November 7, 2008
For the past four years, I have had gym duty every Thursday, and it has grown into one of my favorite times of the week. Each week, middle school students are anxiously waiting at the door, waiting for the welcome wave, at which point they burst into the gym at full speed. No such thing as a warm-up. Much more like a cheetah that hits full speed in three strides. And here’s a big hint as to why I enjoy this duty so much: when the kids burst into the gym, more often than not they don’t have a destination in mind. They are simply running to run. And always with smiles, laughter, and some gentle jostling back and forth.
This is middle school play at its best. During this twenty-minute free period, multiple games are played, simultaneously: basketball, soccer, dodge ball, wall ball, volleyball, jump rope, and tag. I think of it as organized chaos. And the organizing factors are fun and play. Rules are unimportant. For instance, in basketball, the out-of-bounds lines are ignored and people walking or running through the game are simply avoided—or not. And even if someone does take a fall, 98% of the time they are back up on their feet within seconds, and always with a huge smile on their faces.
Teams are divided up randomly such that athletes and non-athletes, boys and girls, all participate. After all, when the goal is fun and play, being the best isn’t the determining factor to sides and who is invited to play or not. And people join in and exit games as they choose—usually when there is more fun to be had elsewhere.
There is also a critical social factor to this play. Who sits with whom while ostensibly watching others play, but really working at securing their social spot with a group of friends. There is also the question of where you have your conversations with one another. Many happen in the bleachers, but just as many take place sitting on a pile of mats in the corner or standing in a circle at midcourt. So at times the social goal is to create new connections and strengthen others, while at other times it is to be seen with a certain group of peers—hence having the conversation at midcourt.
Of course there are also the intermittent flare-ups, when someone bumps a little too hard or when words shift from joking to teasing. In these cases, seldom does the adult have to intervene directly. Typically the students resolve the issue quickly and get back to the play at hand. And when they get stuck, a raised eyebrow or walk in their general direction usually suffices.
Over the years, I have also watched as lower school students make the transition into middle school, and specifically into the gym on Thursdays. It’s a rite of passage, of sorts. For example, there are the explicit rules: no eating, no hitting, etc.; but it’s more the implicit rules they struggle to comprehend: do you need permission to join an ongoing game? Can a sixth grader play with a seventh or eighth grader? Do you have to be good at sports to play? They all figure it out without anybody having to explain the hidden rules to them, and here I get to watch their social acuity and awareness develops right in front of my eyes.
Given the normal hyper self-consciousness that develops in middle school students, this daily twenty-minute reprieve is welcomed by all with open arms. And it is at times like this that we get to see the free-spirited child within our students unleashed in full glory.
As a Head of School who also trained as a developmental psychologist, gym duty is about as good as it gets. So next Thursday when you sit down to lunch think about me in the gym, with a big smile on my face watching your kids play and grow.
Have a great weekend!
Mike