The Physical Education Hall of Shame
The PEHOS was created by Neil F. Williams, a physical education teacher of forty-three years, when he determined that some staple activities in the physical education curricula were simply unfit to be part of the curricula any longer because they either:
Some of the games already on this list include dodge-ball, duck-duck-goose, kick-ball, musical chairs, and many more.
The game I'm proposing be inducted into this Hall of Shame is Hot Potato. While I'm not sure that it is played in each and every physical education class, I witnessed the game being played in a grade two class I was observing.
The students in the class were positioned in a large circle, and in time to the music, they passed around a stick. If the stick was dropped the student who dropped it was out. When the music stopped, the student holding the stick was out. When a student was eliminated from the game, they had to sit in the center of the circle and watch the rest of the game be played.
Danger: This game may not seem like it's dangerous at first glance, but the way it was played in this classroom, and the way I played it as a child, does present some obvious dangers. One, the stick being passed around was being shoved from person to person. This means that students could be injured by having a stick shoved into their hands, into their arms, they could be scratched. Students were turning quickly to pass the stick around, and they could have hit the person beside them accidentally, or tripped, or even knocked someone down. When the game was down to five and less students, the players had to run to get to the person beside them. It was a sprint, and not a coordinated one, so there was great potential for slipping, tripping, and knocking into others.
Minimal Participation: While the players in this game all get to participate, elimination is a key factor. When a student was eliminated, they sat down in the center of the circle. As time went on, the majority of students were not participating at all.
Limited Physical Activity: In addition to being eliminated and sitting out, there is a very small physical element to this game. The students simply turned their torsos and extended their arms to pass the stick along the circle. The first students eliminated had to sit out while the game came to a close, which took nearly ten minutes. Simply passing a stick around a circle is not enough activity to qualify this game to be played in a P.E. class.
Little Skill or Training to Teach: There is nearly no skill or training needed to teach this game. We learn the game when we're young, and nearly everyone remembers the game as time goes on. One simply needs to explain that the goal of the game is to pass the object around the circle quickly and try not to be caught holding it when the music stops. There is no training needed to teach this game.
Singling Out: This game singles out students by punishing them if they drop the object, and by singling out the student stuck holding the object when the song ends. It is no fault of the student that they were handed the ball at the music's end, but they are ridiculed for it, and then eliminated from the game. This student is left to feel embarrassed and upset because they can't participate in the activity any longer.
- are dangerous
- promote minimal participation from a majority of students
- have limited physical activity
- require little training or skill to teach
- do not promote any of the major goals
- or single students out to be potentially embarrassed in front of classmates (Williams, 1992, p. 57)
Some of the games already on this list include dodge-ball, duck-duck-goose, kick-ball, musical chairs, and many more.
The game I'm proposing be inducted into this Hall of Shame is Hot Potato. While I'm not sure that it is played in each and every physical education class, I witnessed the game being played in a grade two class I was observing.
The students in the class were positioned in a large circle, and in time to the music, they passed around a stick. If the stick was dropped the student who dropped it was out. When the music stopped, the student holding the stick was out. When a student was eliminated from the game, they had to sit in the center of the circle and watch the rest of the game be played.
Danger: This game may not seem like it's dangerous at first glance, but the way it was played in this classroom, and the way I played it as a child, does present some obvious dangers. One, the stick being passed around was being shoved from person to person. This means that students could be injured by having a stick shoved into their hands, into their arms, they could be scratched. Students were turning quickly to pass the stick around, and they could have hit the person beside them accidentally, or tripped, or even knocked someone down. When the game was down to five and less students, the players had to run to get to the person beside them. It was a sprint, and not a coordinated one, so there was great potential for slipping, tripping, and knocking into others.
Minimal Participation: While the players in this game all get to participate, elimination is a key factor. When a student was eliminated, they sat down in the center of the circle. As time went on, the majority of students were not participating at all.
Limited Physical Activity: In addition to being eliminated and sitting out, there is a very small physical element to this game. The students simply turned their torsos and extended their arms to pass the stick along the circle. The first students eliminated had to sit out while the game came to a close, which took nearly ten minutes. Simply passing a stick around a circle is not enough activity to qualify this game to be played in a P.E. class.
Little Skill or Training to Teach: There is nearly no skill or training needed to teach this game. We learn the game when we're young, and nearly everyone remembers the game as time goes on. One simply needs to explain that the goal of the game is to pass the object around the circle quickly and try not to be caught holding it when the music stops. There is no training needed to teach this game.
Singling Out: This game singles out students by punishing them if they drop the object, and by singling out the student stuck holding the object when the song ends. It is no fault of the student that they were handed the ball at the music's end, but they are ridiculed for it, and then eliminated from the game. This student is left to feel embarrassed and upset because they can't participate in the activity any longer.