As one who was often picked last, the worst part was waiting like a sitting duck while everyone else was slowly picked for either team. And there was no reason to inflict that shame on any child for something as stupid as dodgeball. It was an elementary school PE class, not a division 1 sport.

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t make any difference.
The kids already know who is good and who is bad at the sport.

It does make a difference. There is no need for adults to reinforce highlighting some kid's weaknesses in an environment where the focus should be on improving skills, learning new skills, teamwork, and behaving in a decent and kind manner. PE should be fun, not torture, for anybody. Good PE teachers know how to make it positive for every kid. Bad PE teachers don't care.

It doesn’t make any difference.
The kids already know who is good and who is bad at the sport.

Anonymous wrote:If you are bad at a team sport, it is not the picking of team members that is embarrassing -- it is letting the team down by missing an easy shot, or throwing to the wrong base, or tripping over your own feet. I was never embarrassed by being picked last. Everyone already knew that I was the worst athlete. Disguising the order that kids are picked isn't going to change this fact.

There should be no picking at all. Just random assignments to groups, like giving each kid a number randomly. Totally avoid any social judgment before the games even start.

If you are bad at a team sport, it is not the picking of team members that is embarrassing -- it is letting the team down by missing an easy shot, or throwing to the wrong base, or tripping over your own feet. I was never embarrassed by being picked last. Everyone already knew that I was the worst athlete. Disguising the order that kids are picked isn't going to change this fact.

Makes me think about 4th grade basketball. The coach said that everyone would get at least 5 mins in the game against another school. My mom came to the game and I was never put in. She talked to the coach who said “well, she’s not good enough.” My mom made the point - which I appreciated - that when you’re going in a circle reading out loud you don’t skip the kids who aren’t the good readers. I actually thought the bigger problem was that she’d promised - if she planned to pick players based on skill / wanting to maximize the chance of winning she shouldn’t have promised. Anyway, I think demoralizing behaviors and being left out is condoned in athletics in way it isn’t elsewhere and picking teams is an extension of that. I was a “star” in another sport and even in that season I really hated our PE teacher. Her positive treatment of me in that season just felt so transparent or hypocritical.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It has come to my attention that my DC's private elementary school uses the method of having student "team captains" choose their classmates for teams in PE. DC is never picked last, as far as I know, but often does feel slighted. The boys routinely get picked before the girls. Is letting the kids pick their own teams every single PE class the norm these days, or do some schools/PE teachers regard this practice as being outmoded?

I would love to hear feedback from other parents and teachers.

Fatties always last

Always. For obvious reasons.

Anonymous wrote:It has come to my attention that my DC's private elementary school uses the method of having student "team captains" choose their classmates for teams in PE. DC is never picked last, as far as I know, but often does feel slighted. The boys routinely get picked before the girls. Is letting the kids pick their own teams every single PE class the norm these days, or do some schools/PE teachers regard this practice as being outmoded?

I would love to hear feedback from other parents and teachers.

Ugh, I was picked 2nd to last too and I still to this day remember that!

I didn’t realize this was a thing anymore. Our public school has never done it.

The PE teacher either has them count off (1, 2 , 3 etc) or divides them herself with skill level in the back of her mind (making sure to split up the more athletic/dominant kids). If one team is totally thrashing the other team, she will even have a couple of kids switch. One of my kids is doing a flag football unit and there is even a rule that they must pass the ball to one girl on each drive (lol my DD hates this- she likes sports but not football).

PE has changed a lot to make it a bit more equal and less painful/more fun for kids who aren’t into team sports from what I have seen.

There’s no time to pick teams. Teams are assigned from the start and away you go.

Yes - there can be problems with uneven teams until the gym teacher gets to know the kids so the teacher always reserved the right to adjust teams. Early in her 6th grade year my daughter’s gym class did a soccer segment. The teacher randomly assigned kids and her and 4 teammates all happened to play club soccer. That team lasted 1 class and new teams were set up for the rest of the segment. That’s how it should work.

By now, in the school year, a teacher will know who is athletic and who is not. They will also have access to team lists for the school. What they won’t know is who is doing what sports outside of school. So - kid working year-round on softball won’t be identified and that can mess with team balances, but the teacher can make necessary adjustments.

This happens at my child's public. It's only one teacher who is new. DC guessed it was to make the teams more even since the kids already know each other's abilities to some extent.

Anonymous wrote:PE teacher here . Anyone still doing this is so lost. Never let the kids pick. That’s 1970’s PE. I would talk to admin

It’s probably a parochial school. They love old school humiliation. The one we attended had a male gym teacher who routinely made fun of some of the 5th grade girls. Total asshole.

Kids will naturally and organically do this to each other if you let them pick teams.

So we need to intervene and protect kids from themselves.

Anonymous wrote:PE teacher here . Anyone still doing this is so lost. Never let the kids pick. That’s 1970’s PE. I would talk to admin

Our child's PE teacher picks the kids who are likely to get picked last to be team captains. It seems to work out okay, I'm surprised to say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Why can’t schools have sports where everybody wins 1st place?

Why don’t teachers just read test scores aloud when handing back papers?

Why do people think they are clever when they aren’t?

You think students don’t self-segregate academically every day?

Aw, bless your heart.

Apples and oranges. The teacher should empower ALL of their students. Not just the stars.

Are you simple? The whole system is designed to facilitate academic differentiation in very obvious and visible ways. They have AAP centers in schools that the students assigned to that school cannot attend. Everyone is empowered, but they all perform differently, and it’s no secret.

But that ignores the fact that every child is gifted in their own way. AAP should be eliminated.

Athletics are no different.