Mummy Ball
By Chick Moorman

It looks like the students are sitting on tables playing catch.  That's probably because when they play it, they sit on tables and play catch.

You don't find the benefits covered on state assessment tests.  And there's no column for it in a child's permanent record. But several teachers from across the country are beginning to sense its importance. The activity is called Mummy Ball.

The game of Mummy Ball has few rules. Those that do exist include the non-verbal aspect of the activity and a simple procedure.  First, the game does not begin until the room is cleaned and everyone is ready for the arrival of buses. Then, students sit on tables and play catch. If a child drops a throw or throws a ball that can't be caught, she is out and must sit down until the game is over or buses arrive.

Mummy Ball looks, at first glance, to be a game of catch. It is not. It is a game of moral judgment and an effort to build an internal standard within students. There is no umpire, no linesperson, no referee in Mummy Ball. Students find no officials to look to for enforcement of the rules or for decisions on close plays.

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In Mummy Ball, students make the decisions. The thrower sits down if he determines that the throw was uncatchable. The receiver eliminates herself if she feels the throw was within reach and that she should have caught it.  Each person makes an individual decision based on his own picture of his unique abilities.

It is possible that after a throw that was not caught, both the thrower and receiver sit down. The thrower determines for herself that she could have thrown more accurately, so she sits down. The receiver figures he could have caught that same throw, so he sits down.  It is also possible neither person eliminates herself following a missed throw. The thrower decides the throw was accurate enough, and continues in the game. The receiver decides that it was too difficult for him to catch, so he remains a participant.

There is no appeal to an external authority, no arguments before high tribunals.  Each student's decision is final. The notion that each player is the best judge of his/her own capabilities is respected. Students making value judgments on another's decision must keep those judgments to themselves. If they speak up, they must sit down because they have violated the silence rule of Mummy Ball.

Obviously, some players are better at practicing moral judgment than others. Students have found a way to equalize that situation on their own.  Mummy Ball participants making consistent and blatant errors in judgment are finding that they're not receiving the ball as often as they had in the past.  And they're getting the message and changing their judgments and their behavior.