Fantasy football in the classroom?

[Calyxes]

I am a teacher in a youth correction facility. I have a group of ten boys that I work with. I am thinking about have my students do a fantasy football league in class. The draft would be the only long part of it. I think that the math involved in adding up your own scores and doing charts on player performance would be a good warm up for our math lessons. Does anyone think this would be alright to do? Or could I get in trouble with my boss for teaching gambling habbits to kids who do not need any more vices in their life? I think it would be fun to do, but it might send a wrong messege to some people I worry. What do you guys think?

Edit: Spelling

[Nilmerf]

I think you're taking fantasy football a little too seriously if you do that.

[gogogadget]

If you emphasized many different mathamatic activities I think it would be a good idea. It would let them apply the stuff to something they would be interested in. I think it would be good if you didn't really focus on the competitive apsect of fantasy football and just dealt with the numbers and charts.

[jte715]

I took a sports marketing class in high school, and we did a fantasy football league within the classroom. as long as theres no money involved i dont see a problem with it.

[DelhommesFan1]

if you present it right...no bets. I think it would b a good thing. The only neg side i could see is if the guy in last knew he was going to lose....why would he put forth any effort.

[RocketsDWM]

Like others have said, emphasize the fun part of playing fantasy football. Fantasy sports can teach some basic math skills and skills of running an organization. It can also possibly teach dedication to a project and other management skills. I think it could be a good route that doesnt follow the norm - great idea in my opinion. Just no money involved.

[RocketsDWM]

if you present it right...no bets. I think it would b a good thing. The only neg side i could see is if the guy in last knew he was going to lose....why would he put forth any effort.

Dont keep track of standings, or at least not until the end. Have everyone figure out how many pts they score, add them up for the entire season, then compare them at the end. That way the competition aspect is taken out, at least until the end.

[Flockers]

if you present it right...no bets. I think it would b a good thing. The only neg side i could see is if the guy in last knew he was going to lose....why would he put forth any effort.

Dont keep track of standings, or at least not until the end. Have everyone figure out how many pts they score, add them up for the entire season, then compare them at the end. That way the competition aspect is taken out, at least until the end.

That's the way I'd do it. I also agree that there shouldn't be any money.

[Calyxes]

The kids would not be able to make any wagers. They are in a jail and have no money. I like the idea of just keeping track of your team score and comparing the scores at the end. These are the kind of kids who do not do well in regular classrooms so I thought this may be a good idea to help them with their math. Any other ideas?

[houstonherdfan]

Like others have said, emphasize the fun part of playing fantasy football. Fantasy sports can teach some basic math skills and skills of running an organization. It can also possibly teach dedication to a project and other management skills. I think it could be a good route that doesnt follow the norm - great idea in my opinion. Just no money involved.

If they have net access (for research ability)----

Don't actually run a league with all your students. Assign each of them a position within 1 organization. Owner, GM, Coach, Specialists within each area (QB, WR, RB, etc.). Then work with them on how to use math to figure out past performance, statistical methods, and such. Let each one do their research and then draft a team in a league and do the math by hand to figure out the scores.

I know in my field there is alot of interaction between people that work different places. If this is the case in what you do, get 9 other math teachers in youth corrections to do the same thing.