My Valentine to Teachers

“Shall we play a game?” is a gateway question to many learning opportunities, not just a great line from a movie.

My dad’s cousin Anne was an elementary school teacher when I was growing up. She had many subjects to teach to her students, but her lesson on what it means to live in a democracy sticks with me to this day. Anne had a three-day unit that she presented to elementary school students. Each day the class would have a baseball game run in a style of government.

Day One was a Monarchy. One student was chosen King or Queen, and the rest of the class had to do everything they said. The game had to be played as the King or Queen demanded. Only one person was able to do what they wanted, and everyone else was mad at them.

Day Two was a Anarchy. There were no rules, any student could run the bases anytime they wished, and throw balls at anyone or anything. Everyone could do whatever they wanted, no home-runs were made, and everyone was mad at each other.

Day Three was a Democracy. The class voted on who was captain, and how they would organize teams and set up a game. Everyone had a chance to make a contribution, and figure out if baseball was even for them. Voting on rules to organize a game allowed for supporting your team specifically and the game for everyone. Not everyone won the game, but each student felt part of…