School PE lessons, children made to pick teams, disgusting or what

[DistingusedSocialCommentator]

I've just read a thread by an FM here asking if "schools were getting children to choose teams" and FM felt it was "old-fashioned"

Schools bang on about inclusion/fairness/caring/MH well-being, etc etc

FFS (sorry about my language) how the F does a child feel when they are the group of children who are almost the last ones to be picked???

What ruddy clowns at schools still allow this disgusting and ignorant method of choosing teams?? Are you not ruddy aware that this method of choosing teams can and does affect children's MH and can scar them for like

Any teachers here care to comment, or justify this ludicrously pathetic and ancient method of hosing teams??

does it go in your child's school or one you work in? If so, have you pulled up the culprits?

AIBU to believe this method of choosing teams is outdated and harmful to many of our DC?

Tomorrow, I will get on to the papers/radio and tv stations to outlaw this crass method of choosing teams in PE and other settings in schools.

I was just about to say the same.

"We survived sexist and gendered behaviour and racism. We survived corporal punishment, Dunces hats etc". THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT OK.

What you mean is "I survived it". Probably because you were either OK or average.

I'm absolutely dismayed by the lack of empathy being displayed for people who were massively impacted..

PS. I genuinely can't think of anything I'd rather be less than average at everything.

Hopefully, your child, GC or great GC never has to go through the trauma of being picked last

That's not trauma! Being a child of Ukraine or Gaza, is trauma. Stop catastrophising. This is not a good lesson you are teaching to your GC.

if there are any schools, please let me know where ie town, county is all i need to build up a picture and then I will go to the media

In the nicest way possible, you sound unwell.

I think we can acknowledge something isn't nice and move into better ways of handling kids without needing to use words like trauma.

If this was actually traumatic for someone chances are there are quite a few other issues underneath the surface.

@Josette77 That’s fair - trauma is a strong word. What I don’t understand is the number of posters saying it’s good for children to be publicly ranked last by their peers, or that because they were okay with it then everyone else should be.

The unspoken lesson was that you had to cope with disappointments, because life sometimes throws them at you, and at most people. Coping with difficulties and solving problems strengthens you. Nursing a grievance weakens you.

An “unspoken lesson” in coping with disappointment might come from being handed back a test you didn’t do as well on as you’d hoped.

The teacher announcing to the rest of the class that yours was the lowest mark would add nothing to that experience. It would not help you to solve problems or cope with difficulties. You would just feel rubbish.

PE teachers who do this are not trying to teach valuable life lessons about strength in the face of adversity: they’re lazy, lacking in empathy and, just maybe, enjoy taking kids down a peg or two.

What if you were the child who was repeatedly picked last, and wasn't good at other subjects and was unpopular too,How many repeated disappointments ,do you think a child should have to put up.with?

The unspoken lesson is that even the teachers do not care about making your life a bit easier with a tiny adjustment. You do not matter. Pretty much the message I got.

Hopefully, that has changed.

I've emailed a few of the red tops and other media

LOL, I was bullied mercilessly at school, it hasn't scarred ME for life so I don't understand why people are trying to ban it. Bring back bullying I say - it'll teach kids to cope with life's disappointments, and build their resilience!

/sarcasm

Being bullied and one of the ways of bullying in front of the class in pkain sight is picking last and making comments about the victim whikst doing so, and is wrong.

Lucky you, didn't affect you. Perhaps you were not bullied in multiple ways. This just one of the ways to isolate and bully in plain sight, added to other methods.

Calling victims 'snowflakes' doesn't really make you look great. Try some empathy?

@AliceA2021 I honestly think empathy is a foreign concept to some people.

I was bullied in school, being picked last was part of the bullying. When there were two of us left - me who was ok at sport, and a poor girl who was lovely but terrible at sports, the two teams would start arguing about me, as they both preferred to have the other girl. Teacher never intervened.

Hi

That is awful and I actually forgot, what happened to you happened at my high school when the last 3 to max 4 were left. As best buddies in a team would start telling Captain Mannering, "chose x.. chose y, dont chose.." and so on

Sadly, some people need to experience it to understand. Worse still, jsy becuse the did not suffer this at school, they forget that their children, GC, great GC may become victimes

I think PE has moved on a lot these days at MOST schools, but back in my day, it was very much a case of “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. And those who can’t teach, teach PE.”

It just this utter doss of a lesson where the teacher vaguely waved us in the direction of the changing rooms and then bawled absent mindedly that we were to pick teams and “put the things out for a game of rounders” etc. There was absolutely no TEACHING involved. The teacher never ever taught us how to do any sport-related skills, just shouted insults at those who weren’t very good, while exchanging banter with those who were good (usually because they were getting specialize sports coaching out-of-school at team sports or gymnastics). Letting the kids pick teams meant the teacher didn’t even have to expend the minisucule amount of effort involved in pointing at people in turn and saying “1, 2, 1, 2… OK, 1s over here, 2s over there.” A chimpanzee from the PG Tips advert could have successfully run the lesson.

@user1477391263 that reminds me so much of my PE lessons! We played hockey (in the winter in bloody freezing conditions) but were never taught anything about positions, rules, etc. I was absolutely rubbish at most PE partly because I was lazy but wasn’t bad at hockey due to watching my mum play at a high level and going to her training etc.

I’m sat laughing remembering it now as everyone would just run all over the pitch regardless of position and most of the girls would squeal and run a mile if the ball even came near them 🤣 although I do admit to being slightly violent with a stick…

I was also picked last and then, picked obviously reluctantly, often to giggles from the other team. It was part of the humiliation that went with bullying. We also had communal showers, and my underwear (there were no lockers) was always kicked into the showers. I had the choice of going commando or wearing soggy knickers. That was also part of the humiliation. The team picking also occurred in the playground, but I was able to stay in the corner and avoid those games.

I am referring to events that happened several decades ago, and hopefully, the communal showers are a thing of the past. The child-directed team picking should also be a thing of the past because it can so easily rank popularity rather than ability. Furthermore, if the child is always the last to be picked, or always the one who no-one will partner or always the one who sits alone, this sends a clear message that ostracism is endorsed by the school

You are cycling I think? (Saw your comments on the athletics / rugby thread.) I was just thinking that picking teams would never happen in cycling. And cycling is a ridiculously brutal sport in so many ways!

OMG, how did I forget the communal shower?? It was awful

Yes and totally futile as nobody showered properly aa nobody wanted to be totally naked I remember dashing in with my towel and just getting my hair wet a bit and then getting out as quickly as possible.

we were all no clothing - rook was steamed up - most got on with a quick shower but some/few were silly, but it was hard - this is in the 1970's school

boys and girls at times tried to drag out someone but never managed it - ie drag out with not clothing - they were so-called playing around but it was no fun for the vicitms

How is it a teacher bashing thread ?
It's an unfair way of picking teams ,it was unfair when I was a child. I'm 50.And it's unfair now
It's outdated the one/ two method is much fairer

@Abbimae I’m a teacher. Plenty of teacher-bashing goes on on Mumsnet (and indeed everywhere else) - only yesterday I saw it described as “hardly a skilled job”.

But as far as I’m concerned, any teacher who is so lazy they can’t even be bothered to split the class in two themselves - and is so lacking in empathy they can’t see how getting their favourite pupils to rank the rest of the class might upset people - deserves everything they’re getting on this thread.

👏👏👏