Open Window Students in K-4 have been practicing floor hockey. There are a variety of skills to coordinate in hockey. The youngest students and those newest to the sport had their hands full (literally) handling and controlling the hockey stick, and manipulating the stick to maneuver a puck. Students learned that a hockey stick is not at all dangerous when left to it's own devices, but that a careless student with a hockey stick can be very dangerous indeed! On the other hand, a student who carefully handles the stick and controls it as an extension of self will have the most mastery of the puck and the most consistency on the court. Some players preferred to forego control and focus only on power shots, but those players generally spent more time in penalties, caused more painful accidents, scored fewer goals, passed less accurately, and developed and coordinated fewer skills. The Kindergarten and 1st Grade classes in particular did an excellent job and proved that they could safely engage in an intense, equipment-heavy sport. Those youngest classes have already moved-on to Tail Tag and Fox Tail and the 2nd-4th grades are finishing their tournaments today.
Most games have been "scoreless". Many students opt to keep score, but officially the score is always 0-0 so that the focus stays on skill development rather than scoreboard argument. Students are often very concerned about who wins and who loses, so we define winners as those who learn something new, improve a skill, and/or have fun. Students only lose is they lose sight of what matters. If a students stays focused on the skills, the teamwork, the play, and the action, that student has a perspective appropriate for a class or lesson. If a student loses that perspective and instead focuses on the numbers or the score, then that is the loss. The lesson and the development are lost, so that student lost. In class, winning is almost never about the scoreboard.
Happy Spring,
Matthew Smith
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