Thinking sports day is awful

[Toarrie]

First experience of sports day and honestly isn’t it just awful for the children who aren’t fast runners? They have to run in front of loads of parents but schools wouldn’t dare making slow learners read to loads of parents.
Trying to console a very upset 5 year old who can’t understand why they don’t do competitions for the things they are good at.

now I completely understand not everyone can win but our school didn’t even do races by ability so put in 1 very slow runner with 4 that represent the school competitively

So shall we get rid of Sats too then so that dyslexic children can develop a love of reading a writing because let me tell. you that SATS are horrendous for children with dyslexia many of whom would be great at English otherwise?

I am conflicted with sports day, I hate the fact that it is an audience event but my youngest DC struggles with cure subjects but loves sports day and does ok. I was a good athlete but hated being watched.

Are children who aren't talented at singing/performing forced to do musicals? Or is it voluntary?

Can children only shine on sports days if they are with children who aren't talented at sport?

Yes I have said that but unfortunately at 5 the only thing in school they can win is sports day so it is difficult to explain to them there will be other things they will have more of a chance of winning

Why not teach them it's OK to lose?

Because it is. You can't be the best at everything.

@SouthLondonMum22

So for the kids who are good at Maths / English do we just tell them to sit out that lesson
Not going to happen so why is a schools sports event any different

Kids can’t be good at everything

That's a shame. My sons school makes it a whole family event with a family picnic afterwards. There are races for everyone. The teachers and some children from the senior school run behind, diplomatically help the children who are slower or can't get the bean bag in the hoop. Everyone cheers for the whole race. It's amazing what a little bit of input from teachers and pupils can make. All the kids love it and if they're not happy to do something on the day they just sit out

I'd be happy for Sats to be scrapped.

Though they take place in a hall. Children with dyslexia aren't paraded in front of parents and forced to take their Sats with parents watching them.

We have but why to they have to lose by a mile in front of all of the parents when they won’t humiliate children who were struggling with reading in the same way?

Sports day isn't PE.

Children who struggle with sports will still have to struggle with PE.

Or maybe just don't have parents watching at sports day, that seems to make it worse for some children.

One of my DC won every single event at every single sports day he competed in for the whole of primary school. He is still very sporty now and competes at a high level in two sports. And yes, I’m very proud of him.

However, he was a September child and even in preschool because he was nearly a full year older than some children, he understood the mission was to get over the line first while the younger children were stopping to wave at mum and dad. I think this fed into his view of himself as ‘sporty’ and fast as much as the reality. I’m sure I’ve read that either Olympians are more likely to be born in September than any other month or perhaps it is professional sports peoole
who are, but it would make sense to me.

He really loves to win which actually kids need, imo, if they are going to excel at any sport. He does love the adoration and congratulations. It can mean he gets grumpy when he doesn’t win/so well in his sports now though which can be tiresome.

His school didn’t pitch the fastest boys against each other. The races were always mixed sex and mixed ability which I have come to think isn’t ideal. eg There was another lad in his year who could have literally given him a run for his money but they were never in the same race (two form primary) so the odds were always in my son’s favour and presumably in the other boy’s too.

Even the less arduous competitions like bean bag throwing, he would win. So if anything, I’d advocate more competitive sports days full of heats so hopefully the winners wouldn’t always be the same.

Do you think that all the kids in the class and their parents don't know which kids excel and which kids fail their SATS?

Do you think kids who never get an academic award aren't reminded by their peers and humiliated by them?

Do you think that kids who never get their pen licence because of motor issues don't feel humiliated?

At least with sports day it's over quickly.

I have a highly intelligent child who is very competitive. When he was younger he hated the fact that he couldn’t be the fastest and didn’t get picked for all the top teams. We just emphasised fun, participation and doing your best. It would never occur to me to keep him home because he couldn’t win. Now as a teenager he still plays 2 sports and loves it and has made so many friends. He’s still not the best in his team, but he has been selected as captain in one sport because he is great at strategy and the other kids respect him.

He will never understand what it’s like for kids who struggle with reading and maths because it all came so easily to him. Frankly I find it a bit offensive to compare the experience of a kid not doing well once a year at sports day with a child struggling in the classroom day after day while others can do it so easily. If you don’t think that’s humiliating and upsetting you’ve got no idea.

Actually they do have reading contests/spelling bees. My son is dyslexic and still has to compete in those!
He is a brilliant runner and sports day would be brilliant for him to have a confidence boost. His school don't do one but I wish they did! Everyone can't be good at everything. Its a good lesson to learn.

It sounds like the school is crap at running sports days. At my primary everyone generally had a great day, whether you were sporty or not. I wasn't, but I still have fond memories of sports days.

And I will never forget when my two boys were at primary, the year that their friend 'Sam' won all his races. He was leaving school that year, the end of Year 4, to go to special school as he was autistic and had learning difficulties. All the kids knew he wasn't as able as them at reading and maths etc. Lots were kind to him in an 'aww bless him' kind of way but not many thought of him as an equal. I'm not sure why he didn't perform well in previous sports days but on his last one he gained a lot of respect from all the sporty boys, who he totally outstripped in every race. I was so pleased for him that he had his chance to shine.

It isn't the same as physically watching though, is it? I'm sure most parents know whoever isn't very good at PE but it's completely different for a child seeing so many people actually watching you be bad at it.

I don't agree with pen licenses either. Again, would happily scrap that too.

YANBU. I am overjoyed to be beyond that stage. Dreadful business.
I wish they would celebrate other subjects in the same way - I might have bought into it more, if they had. If there’s ever a time when there’s an expectation that languages will be celebrated in schools for a whole day, then I’ll reconsider my intolerance of bastarding, tedious, miserable Sports Day.

@SouthLondonMum22

At my kids school in Scotland they have an awards ceremony for kids who excel academically
Its then posted all social
media channels for the school
Announced as school assemblies

Should we stop doing that in fear of upsetting the kids not getting an award

Kids have to learn they won’t excel in all aspects of school like and that’s ok

Its just seems to made more of a deal when it comes to sports that successes shouldn’t be celebrated

“My sons school makes it a whole family event with a family picnic afterwards. There are races for everyone.”

I’m sure the f/t working parents and shift workers love that scheduling. Or is it one of those privileged schools where everyone has a free afternoon to sit around playing hoopla and eating cucumber sandwiches?

@AmyandPhilipfan Ahh that’s nice. I think the less sporty kids can enjoy the buzz of their school house team winning/doing well too. My DC handed out coloured sashes each year so the same kids weren’t in the same house for sports day so it was always a surprise which colour won the cup overall.

This is my first year as a teacher (21years) where the high achievers are also the sportiest. I'm offsetting it by making our fun race the wheelbarrow race with randomly drawn partners - first one is barrow. That makes it fair as it's not as random as kids think!...

Plus, it's life. We have to teach kids these days that all violence etc can be resolved with a wee chat where they quickly learn the answers to spout , so sports day is a day when most kids have to accept they ca t all be winners. I love it when the wee one who struggles academically wins in front of everyone, or the kid everyone ignores pulls a blinder and smashes it out the park.

Oh give over!

Let the non academic kids have a chance to excel.

Your child shouldn't feel humiliated at being beaten at running and if they are you should teach them that it's OK to lose sometimes. It's a good lesson to learn.

I think sports day is great for primary school children- sense of being in a team (the school has house teams), being outside with their friends (& not inside in the classroom!) and just enjoying it

No. A child will learn every week how terrible they are at sports by doing PE, it isn't something that you only learn at sports day.

Competitive races should be for those who want to do it. Those children can still shine.

Why is it ok to ‘learn that lesson’ in a physically and publicly humiliating way in front of the entire school and parents? No other part of school life puts kids through that.