What Sports Can Teach Us About Behavior Management

Sports. They seem to be getting less and less of a focus in the classroom in between this test and that. But sports are detrimental to developing youth who will grow into respectful adults. Here's why. Sports teach us many concepts such as: 

+ teamwork 
+ that it is OK to lose 
+ that it is OK to win 
+ that determination and hard work will get you to where you want to be 
+ collaboration is better than a competition 
+ a goal isn't always achieved in the same way we thought it would be achieved 
+ that sometimes we need some time out 
+ if you fall down, pick yourself right back up 

These concepts are seen in the classroom on a day-to-day basis. With fewer sports going on, kids are starting to become less team focused as a result. It's all individual testing opposed to group explorations like it used to be in the good old days. 

So what are we as teachers to do? A great way to incorporate sports attitudes in the classroom is to implement sports into your behavior management system. Encourage your students to see themselves as part of a bigger entity. You could do this by: 

+giving your students player of the day awards 
+talking to your students about what makes a good team player 
+taking some time to allow your students to research their favorite sports player and then to compare themselves using a Venn diagram 
+using sports as a metaphor in your day-to-day teaching 
+having a sports themed behavior clip chart 

If you have any more ideas on how you could incorporate sports then feel free to leave your idea below.