ABSTRACT
This chapter relies heavily on the work of Peter Cartlidge, PE specialist and one-time deputy head teacher in Brighton. In 1987 Cartlidge asked the Year 3 and 4 teachers at his school to nominate their most clumsy children to take part in an intervention programme. The initiative was prompted by the question: ‘Mum, why do they pick me last?’ (Cartlidge 1995), and by an awareness of the impact that clumsiness may have upon self-esteem and subsequently upon behaviour:
The child with low self-esteem will lack confidence in his ability to succeed, consequently he may try to avoid situations that he perceives as potentially humiliating. To be punished and, perhaps, be seen as something of a hero by their peers is better than being seen as foolish.
(Laurence, Enhancing Self-esteem in the Classroom in Cartlidge 1995)