A Personal Reflection on ICG

Hi PESSians,

We recently received this reflection from one of our fellow PESSians and felt that its something we all ought to read and perhaps reflect on.

This may no doubt offend some, but I do believe that, for the majority of us, it might actually help to remind us all what the true spirit of ICG and being a teacher is all about.

We welcome all comments as we would really like to know what everyone in PESS thinks.

However, please note that vulgarities and flaming will not be tolerated.

Lastly to our contributor, thank you very much for your very honest and heartfelt reflection.

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After yet another grueling ICG session, I trudged back to hall, thoughts swirling in my head. My body was tired, but it was my heart that ached more. From loss, you think? No. It was the flagrant aggressiveness and unsportsmanlike conduct displayed by various classes during the games that made me rethink the relevance of integrity and fairplay in sport.

Each class has a different objective going into an ICG game; some classes don’t hide the fact that they are all out to win, while others are just pleased as punch to participate and play to their utmost as their ability allows them to. Some classes take the time to sincerely look out for each other- both their own teammates and the opponents, who happen to be a part of the PESS family. Unfortunately, this cannot be said for all classes; otherwise I wouldn’t have a reason to ask myself the rationale of ICG.

Coming from a class that can safely announce that we are no great threat to ICG standings, I can confidently state that our objective in playing ICG is just as its name implies; Inter-Class Games, where we are given the opportunity to play against other classes from all the programs. To us, at least, victory is never the primary concern; perhaps this is due to the fact that my class has never been considered a sports powerhouse. And at this point, you might even say that stronger classes that have a higher chance of winning SHOULD go for it and go all out. But at what cost?

We are all mature adults- or are supposed to be, anyway. So what does it say about the character of our trainee PE teachers if we have to spell out the obvious, like how ICG is supposed to be a platform for us to get to know other PESS members from other programs, people whom we might not otherwise get to know? Like how ICG, being a relatively low-level competition- compared to, say, IVP level or national level- is supposed to foster good relations between the classes, not the opposite? I would have thought that mentioning things like sportsmanship and fairplay would be pretty useless, since most of us in PESS are athletes, and should know all this. But it seems like I was wrong.

As future PE teachers (and HODs and principals, as Pat Wong is so fond of calling us), it is indeed worrying that there is a sore lack of the very virtues that we are supposed to be imparting to our students. If we do not practice what we preach, how hypocritical are we to expect our students to engage in meaningful physical activity in a supportive classroom learning environment? Of course we can gloss over it and say that the classroom is vastly different from a competitive game. But the level of aggression and competitiveness at ICG this semester is, to put it mildly, ridiculous.

Let’s say if your class was to win ICG. Does that make you a better teacher? Does that give you more recognition? Because the last time I checked, we are all in here to learn how to be more effective PE teachers, not to win ICG. And for the benefit of all, if you are still not too sure of the objectives of PE, I suggest that you go read your little blue textbook and go reflect. I’m a firm believer in practicing what I preach, and from what I see now, I am worried.

Worried that the next generation of students will be taught by teachers who were not even able to rationalize and internalize the real objectives of ICG. Worried because it means that PESS has failed to impart any meaningful lessons to you as far as character and sports are concerned. As the proverb goes, you can lead the horse to water but you cannot make it drink. And this epidemic display of over-competitiveness and unfriendliness makes me feel sad, because of the lessons Mr K put so much effort into teaching us what is obviously being ignored here. And because, like it or not, at the end of the day, PESS is one family. Or it should be.

- Anon