Many elementary schools have banned Dodge Ball as an activity in physical education classes and at recess. Here are two differing opinions on the issue.
Is There a Place for Dodgeball in Physical Education?
by Michael T. ed. Shoemaker
Understanding I am committing professional heresy, I believe there is a place for dodgeball in physical education. There are very few activities, if any, that are inherently good or bad. It is how an activity is used, with whom it is used, and how it relates to our goals that dictate its relative value. Such is the case with dodgeball.
The most fundamental criticism of dodgeball is that it is an elimination game. While this is a fair criticism, there are many variations of the game where elimination does not occur. Another criticism is that children should never be made into targets. Again, a fair criticism; however, there are many young people who very much enjoy this aspect of the game and relish in making throwers miss them. In other words, the game is not for everyone. The same can, and should, be said of basketball, football, soccer, etc. Yet, these activities have been questioned very little. The irony here is that these "traditional" sports are potentially more damaging to many students than dodgeball. Skill in these sports is highly valued by many in society. Thus, very few unskilled students are excited about playing these activities and facing the ridicule that often follows poor performance. So, the real question is not just "Why dodgeball?" but also "Why football, soccer, basketball, baseball, etc.?" Everything we do as teachers must be done with a goal in mind, and that goal should never be to make students into better football, soccer, basketball, or baseball players. It should be to help them appreciate and understand the health and social benefits of being active.
So, my answer is that no activity is inherently good or bad--it just is. How we group our students and how we structure the activity is the key. Dodgeball can be useful if the students are grouped homogeneously and choose to play as part of a comprehensive physical education pro gram that focuses on developing a healthy, active lifestyle. As with all activities, though, dodgeball is simply a means to an end. The physical educator must ensure that students are learning about target heart rate, agility, throwing mechanics, catching skills, etc. while playing any game. When taught from this perspective, dodgeball becomes a valuable learning tool, not a lesson in humiliation
--that is generally saved for the basketball court.
--Stephen Goodwin, associate professor, Department of Health and Exercise Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716.
On many levels and from many perspectives, I can find few re deeming qualities in dodgeball. In elementary school, my wife dreaded dodgeball days in physical education class because she couldn't throw and was almost always the victim of a hard-thrown ball that stung on contact. Neil Williams includes dodgeball in his three "Hall of Shame" articles-in JOPERD 63(6), 65(2), and 67(8)--and makes a strong case for its permanent exclusion from physical education. COPEC's position statement on developmentally appropriate physical education explicitly identifies dodgeball as inappropriate. Finally, a detailed look at dodgeball reveals why it has become reviled by many students and educators. When one uses only one ball, dodgeball gives individual students few opportunities to participate; thus, the skills of throwing, fleeing, and dodging--which are worth acquiring--are not sufficiently practiced for learning to occur.
Furthermore, there is the social stigma of being "beaned" because one is nerdy, unliked, or an easy tar get. There is the physical pain of being struck with a hard ball thrown as violently as possible, most probably by a macho boy who hogs the ball and delights in "pegging" his classmates. Once hit, students are eliminated and wait on the outside for another round to commence and another dose of embarrassment--of being hit and out of the game early while watching peers get eliminated one-by-one, leaving a lone winner amid a multitude of losers. I highly doubt that we wish to provide experiences composed of zero-sum competition, elimination, low engagement, coeducational inequity, high risk for injury, and wounded psyches; however, that's exactly what we're doing by keeping traditional dodgeball in the curriculum. Should practitioners wish to retain it, they might consult Morris and Stiehl's Changing Kids' Games as a resource for modifying any game--even dodgeball--into a more appropriate form.
