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I wholeheartedly agree that this was such a fantastic topic to bring to the surface. On a personal basis, playing sports (and music) since elementary school has always been an important outlet. Practices were always grueling, but when I finally mastered the chromatic scale or perfect execution of a play, it was totally invigorating and made me want to do it that much better. I've also learned so many things from playing sports -  how to come up with solutions, communication, self-control, execution, leadership...... the list goes on. But a truly important aspect I can take from athletics was to understand the room for learning new ways to do things. In other words, recognizing the capacity for creativity - trying out new techniques. This was a fun way to do it for me and although I mostly remember important moments from games and such, I suggest that my unconscious took away a bit more in ways I don't fully realize. (Much like the sudoku example given by PG).

Also, what's wrong with competition? I know we spoke of how it's taboo nowadays, but I've always loved it in the sports arena. It's funny how we brought up the Honor Code here at our institution/s with respect to not really talking about grades - however in many classes I find my classmates constantly asking for the class average on a test, to compare how they did against the mean. THE GRADE IS THE ONLY THING OF INTEREST!!! Our society is competitive, and while it is so I find it hard to understand how to make education less competitive. Yet also, why is it unfair to be competitive? I think we learn a lot from it, when not focused on the grade.

Kids need creative outlets, like sports. A teacher should take the time to find out what is important to the student, what the interests are and then try to use these aspects as tools for engagement. Kids also need to simply talk things out. I fondly remember as a child coming home from school and eating dinner with my family, rambling on about what I learned. But the things is they engaged in the conversation too - asking, discussing, debating, informing. Encouraging talk outside of the classroom is crucial.