The Game of Tag That Becomes a Mirror for Teachers
How a simple running game exposes burnout, ambition, and the hidden pressures shaping your teaching.
In my Teaching Artistry workshops, I sometimes begin with a game.
A running game.
Arms linked.
Laughter.
Energy rising.
It looks like something from a primary school playground.
It isn’t.
Within minutes, it becomes a metaphor for life, leadership, and why we became teachers in the first place.
The Game: Cat and Mouse
Participants link arms in pairs, forming a human chain.
One person is the cat (the chaser).
One person is the mouse (the chased).
The cat runs.
The mouse escapes.
The mouse is safe if they hook onto a linked pair.
That releases someone else — who instantly becomes the new mouse.
Chaos.
Speed.
Laughter.
Adrenaline.
And then the shift.
The Question That Changes Everything
After 10–15 minutes, breathless and smiling, I ask:
- How did it feel to be chased?
- How did it feel to chase?
- Which role did you prefer?
- What thoughts ran through your head?
Then the deeper question:
In your life, are you chasing — or being chased?
The room gets quieter.
Because suddenly it’s not a game anymore.
What It Reveals
This simple activity surfaces powerful dynamics:
- urgency
- fear
- competitiveness
- avoidance
- collaboration
- reliance on others
Some teachers love the thrill of chasing.
Others feel uncomfortable being pursued.
Some desperately look for safety.
Some hesitate to join a pair.
It becomes a live metaphor for:
- ambition
- burnout
- purpose
- escape
- belonging
What are you running towards?
What are you running away from?
And how does that relate to why you’re here?
Variations That Deepen the Mirror
We sometimes play Stuck in the Mud.
When tagged, you freeze — legs apart — until someone crawls through to free you.
Suddenly the focus shifts:
Who helps?
Who notices?
Who leaves others stuck?
Or Linked Arms Tag.
When tagged, you link arms with “it.”
The chain grows.
Eventually, everyone is connected.
It stops being about speed.
It becomes about unity.
Why This Matters for Teachers
These are not icebreakers.
They are diagnostics.
They reveal:
- how we relate to pressure
- how we respond to being pursued
- how we support others
- how we seek safety
- how we experience competition
Teaching is often described as intellectual work.
But it’s also embodied.
We chase targets.
We feel chased by deadlines.
We look for safety in institutions.
We link arms with colleagues — or we don’t.
Sometimes it takes a “children’s game” to surface what we’re really feeling.
This Is the Kind of Work We Explore
In the Performative ELT community, we explore activities like this — not as entertainment, but as reflection.
We ask:
What does this reveal about who I am as a teacher?
What patterns am I repeating?
Where am I running — and why?
If you’re interested in embodied, experiential approaches to teacher development — the kind that go beyond methodology and into identity — you’re warmly invited to join us.
It’s free.
👉 https://performativeelt.com/free-community-6779
Because sometimes the most important professional question isn’t:
“What should I teach next?”
It’s:
What am I chasing?
Tom Godfrey 