Field day

Today is my favorite day of the school year, field day. I loved it when I was in school and I still love it now as a teacher.
When we were in elementary school it was called Play Day. Everyone was given a color team to be on, red white or blue. You played games and had relay races outside and they kept score on this giant chalkboard. It felt like the olympics. It was a big deal for us. Everyone dressed in their color and cheered for only their team. Then at the end of the day everybody got a popsicle and watched the sixth graders play the teachers in volleyball.
Now that I'm a teacher it's a little different. There are no teams and there is no final score. At this school the kids just travel to various stations and play games for a set amount of time. Most kids either love it or hate it. They spend the day outside playing sports or they spend the day by the teachers side complaining about being hot or bored. This year's class was really into it. A lot of kids decided to stay home so the ones that were in school were the ones that wanted to be there.
At the baskeball station the boys asked me and another teacher to play with them. I think they were surprised when we said yes... I know they were surprised when they saw that we could actually play. They were actually very sweet and sportsmanly. (Which is suprising for this class) I have never been so proud of the way they behaved and treated others before.
That leads me to todays visual of the day... Picture 15 or so 13 year old black boys and their whiter than white short teachers playing full court basketball. The baskets are low enough for them to dunk yet whenever we make a basket they all stop to cheer, high five us, and tell us what a good job we are doing. It was a nice change of pace.