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Baggling Solves the Problem, "Paper or Plastic?"

BY PATRICIA DELANCEY

Just when you thought it was safe (not to mention politically correct!) to toss your

used plastic grocery bags into the recycling bin, along comes "Baggling!" This combination art/science/physical skill activity involves tossing plastic bags in the air and snatching them back again.

For many years I have been teaching juggling in my physical education classes at Carrick High School, a public school in Pittsburgh, Pa. A typical unit on juggling lasts just one week with a few practice sessions going on while other students are playing volleyball, etc. Throughout the years, hundreds of students have succeeded, either using tennis balls, rolled-up paper, bean bags, socks, and a few who exited the cafeteria with three oranges or apples! Some students were extremely enthusiastic in their willingness to learn, while others needed coaxing. Some said, "I don't want to be a clown," or "I don't have to know how to juggle to get a job or go to college."

Some can be extremely stubborn when it comes to attempting something that is totally foreign to them. They're afraid of possibly looking silly, or afraid they may fail. High school is a tough age to play, believe me!

Overall, my success ratio has never exceeded 50% in any class. I had always wished for a juggling-type activity that would spell success and high self-esteem for the great majority of my students.

Lying in bed one night, ] began envisioning the possibility of using plastic grocery bags. When checkout people asked, "Paper or plastic?" I had always asked for plastic. Now I had another purpose for the many bags I had saved!

The next morning I pulled out 50 or 60 from under my kitchen cabinet and began cascading them. I found they had more hang time than scarves, and decided to call this activity "Baggling." The method of teaching would be the "Wave and Snatch." I knew the price of the equipment would be right, and all of my students could practice at home.

That morning I couldn't wait to see the response I would get from students as I demonstrated "Baggling." Would they be receptive? Could it catch on? How would they react? When I gathered students around me for the demonstration, the first comment I heard was, "Hey, that's cool!" Before I could finish my demonstration, several students had already begun reaching into my bag of bags so that they could begin practicing. On that day, more than half of my students learned to baggle. It was great!

What an excellent success ratio! I mentioned the benefits to be derived from baggling; improved timing, reflexes, coordination, etc., but my students were so busy baggling that I'm sure they never heard a word. Now I mention how baggling helps their ability to concentrate also!

It's so neat to see the look on my students' faces when they succeed. Students can achieve anything when what they are doing is fun to them. Even students who are homebound can be given a step-by-step approach to baggling, and learn at home. Some of my students have even begun to pass bags totally on their own.

The sky is the limit with the many forms of creative baggling they are able to develop. In January of 1994, I gave my first group of students a final test on baggling. They were then asked to comment on this final. Some of the comments were: "It's fun and easy to learn." "Everyone has an equal chance to learn it." "It's better than a written or physical race." "There's no studying, and you can practice at home."

Baggling is a very rewarding unit of teaching for me now, with a success ratio of approximately 96%. My ultimate reward came this past year when one of my best bagglers, Heather Bell, who had graduated from Carrick in 1994, came back for a visit to ask if I would give her permission to do a speech on baggling in one of her college classes. I gave her several instruction sheets, and she promised to come back and tell me how her talk went. Heather came back during her spring break with exciting news of her "A" on the speech.

This year there were lots of different faces in my class. One girl, Jaime, stood out from the others because she said that baggling would never help anyone do anything, that it was silly for anyone to throw plastic bags around. She refused to even attempt it. At that moment Heather popped into my brain. I asked the class if anyone remembered her, and a few students raised their hands. Then I began my story. The class was totally quiet, listening very intently. When I finished, my students got right on task and began practicing their activities for the day.

The following week, much to my amazement, Jaime asked me if I would test her on baggling. I did, and was very surprised to see how well she had learned it. Yes, there are still many rewards in the field of education! It's amazing how much learning took place as a result of the simple question, "Paper or plastic?"