With the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament, typically known as “March Madness”, just wrapping up, many students are now finding out the upsets and winners of their brackets. For those unaware, March Madness is a college basketball tournament comprising 64 teams. The tournament is split up into four regions and has six rounds. The winners from each of the four regions play each other to find the ultimate winner. This year the men’s tournament ended with the four teams: North Carolina State University, Purdue University, Alabama State University, and the champion, The University of Connecticut Huskies. The women’s side finalists were Iowa State University, The University of Connecticut, North Carolina State University, and the winning University of South Carolina. This year was also the first time that two of the teams in both the men’s and women’s final four were the same. This tournament has been a prevalent part of many lives and is something to look forward to every year. Many groups even create brackets where they can guess on who wins each game and see who gets the most points. For some people there’s even a reward or punishment. This is what many LM students do.
This competition between friends, families, colleagues etc. is very tense and, therefore, has a lot of people’s attention. Some students may find themselves watching games as they happen, and some may watch highlights, others might research teams for their bracket. The main problem however, is that this is distracting students in school. Some teachers try to combat it, while others use it to their advantage.
In some classrooms you will find teachers turning to paper work or activities that steer students away from their computers. Doing this can lead to many outcomes; some students will be more engaged in the work that is being presented, while others will simply talk with their peers about the tournament and games happening. In other classrooms there are teachers who put up games during class in the background or have fun activities based around the tournament. Teachers doing this are trying to attract students’ attention while still having a fun experience. This can also introduce the tournament to students who might not be as familiar with it. Doing so can help students create bonds with each other and help students find a new interest.
Are these solutions really helping students stay focused on school though? Putting games on while providing work for students can be troublesome. It can lead to students being too engrossed in the game and not enough in their work. Some students who might not want to watch the game will, most likely, find it to be distracting background noise that prevents them from being able to concentrate as well. Are there other ways teachers can work around this problem where they can meet every student’s needs? Well, there could always be the option of allowing students to work in the hallway or the library while games are being played inside their classrooms. Teachers could also offer the streaming of games during Lunch and Learn, when students are free to come in and watch together.
Despite the fact that March Madness is often seen as a distraction to students and teachers, we can all agree that it is a fun time for everyone inside LM walls. It brings together many different types of people and helps spark interest in students who might not otherwise have watched the tournament. Through creative solutions and careful lesson plans, students can and have been able to enjoy March Madness without sacrificing their academic experience.
