@alh, agree that physical bullying is not the only type of bullying. I would rather be hit by a ball and then get to go to the sidelines than endure mean emotional behaviors day after day.
I would rather neither be allowed in schools.
Both situations you describe are abusive in my opinion. I would prefer they never be seen as acceptable behaviors.
To those people who keep comparing the experience of being targeted in dogdeball to being embarrassed about being bad at math or not being musical or whatever… do you think it would be acceptable for kids who are good at math to hit the slower kids in the head every time they get an answer wrong? Should the best singers be allowed to smack the worst singers in the mouth whenever they go off key, just for fun?
There is a fundamental difference between being embarrassed by not being good at something, and being forced to allow other children who ARE good at that thing to physically target and hurt you.
@Corraleno, you seem to think that the only kind of hurt is physical.
What is your point? Everyone in this thread will agree that abuse by priests, coaches, Scout leaders and child molesters is bad and we should make every effort to stop it. Everyone will agree that such abuse harms children and makes them fearful and less trusting. Raping a little boy is very bad. That doesn’t make hurting a little girl in another way good.
Maybe if the title of the article wasn’t phrased in such an outlandish manner the conversation wouldn’t require digression into other hyperbole.
I was a nerd. I hated dodgeball. I was bullied and targeted. But to call this ‘oppressive’ and ‘dehumanizing’ is just stupid. No more ‘oppressive’ and ‘dehumanizing’ than kick ball (which a good player could easily lob your way - knowing you didn’t have the skills to catch it), or softball, or whiffle ball which could also be used to bully a ‘differently abled’ non sports person.
How about this… dodgeball can hurt people if played with the wrong equipment. ALL sports give bullies a chance to use their skills! So rather than have a headline which would more appropriately be applied to torture, war, or prison, we just speak in a normal tone - using appropriate words.
Good lord, not everything is THAT BIG OF A DEAL.
Is there anyone here who is defending mean kids who snicker at other kids when they falter? No, no one is. In a well-run classroom, teachers will discourage unkindness. Humiliation is not a good learning tool.
The article mentioned by OP isn’t the first on this dodgeball issue(interesting article, if a bit tendentious):
https://priceonomics.com/how-dodgeball-became-americas-most-demonized-sport/
I agree that dodgeball is not “oppressive.” Calling it “oppressive” is preposterous overreach. Dodgeball when played with balls harder than nerf balls can permit bullying, however, and that’s bad enough for it to be eliminated from being required.
@dietz199, it is a big deal for some kids. Probably not the majority, but some.
Just like having to make Mother’s Day cards in school is a big deal for a child whose mother is dead.
And having to bring in baby pictures for a school project is a big deal for adopted children (many of whom don’t have baby pictures of themselves).
Baby pictures and Mother’s Day cards have vanished from the curriculum at some schools because they hurt some students – students that people can sympathize with. Maybe the problem is that people don’t sympathize with the kinds of kids who suffer as a result of dodgeball.
If the teacher structured the class so that the kids who weren’t as smart could be ridiculed as part of the lesson plan, that would be terrible!
In your head, I suppose so. Not in mine. Some girls aren’t bullied away from math and science. Some are. Some think in absolutes. Some don’t. ?
Bullying is not going away. Sports, classrooms, politics, etc.
Just about anything can be used as a bullying vehicle.
Nope, I think all forms of bullying are hurtful, damaging, and unacceptable, and ALL bullying should be taken far more seriously. But math classes are not specifically designed with the goal of allowing the smartest kids to target, humiliate, and mock the slowest kids, with full complicity of the teacher. Math classes serve an actual purpose and most people do in fact need a basic knowledge of math to function in the world. There is no reason whatsoever that schools should compel students to participate in an activity that serves no useful purpose and where the entire goal of the “game” is for the most athletic kids to target, hit, and often hurt, the weakest kids.
@marian. Just about anything can be a big deal to someone…
When I was in grade school my father developed eye problems. There was a very good chance he would not be able to renew his drivers license. It was the only time in my life I actually saw my father cry.
I HATED car commercials. I felt like crying when kids were dropped off by driving parent. So? Do we remove cars and make it so I never have to deal with that ‘trigger’.
What about pictures of the family pet - for kids that don’t have one? Nope, no dog or cat for this bullied kid - couldn’t draw one when it came time for that to be the subject of the art lesson.
Sounds like silly examples, but in today’s world I guess we could have pushed the point because nothing seems to be too outlandish.
It all worked out for dad - he got to drive into his early 90’s.
That is absolutely not the point of dodgeball. That’s ridiculous. You throw a ball (generally soft) and try to hit the people in the middle and they try to dodge the ball. It’s a friggin’ GAME! It’s FUN if played the way I suspect 99% of kids play it. My God- how hard to most elementary school kids throw a soft rubber ball? I recall our circles being pretty big. I also seem to think there was a below the chest rule.
Physical exercise. And not every game of dodgeball everywhere is specifically designed to target, humiliate and mock the slowest kids. And not every teacher is complicit.
And math and science teachers have been known to be complicit in “bullying” kids, girls specifically, away from higher level math and science. Consciously or not.
Teach your children to not be bullied. Bullying is everywhere.
Yes, thank you.
I agree, but that’s not dodgeball. Learning to throw, and avoid being hit develop are valuable physical skills and serve as good exercise.
Well, that’s an entirely different problem if there is excessive pain. They way our kids played in school is that there are no throws allowed to the head.
I missed this lesson. What would I teach my child?
According to the CDC, 1 in 59 kids is on the autism spectrum. Such kids (I was one, my son is one) have trouble understanding social cues and, perhaps as a result, they get bullied a lot. Can I also teach my kid not to have autism using your wonderful rules, whatever they may be, to prevent bullying?