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School Bans 'Tag'
GillBates0 writes "CNN is carrying a story about a school in Boston which has have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school liable. According to the article, some elementary schools in other states have similarly banned "unsupervised contact sports". A parent was quoted as saying that her son feels safer now and that she'd witnessed enough 'near collisions.'" See, it's not just dangerous virtual games that are harmful to children!
I've always said that we should just chain them up in a basement until they're 18. Avoids most of the hassles associated with kids.
Do these people seriously expect stopping kids touching each other is going to stop them getting hurt?
Kids are very simple life forms, they don't have a firm grasp of logic and hence do stupid things which get them hurt. This is a basic fact of life and if you repress it you make adults who do the same because they never learnt any better.
How the hell can any school know so little about children but have them for so long..
I like muppets.
... of the pussification of America.
Prof. Farnsworth - "Oh a lesson in not changing history from Mr I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!"
I would think the number of teachers in the U.S. molesting school children would be a bigger priority than protecting them from a game of tag.
When I was in elemetary schoo in the late 80's they wouldn't let us play touch footbal at recess. But then during P.E. they would make us play dodgeball.
You are so boring that when I see you my feet go to sleep.
Yes some children are going to play games and get injured, but this is insane.
I chipped two of my front teeth when I fell over in school aged 11, but my parents would have been laughed at had they decided to sue the school.
I'm sure there are probably (too many) rules about schools nowadays relating to who is in charge, or responsible for the pupils, etc. But at the end of the day accidents happen when you're a child.
Its about time people stopped talking to lawyers at the drop of a hat. Sadly it seems that even the UK is going in that direction.
We call this a free country, but lawsuits have scared everyone into ridiculous rules and restrictions. We shouldn't be allowed to talk about freedom when we are imprisoning ourselves even in the areas the government isn't. I'm tired of all the reasonable things I'm not allowed to do because some organization's insurance company doesn't like or some fool sued someone. Maybe I just didn't notice this stuff when I was younger, but it seems ridiculous anymore.
I was going to write up a witty retort to all of this, but I think its far simpler just to call these people fucking idiots and get back to work.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Attleboro, MA is not in Boston as the posting states, it is a small city south of Boston.
TODO: Insert witty sig
... but we can't, because that would involve taking the stairs, and someone might get hurt.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Well, it is funny.. *checking my calender to see if its april 1st*
Come on, the classic game of tag has been played in various forms, seemingly, for ever. With few to almost none getting hurt. My goodness, we are are rasing a bunch of whiny little snots who can't even take a little bruse. What, I wonder will they do, be when they grow up. (best friends with lawyers or a lawyer themselves I suspect, where NOTHING is ever their fault).
Sheez.. stuff like this gets me sick.
God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board -- Mark Twain Look for http://Thebar.steelbeachca
What is this country coming to? Being a kid is ABOUT getting hurt. I can't even count all the times I fell off my bike during games as a kid where we'd just ride around the neighborhood trying to knock/ram each other off our bikes. Or the times I've fallen out of a tree flat on my back unable to get up for 5-10minutes cause the wind was knocked out of me. Kids are SUPPOSED to get hurt, and to either learn from their mistakes or just go right back at it cause it's fun and they learned that the consequences do not outweigh the gain, which is fun and a good time.
They're talking about the spray. Haven't you seen the commericals? The guy practically gets pummeled by women. It's really dangerous and I hope they put a stop to it. Think of the single adults!
After being inundated with all of those 'TAG' body spray commercials that show various teenage boys getting mobbed by teenage girls and being hit on my the teenage girs' moms, my first thought after reading the title was "Wow, that stuff must really work if they are having to ban it from schools!"
And then I read the article summary and find it is just the schoolyard game. Too bad - I was hoping for some interesting reading describing just how well that stuff worked.
..generalizations, I do. But I have a 2.75 yo son and I take him to the playground 3-4 days per week (his mom, the rest of the time). There's a fairly significant divide between how men and women treat their children at the playground. Dads tend to hang back, contributing support and help as kids need them (and to be sure, too many fathers hang on the park bench the whole time and can't be bothered to participate at all). Mom's hover, ensuring the kid never suffers a risky moment.
Those kids tend to have less certain notions of what's possible, what isn't, and what's just plain stupid. Some of those kids certainly got it in the nature-equation - meaning those parents may, in fact, have some reason to be fearful. Plenty of other kids are developing much shallower skills with respect to falling and not falling.
So, to wrap up with another generalization, it's more likely a mother would feel relieved at this ridiculous development than a father.
And you wonder why the United States has an obesity problem that seems to be getting worse with the younger generations. They keep banning everything that gives them any excercise. The reason tag is so great is because it is so simple and meets an immediate need for hyperactive kids (read "all kids") to release all of that energy being balled up while they are sitting still in class and also starts them off young with a good perception of excercise. No wonder so many kids are "diagnosed" with ADD and put in special classes these days. In my day (born in '83) when a kid couldn't sit still in class, they would have him/her do some laps around the playground instead of pumping him full of drugs. After a couple laps the kid was more than happy to sit still and listen. Playing tag on the playground was the only thing keeping those kids attentive. Now they are told that all running and chasing activities are too dangerous, so therefore sports and excercise must be too dangerous, therefore, I should sit inside and simulate it on an xbox or ps[#] eating candy to occupy my time.
Seriously I think my head is going to explode
"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson
It's not even a new idea; I first saw it in old newsreels from the 1930s, but it was hard to understand, because the narration was in German.
Not only is this a brilliant idea from a liability standpoint, preventing children from engaging in these sorts of dangerous games can reduce bruising and other possible damage during their critical growth period.
I propose that schoolchildren not be allowed to move at all. They should be hung via sturdy cloth from the ceiling, thus immobilized, and fed heartily whilst at school. I have been assured by a very knowing gentleman of my acquaintance in Boston, that a young healthy schoolchild well-fed is at elementary school age a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled . . .
I've never been in a school that had unsupervised playground time. An adult was ALWAYS watching.
Now, if they are banning kid-organized tag games, that's just plain silly and harmful to their mental, emotional, physical, and social development.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
And no, I'm not referring to the ONE school in Boston.
I'm talking about the millions of people who will view the acts of a few schools around the country as the downfall of American society.
The problem these schools are seeking to resolve is this: They have all the responsibility for what happens to your little angel/monster but none of the parental immunity that comes with it.
Little Susie gets hurt playing a neighborhood game of tag. Nobody sues her parents. If little Susie gets hurt playing a school yard game of tag. The parents can sue the school.
The parents might not win, but who wants to be sued for something that can be avoided?
P.S. The difference between PE & recess is that you usually have to sign a waiver f liability for athletics.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
It seems that we hear about two kinds of parents now-a-days. Ones who neglect their children so completely that the kids lose all sense of perspective and discipline and then go out and hurt innocent people. On the other hand there's a bunch of ridiculously over-protective parents who try to coddle their children every step of their lives, freaking out if the most minor of misfortune comes across their precious future.
As is often the case, the majority of average, decent, middle of the road parents/children are dealing with the consequences of vocal extremes. On one hand, we have unsupervised kids causing all sorts of problems, and resulting zero-tolerence policies in schools where even a minor, accidental infraction can cause a serious interruption in the education even of a model student. On the other hand, we have over-supervised kids whos parents live in so much fear for their child that neither that kid nor their classmates can act like children are supposed to act.
A normal child with decent parents will take some bumps and bruises as he/she grows up, and will end up stronger for it. While getting hurt is not pleasant, it's often an excellent learning experience. You learn that not only will certain things result in pain, but also that bad things are going to happen in your life, and you need to learn to cope with it. Denying a child the chance to learn such things is not good parenting.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Homeschool .... it's the only way to get an education these days.
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
Someone call child services. I play "chase" with my 2 1/2 year old son. We bounce on the couch. We jump on the bed. We have tickle fights.
In the last week my son has earned him self probably 5 new bruises, a stubbed toe, a face plant on the coffee table, and too many trips, flops, crashes, bangs, ouchies, and other bumps to mention. Mom and Dad are right there, we intervien if he gets into a dangerous situation (ie: playing in the kitchen when we're cooking, climbing the back of the couch/chairs, playing with other heavy/electrified/hot objects, etc...) but for the most part, we let him develop his strengths and learn and challange his limitations.
It's not much unlike my own childhood. In fact, I would challange any one of those board members to imagine their own childhood with out such games. I would also challange them to present any statistically meaningful data that would indicate a link between tag and childhood death or long term disability.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
I can't believe crap like this actually happens. I have an 8 (almost 9) month old that is pulling herself up on everything now. She has lost her balance more than once and taken a tumble. Should I remove my coffe table/fireplace/couch/ect just so she won't hurt herself? No. She needs to pull herself up so she can learn to walk. She also needs to learn that letting go can be a bad idea from time to time. I'm not going to let her really hurt herself, but a little tumble now and again isn't bad for any kid.
Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
You ban "unsupervised contact sports". By definition, no one is supervising. So how do you enforce the ban?
Home schooling and other alternative education programs (EG: charter schools, distance education, etc) are growing at exponential rates, approaching 50% per year in many areas.
With absurdities like this, is it any wonder why?
Take a look at the new Los Angeles Unified Director - he wants to "crack down" on children, make them all wear "regulation uniforms", adopt a "zero tolerance" set of rules, etc. None of which encourage anything like creativity, individuality, or happiness. And so the march of students into alternative programs grows ever stronger every year.
In my own home town of Chico, CA, there's a newspaper piece a few times per year, something like "Where are all the kids?". The census demographics indicate that Chico has a young population, inclined to produce lots of children. So for years, they've braced for this tidal wave of kids, that never came. Enrollments are lower than ever, and they're dealing with some fairly serious budget shortfalls.
So, they closed down the most remote school - a small school with like 50-60 kids - with the idea of bussing the children to a larger school closer in to save operating costs. Guess what happened? The parents of the school that closed down got a charter and opened up their own alternative education program in the same building as the old school. And *that* school now has almost 100 students! Closing the school actually *cost* the district money since now they no longer get the funding from either the kids they already had, nor the additional kids now enrolled in the new educational program!
It's choice in action - I wonder how long it will be until they get a clue and start competing?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
...raising them in a goddamned bubble.
I bought some Italian motorcycle boots today. The label tells me that motorcycling is an "ultra-hazardous activity" and that the boots won't protect me from all possible injuries (up to and including death). This is mildly patronising, but I can understand why the manufacturer would want to place a limit on their liability.
I bought some American snowboard boots last year. The label told me the same as above. It also told me that, if fitted with an avalnche transponder the product will not actually stop an avalanche.
One is patronising. The other is just plain stupid.
Consider brightly-colord safety chains for kids:
http://www.greatcompanions.com/images/GC1013_.JPG
My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
...this crap is being foisted on us by the twin horrors of insurance liability and the femininization of the education system.
Take my son's school in Ontario, Canada for example.
The mother of one of my son's female classmates succeeded in getting the school to ban the playing of ballgames at recess because "her daughter has the right" to stand in the middle of the basketball court while a pickup game is in progress.
However what can you expect from a school board that has banned kids from packing juice in their lunch bags, because juice "attracts bees and wasps, and some children are allergic to bee stings."
I did the same thing with my kids, but during a small earthquake they fell off and shattered. I'm suing someone over this, btw.
My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
This keeps coming back to the Col. Dave Grossman (On Killing, On Combat) Sheep, Wolf, Sheepdog analogy.
I'll paraphrase:
Most people are Sheep - not in the pejurative sense, but rather in the sense that they are utterly incapable of doing violence to another human being. Most people will go through their entire adult lives without ever comitting - or even witnessing - an act of violence (not counting TV etc, which isn't "real" violence)
Sadly, there are Wolves, who prey on Sheep. Wolves seek out sheep to fuck them up, because they know that sheep cannot protect themselves.
Happily, there are also Sheepdogs; those who place themselves between the Sheep and the Wolves.
But to a Sheep, a Sheepdog looks a lot like a Wolf - same shape, same teeth, same snarl. So sheep are very uncomfortable around sheepdogs, because sheepdogs trade in violence, and it is violence (not intent) that most upsets sheep.
Sheep are always trying to make sheepdogs more like sheep, even when that is counter to their own long-term interests, because the ideal SheepWorld is a nice, safe, non-violent bubble where nothing bad ever happens to anybody.
So Sheepdogs must remain vigilant and active - not only counter the Wolves, but also counter the Sheep. It falls to the Sheepdogs of the world to prevent the sheep from defanging their own protectors.
As an aside, there's a local radio commercial here that just drives me absolutely insane - it's an ad for a jewelry chain, in which a soccer mom (with the most teeth-gratingly patronizing voice ever) congradulates her husband on his "evolution" - he packs lunches, he makes playdates, he cleans the house - but when it comes to buying gifts, he still sucks. So go to Jeweler X and don't screw it up this time. Oh, and don't forget to pick up the daughter and get her (irony alert!) to Tae Kwon Do by 5:00....
This is a PRIME example of the sheep trying to sheep-ify the sheepdogs.
But here's the real question: if you are a Sheepdog, what are YOU going to do about it?
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
"The Underground History Of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto
If you're thinking about homeschooling your children, go read it. The entire book is there, online, for free. (just try not to slashdot it !)
Can I get 2 LOL's and a side of ROFL with that?
if you are a Sheepdog, what are YOU going to do about it?
... that's not it.
Eat the Sheep, invite the Wolves over, have a party?
Oh, wait
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
I just recently learned that our school district (Greeley, Colorado) has done away with recess altogether. Apparently the superintendent feels that the time should be better used in the classroom.
I know a teacher in the district (in fact, as I recall, she was recently named "Teacher of the Year" for the district, if not the state), and her experience confirms what most people would find obvious about the system: the kids hate it, the teachers hate it, the parents hate it, and student's ability to concentrate (especially in the afternoon hours) has taken a nosedive.
Sam! If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.
I think we can all agree this is silly. TFA makes it to be a liability issue. So though it may be silly to try to protect kids from simple games, it's worse having to do it because someone could sue and possibly win substantial money for what we know are scrapes and bruses and such that are a part of childhood.
This nambification has been going on for ages. When I was at schoolu lldog
everyone used to play British Bulldogs [on tarmac], but that was banned
(and this was decades ago) since it caused too many injuries
[about one broken nose or equivalent per day].
Bloody fun game though - a bit like rugby, but not nearly as
safe http://web.ukonline.co.uk/conker/games/sept.htm#b
http://rareformnewmedia.com/
School is where you learn to interact with the real, big (sometimes painful) world, you don't learn that at home.
All 6 years ago, we used to play British Bulldog in the dark. This involved two teams of about 30 kids in the sports hall, no lighting whatsoever and we'd just run at each other in the pitch black. Whoever had the most people still standing was declared the winning team. We'd also play rugby thrice a week and not a single week would go by without a broken bone for someone in my year.
This was at an exclusive private school and i have to say that most of those people in my year grew up to go into law, medicine, business or sports. I firmly believe that had we not had the freedom to do such things, we probably would not have had the independance, drive and ambition to strive for goals in life. When you're constantly told aren't allowed to do something, you start to wonder just what you can do.
It seems to me that the problem isn't with the education system per se but with the state education system, where ridiculous lawsuits often do happen. Admittedly we're some way off from this situation here in the UK but i can see a ban on contact sports happening within the decade and that will be a very sad day for traditional sports.
"No, no, no, don't tug on that! You never know what it might be attached to."
My 8 year old is on an organized football team. Aside from the comic relief provided by a 64 pound (in full gear) defensive end, there are no problems. Kids twist ankles, get bruises, and get their hands stepped on by other kids in cleats. Nobody has been sued yet.
He's also active in cub scouts. We've got lots of rules from the national level that folks out here in America just can't understand. Being a recent transplant, I try to explain some of the rules (e.g. we can't ride on a float in next week's parade, or carpool kids to a campout w/out prior permission, insurance verification, and signed parental permission slips). The people who have lived here their whole life can't believe that a parent would/could sue when a kid falls down and gets hurt. Some of them probably think I'm making stuff up when I tell them the way it is "back east".
Out here it's not a federal case when a kid splits his head open on the monkey bars or sprains something falling off a swing. It's considered part of growing up, and a learning experience. Most of the kids aren't obese, they have chores and sports and other activities. There seems to be a lot more really tough, really old people around here also. Hmmm..
We are ending up with a society that is afraid of its own shadow, that cannot make real life and death decisions, and that wants to be protected from all harm. Without being exposed to activities where one could possibly be hurt in a minor fashion, people do not have a frame of reference to make decisions when things really do matter. Instead when someone does get hurt, there is a huge outcry to ban whatever activity caused the injury, no matter how minor.
I hate seeing anyone hurt, especially kids, but the lessons that can be learned from a minor mishap can hopefully be applied later when making a decision that has real consequences. Some of natures more harsher tests are a pass/fail grade with no chance to take the test again, it's much better being able to take some of the smaller pop quizes.
the issue is not child safety, or health and fitness. it is an issue of living in a litigious society.
I think most of us live in far more fear of civil courts than we do of terrorists. Likely soldiers in Iraq are more afraid of getting hauled into court on trumped up charges than they do the insurgents.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
The wuss answer for things of course - have someone else fight your battle for you.
This is prime example of what they have spoken about as far as the Wussification of America. We don't play tag, we don't play sports to win or lose, we have to cry to the authorities when things don't go our way.
This is a joke. Sports and especially games like Tag and Dodgeball teach prime lessions about life. That is mainly - if you don't like being the guy picked last or the one that is always it, or always getting hit first - GET BETTER. Seriously. If you are slow, and you are IT in tag, you better get faster or else you will always be it. If you don't like getting hit by the ball in dodge ball - learn to catch, and then learn to dish it out when you do have the ball.
Hell, sports - places don't want to keep score because "it will hurt feelings." BOO HOO. If you don't like losing - start winning. Learn to play better. Catch the football, hit the baseball, work out your jumper.
The amazing thing is that some of our best athletes were guys who learned that they hated to lose - Jordan (guy didn't even make JV his Sophmore year in high school!!!), McEnroe, Sampras, Montana, Gretsky (canaidian, but you get the point).
Fact is - IMHO, things like this are what are taking the competitve edge away from our country. It is starting the wusses young and making them that way as they grow up.
RonB
It is human nature to take shortcuts in thinking.
When you say WMD do you mean: most powerful military in the world lead by commander-in-chief that has dismantled any check on his power and agenda? or do you mean the chemical weapons we never found?
We are all just people.
It's only just starting in sports, but soon it'll be just like the academic subjects: Everyone who wants to play a sport gets randomly distributed onto teams of mixed ability levels, and everyone is encouraged to play at the median level. Those who are faster, more flexible, more skilled, etc will have to sit on the sidelines until the rest of the team "catches up". The ones with real talent will have to look to outside programs to have any chance at developing their skills further.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
That game would not fly here in Massachusetts - after all, this is the commonwealth where the courts ordered the legislation to make it legal for gays to "marry." See, if that game were played here, Johnny's parents, who happen to be two guys, would sue the school claiming that the school supports "hate crimes" and that they are "offended" because their liberal mind cann't understand that one can have a difference of opinion without the presence of hatred.
(Now, my own personal position on gay "marriage?" Marriage is a religious construct which is by its very definition between a man and a woman; government has no business in getting involved, whether it's a normal marriage or a gay "marriage" so what the courts should have done is invoked the establishment clause and removed commonwealth interference in the family to begin with)
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50