Most schools set up some sort of teachers versus students athletics event. At our school, we’ve played our outgoing sixth grade class in basketball (until a teacher broke her leg), stickball baseball (until weather made scheduling unpredictable) and last night, we ventured into new terrain: Quidditch. Our school plays a version of Quidditch, and the sixth grade classes face off in a full day of Quidditch activity. That was yesterday, during the day (my class team — the Sizzling Smurfs — played admirably but did not win the Quidditch Cup). Last night, we went back to school as teachers faced off against students.
It’s exhausting just to think about. Our game has a lot of running, a lot of maneuvering, a lot of shifting and strategy. Did I mention running? There’s a lot of running. We decided to name our teacher team Pink Fury, and the DJ (Yep, we have a DJ) played a lot of pink-related songs — Little Pink Houses, Pink Cadillac, etc. He played the opening riff to Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher, too, but only enough to get laughs out of the adults. The kids don’t likely know the song.
We had about 18 teachers, but there were about 60 students, so guess who had the fresh legs? But we held our own, taking an early lead and holding it for most of the game before losing the lead, and then regaining it, and then in the last minute, we came charging back from a 10 point deficit, only to lose the game by a single point. And that’s how it should be, right? We’ll give the kids the bragging rights, but we teachers did OK (and our principal did fine, too.)
It was an exciting and fun night, and we sixth grade teachers certainly saw Quidditch from another angle. We are often on the sidelines, as the team coach, and not in the field, as the player. There’s a lot to keep track of, and I think I have a little respect for the kids who excel and a more humbling view of the kids who sometimes seem confused by the game. I was one of those confused ones last night for a stretch. And now, I am sore.
Peace (in the game),
Kevin
PS — I have shared this before, but here is our video on how to play our game of Quidditch.