I have always loved sport and played as best I could with my lack of leg speed but reasonable ball sense. As an Australian I live in a country where sport has an almost religious fervour and sporting stars are held up as role models for the young. My country almost becomes paranoid when an olympic games is due fuelled by a national fervour to win gold. Underlying this fervour is the economic benefit that governments see to any country hosting the games, or the Soccer world cup or the Cricket world cup one day series and so on. The captains of our national teams are revered. The same accord is not given to scientists or social workers although I see signs of this changing.
As a school Principal I enthusiastically promoted school athletics carnivals and team sports. Now as a reflective retired school Principal, father and grandfather I think about the involvement of my children and grandchildren in this cauldron of sporting fever. I have mellowed considerably and changed my views about the value of sport as part of the school education journey.
First I focus my attention on the cross country running events that many schools run annually. I see the slower runners a long way behind straggle into the finish line when to all intents and purposes the whole thing is over. I worry that one of my grand daughters spends nights of sleep loss when this annual event looms. She is not a runner, but after coming last in 2019 bravely let her parents enrol her in the running club so she could improve. It didn't help for the 2020 cross country event and several races in the general athletics carnival that has just occurred. Some of the feedback from the school was that competing develops resilience and helps the children I guess toughen up. I have seen anecdotal research that dismissed this notion of resilience building, especially when one comes last regularly. The researchers point to what can be a very public humiliation as one trundles up the straight when all others have long completed the event. The good news is that my grand daughter competed in 2020 without showing much concern that she ran last in her events. Privately she told me she was glad it was over for another year and that she hated it. In her events she ran against others of similar skill and being only four in each event she was awarded two 4th ribbons. I guess this helped her manage any feelings of once again being last. This is a child who performs in the top groups academically and I have gently pointed out to her that in the end it will be mathletics not athletics that matter in her life. I also share with her that her grand father was a very slow runner and had to put up with all that she is experiencing.
Why am I going on about one of my own, acting as an over-protective grand parent. I was not surprised to find, following on from the different insights of the researchers mentioned above, that schools having a free choice whether they will run a competitive event where everyone must participate regardless of their inherent physical skills, are adopting a new approach. Recognising that some people are not fast runners or swimmers they are creating sporting events that allow the speedy to have their races while the rest of the school is involved in other cheerleader and team events. It becomes more of a fun day when all can enjoy themselves regardless of their physical attributes. This is now occurring in a private secondary school not far from where I live. Interestingly talking with one of the students I learned that she was not one of the speedy ones during her primary school years, but now having grown a lot she has discovered a talent for the longer distances in running.
If I retuned to running a school I think I would now adopt this newer approach that removes the possibility of public humiliation potentially there in competitive compulsory racing. I would also make the physical education program a focus for personal fitness inclusive of the opportunity to hone the skills and the frame that the student has inherited. I am big on this and see it as a way to build confidence in self and to move the mindset of students into the preventive medicine mode, to make each person a good steward of the physical attributes they have inherited.
May the Force be with you!
GD
