Picking Teams at School

I am a high school health and physical education teacher and while 'activity classes' are not my primary focus, I do teach at least one class each year.

Some teachers have gotten really good at making the 'team selection' process fair, equitable, and dignified. Some teachers are still stuck in the dark ages and let the athletes be the captains and then pick their teammates (in my opinion, that's just awful).

Some ways that I do teams:

"reverse picking" - I pick four kids at random to be captain and have them sit at the front of the gym. Then, I pick 4 kids at a time to go sit behind a captain of their choice but they must all be on different teams (i.e. no two kids in a group of 4 that I send up can be on the same team). I go through this process until every kid 'chooses' his or her team.

partner flashcards - I'll create a list of like celebrity names write the first name on a card and the last name on another card. I shuffle the cards and then pass them out at the beginning of class. Their job is to go find their partner, so like if you got the name 'Britney' and I got the name 'Spears' then we'd be partners for the day or the unit. I have never had a problem with kids trading their cards.

team flashcards - same as above, but I'll have a theme where they have to go find their team. For example, with foods I might have 6 cards of fruits, 6 cards of vegetables, 6 cards of meats, 6 cards of beverages, etc. and when I say "go" they have to try to figure out their theme and get with their team.

the blind draft - I usually do this at the end of a unit and let the team that won become captains for the next unit as a reward (since I use fair methods, the "winning team" isn't one that is usually "stacked"). The captains get a print out of the class roster and sit apart from the class. Everyone takes their turn picking someone and they have to alternate boy then girl. There is NO talking other than saying the name of the person they want. They turn their completed rosters in to me and then I type the rosters, putting the names of the kids in alphabetical order so no one knows when they were picked.

The emotional safety and well-being of every student should be the primary focus in EVERY class (not just gym) because kids who do not feel safe, accepted, and comfortable in school may not be able to succeed to the best of his or her ability...and as a teacher, isn't it my job to try and make sure kids do just that?

When I was learning to be a teacher, they specifically told us NOT to do this. Sometimes we let kids have something of a say about teams, partnerships, etc. But we are supposed to make sure that it is fair and not exclusionary ("eeew we don't want Sally" is not allowed!)

That doesn't mean that all teachers follow this! Best way to find out is to go to the school and watch how they do it. It can even vary within the school from teacher to teacher. Talk to the principal about the policy and such. And remember, parents can be more of a factor in a child's self-esteem than school - be a good example by exhibiting self-confidence and good self-esteem, and teach them that it's only okay to say nice things to themselves and how to set and work for goals, etc.

I asked this exact question at my son's private pre-school and they said that no they do not do that there. I also discussed with them my gruesome childhood experience when it came to selecting teams and how important it is that this does not get repeated. They assured me it did not. I think people have woke up and parents probably complained.

Conversely, back then teachers had more control which I think was a good thing, every now and then there is a kid who needs a swift kick in the you know what, this resulted in kids who are more respectful of their elders and have a tougher inner core, which is sorely lacking now days, but when it comes to team picking, I think it needed to be done away with- what an awful casting system to encourage in the schools.

You are worrying NOW about this? I'd say that even though you turned out fine you carry a bit of baggage. I, too, hated this when I was in school. Also a late bloomer. I turned out pretty good too! I have two grown kids and in my experience it always all depends on the teacher and the school. My advice would be to keep your eyes and ears open, but not to worry. For starters, your kids aren't you, and their experience will probably be very different.

Not sure. I'll have to ask my kiddos. I know exactly what you are talking about though, but I was always the one that got picked first for sports. That was one of my strengths though. Beauty was not, intelligence was slightly above average, and I was a late bloomer too. Try to focus on the positives - or rather if this is a concern regarding your children - teach them to realize their strenghts and not focus on their weaknesses. I know, easier said than done. I guess we can try avoid these types of situations for our kids, but is that really the answer? I just wish someone had spent more time teaching me how to feel good about myself.

This is not de rigeur as it used to be. When my very athletic sister was student teaching in the late '80s, she did the captain thing once like she was used to back in the day, and the teacher she worked with told her, "Way to damage the kids' self-esteem." He was funny, but he did make his point. It is more common to number off 1-2 now. No more of that agonizing standing there!

-- From one often picked last at Parnell Elementary

I am 32 and they did it that at my school(s) growing up...there was also a trend starting later were the teacher would have all the kids get in a line then he would walk by and "count" us "1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2"... even though that way always seemed less likely to get anyone left out, it was rarely any more fair because there were always those serious sports guys who would run to the end of the line and make sure to place themselves in the correct order to form the team they wanted anyway ;) Some kids really enjoy the whole concept of competing...I hope they never take away the "captains" way of picking teams, although i always had great teachers who were fair and picked equally skilled captains. I hope my kids do a lot of the same things I did in school...I am one of those who is weary of change and want to know what is happening in/at school so I can relate to my child about his/her day!

I wouldn't worry about this, just because you might have been picked last doesn't mean your kids will be too...it's not that bad...like you said you "turned out just fine".

Hope that came across nicely...guess I wasn't that sympathetic, I was one of those girls that could always play so I never got picked last....we all were aware of the people (both last boy and last girl) but I don't remember anybody thinking anything other than those kids weren't that good at that specific sport...most of the times the people getting picked last didn't really enjoy the whole P.E. process anyway!

I don't think my kids ever complained about this (they're 22 and 12). However, the peer nastiness has gotten out of control! Even in private school. You need to constantly work on building your kids' self esteem because school is not a nice place sometimes. Team picking will be the least of your problems.

You have nothing to worry about. In school these days they don't even keep score half the time to ensure that someone's little self-esteem isn't hurt. Your kids are fine.