Before I begin, let me clarify. When I talk about “sports” in not talking about kids playing sports. I refer to America’s obsession with pro-sports and the way that translates itself in the classroom.
When I began my internship year one of the first things I noticed about the kids was the multitude of pro-sports jerseys in the classroom! Soccer, basketball, college football, NFL, NHL… we had it all! And not only were the kids wearing the jerseys, they were talking sports too. There was a lot of “hey, did you watch the game?” for third graders. Students whispered the merits of their particular team to others during lessons. And then recently there was the issue of the lone 49ers fan in a sea of his Seahawks classmates. I was a little concerned. And I must admit that my own apprehension towards pro-sports certainly colored my view of them in the classroom.
But all of this changed over the course of the last week. I mentioned the 49ers fan in my class of Seahawks… I was pretty worried about what was going to go down between the kids but neither myself nor the teacher had to step in at any point. The kids were totally respectful to one another and didn’t bad mouth each other for a second! Then this Friday 3 different kids showed up wearing the “Number 24” jersey. The two boys were already friends and had planned to wear their jerseys on the same day while the other student, a quiet girl, had just randomly chosen to wear hers. The day started out normally but by recess the three of them were inseparable. They were running around and had even named themselves “Team Skittles.” I was so shocked. This girl who was nice to everyone but didn’t really have any good friends in the class was suddenly running around like one of the gang razzing the other kids. This week has really shown me that there is room for sports in school! They help teach children how to be tolerant of others preferences and beliefs as well as creating bonds between the least likely students!
When Commas Meet Drama 
I’m a little afraid that, since sports are about as inscrutable to me as Justin Bieber, I may have trouble connecting with my students over it, and/or seeing it as an educational tool. I’m glad that this cultural element resulted in such a positive experience for your kids. I’m a little worried that my utter lack of interest in this area might become a handicap for me.
I hear you there. I worried the same thing and to be honest I like being able to talk to my kids about sports (the very little that I know). Sports aren’t a big part of my life but I try and duck in every once in awhile and see what’s going on. The fact that I ask my kids little questions here and there let them know that I care about them even though I don’t care about sports…