at www.DINNtrophy.com or telephone at 800 628-9657 and www.scratchers.com, a fundraising company.

For a variety of resources for coaches, teachers, youth leaders, administrators, club staff, and youth work professionals, see the award winning www.NAYSI.com. It features Ask Jack, FAQ, Sport Scene, KIDbits, Technical Support, training services, NAYSI On-Line Course, and much more. Click on the media page for biographical information.

The NAYSI On-Line Course is free and can be accessed through www.NAYSI.com. It includes a free downloadable copy of BEYOND X's and O's by Jack Hutslar.

While looking around, be sure to check out our Books etc. Resource List.

Thanks for visiting www.NAYSI.com.

Regards,
Jack Hutslar, Ph.D. [founder and CEO]
North American Youth Sport Institute . . . est 1979
4985 Oak Garden Drive
Kernersville, North Carolina 27284, USA
336 784-4926, 336 784-5546 [fax], Jack@NAYSI.com

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