just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
I was reading our daily paper last night and there was this article of some school in Colorado I believe.
They no longer allow kids to play tag on the playground.
They say its too aggresive behavior to have kids "chasing" other kids.
Now dont you feel sooooooo much safer knowing that these kids are forbidden to play tag at recess??
I think they should start with those violent video games they play non stop. Make those illegal to own or possess.
Then they can make it illegal to take their toddler kids and impressionable 'young' kids to fake wrestling matches. Ever see one on TV or elsewhere,,,where the stands arent LOADED with kids.
Bet their parents never tell them either that it is all fake and resembles those mocked up TV movies where cars myseriously jump in the air and explode at their zeinth!!
Geesh,,,making tag illegal,,,where are parents brains these days. next they will outlaw passing of Valentine cards too. make some of these kids excercise MORE,,,they need it!!yikes from --just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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lymemomtooo
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Well, in our district, I think any physical contact is outlawed unless you are two teachers, with mutual consent.. Posts: 2360 | From SE PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Maybe by prohibiting God from being part of our children's schooling, we've taken compassion out also.
Posts: 681 | From California | Registered: Oct 2005
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Seems like there are more steps in the cause and effect not identified there.
How about the way the media has defended the kinds of behavior that made us afraid to touch each one another with natural affection?
It is almost like we are so afraid of the bad kinds of touch (molestation, involuntary, etc.) that we are going to control the risk by removing all touch, right?
So the kids, who need affirmation and wholesome affection and can't find it from their busy parents and the caregivers chosen by their parents, will now be looking for it from who?
Too bad kindness gets outlawed because some people use it for evil purposes.
-------------------- When I lost my grip on Faith in the maze of illness, Hope gently clasped my hand and led on.
RuthRuth Posts: 478 | From California | Registered: Jan 2007
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posted
I haven't been in the classroom for over 13 yrs now, but on my last job "tag" was not allowed. Why not? (I know, I know....I loved chasing the kids!! )
Too dangerous. Kids would run so fast (either being chased or chasing) that they would run into others. Sometimes it would cause really bad collisions!!
A kid could end up with broken bones quite easily....and of course, the school and/or teacher(s) would be held libel.
There are tons of things teachers can no longer do because they might be sued. I used to carry a million dollar policy on myself and now that wouldn't even begin to cover what you COULD be sued for!
As for the current reasoning on banning tag....Bullying is OUT and playing tag COULD result in a type of bullying. SO....it's out! Makes sense to me!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I am so thankful I went to school in the late 40's and all through the 50's!!! Things have certainly changed!!
I remember tag, oly oly infree, king of the mountain, tag football, jump roping, hop scotch and other physical activities. The kids now are not burning their calories and getting enough excercise..just look around.
Hugs, perplexed Posts: 324 | From Lexington, KY, USA | Registered: Dec 2001
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Boomerang
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posted
Sounds crazy to me......no tag in school? Huh?
Our society has too many rules these days...
This PC crap is going to ruin our country.
Posts: 1366 | From Southeast | Registered: Sep 2005
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cootiegirl
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posted
I think there are multiple issues at hand. On one level the schools have to look at safety and liability. Society has become sue-silly and a child running and falling and getting hurt is prime fodder for a lawsuit not only for the school but even for the family of the child doing the chasing.
Now I don't see anything wrong with kids playing a chasing game if properly supervised. I know this sounds like an old fart, but most of us survived a game or two of tag without serious injury. And if we did fall, our parents simply cleaned off our skinned knees and told us to watch where we were going in the future - they never would have thought to sue someone.
Another issue is that of the invasion of personal space. The pendulum is swinging into the oversensitivity realm - that a touch in play is somehow as bad as a molesting touch, and therefore no touch is allowed. Touch now has to be carefully measured and assessed before it can be given or the action can be misconstrued....how sad.
In cautiously circling the religion in school issue, I can speak first hand about public vs private/religious based schools. My two oldest children spent some time in religious based schools and their experience in public school was far more compassionate and caring. For example, while the basic virtures of responsibility and respect were taught in both schools, the virtues were not necessarily reinforced by the parents in the private school....somehow they felt that because their children were in an institution with a religious foundation, that it was the school's responsibility to teach these virtues as well as any others. I actually found a disproportionate number of the private school children to be real stinkers (as were their parents). Now that is not to say that there aren't a lot of stinkers in public schools, but we have found that there is a stronger zero tolerance on many matters in public school whereas the private schools tend to be a bit more lenient since they are tuition driven. I saw teachers and administrators turn a blind eye to troublemaking children whose parents were 'cash cows'.....
However in some school districts, that zero tolerance can be extreme....and so we circle bag to the tag issue..... cootiegirl
Posts: 1728 | From New York State | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Most games include the risk of injury. Tag is far less damaging than the game kids play at my niece's last school. Flushing other kids hair down the toilet is their idea of fun!
All schools should address touching issues and bullying issues in a way that helps the kids (and their parents) understand not only the policy and the logic behind it, but also how to handle these issues when none of the "responsible big people" are around to address them.
I've known of schools where the staff were bullied by a few parents into allowing their children to continue to bully other children with nothing being done.
I admire the principal who can truly educate their staff and the children on what bullying is, why it is wrong, and how to deal with it.
posted
My statement concerning God was not a statement in reference to anyone's religion, nor was it intended to elicit a discussion on the various religions within the U.S.
It was simply a rhetorical question/statement in response to your (Cave's) question;
"What have we done"?
The fear of using the word God in any setting; classrooms, state/federal buildings, in discussion forums, etc., has, IMHO, been one of the most destructive elements of today's Politically Correct world, and furthermore...........
Nah - never mind, I don't want anyone claiming that we might be discussing religion here in America - Heaven Forbid (Pun absolutely intended).
Posts: 681 | From California | Registered: Oct 2005
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"I think they should start with those violent video games they play non stop. Make those illegal to own or possess."
I agree that getting kids outside and moving around will be better for their physical, emotional, and mental health.
And I agree with you that violent video games (and violent movies too) desensitize kids so that they become more aggressive to other people.
Outlawing the game of tag is like putting a band-aid on a cut off finger. (Hope that illustration isn't too violent!)
-------------------- When I lost my grip on Faith in the maze of illness, Hope gently clasped my hand and led on.
RuthRuth Posts: 478 | From California | Registered: Jan 2007
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ByronSBell 2007
Unregistered
posted
I was good at tag because I was always the fastest
I think it is dumb to take it away but I never felt bullied due to it when I was young, bullieing took different kind of forms for different kids. I learned to tuff'en up and not let it get to me
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posted
Well....we COULD pick on YOU, meg?! How about THAT!!??
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Itsy_bitsyone
Unregistered
posted
Actully...they allow the kids at my daughter's school only to run on the grass, never the woodchips...yet the chips are where they get to play. It a playground. Kids should be able to run. We ran...on BLACKTOP. We didn't have a playground...we had blacktop. We played dodgeball (getting PELTED with a ball), kickball...ran, fell, whatever...played tag...
I think the news said it better that maybe duck duck goose will be banned next...being called a duck or a goose might hurt someone's feelings.
In addition, they lower recess to 10 minutes.
What are they thinking?
Kids need to run and play and sort out conflict. What kind of adults will they be if they are so sheltered and never allowed to have these things...
The reason, in my humble opinion, that we have as many wishy washy folks out there thinking tag will hwurt wittle johnnys fweeleings is because they were sheltered and cannot deal with conflict. Sure, I don't want my kid bullied or pushed or anything. I'd be the first to get personally involved. But I do want her to be able to deal with sorting out who's IT, dealing with difficult personalitites, and getting the confidence she needs to suvive as an adult.
We have plenty of people who would protect themselves and others with laws or bans or whatever from themselves...but the truth is that evil is pervasive. Children can be crule. Let kids learn to stand up for themselves while they are young through games or non-violent conflict resolution. I had to. I'm short. I got picked on for being short. I will always be short. And I fought back. I picked back. Its all good and I survived. But if you do NOT face some conflict before you are 12, how do you expect to grow up and deal with it in the real world??
Truth is, evil is out there. Conflict is out there. You have to protect your kids. But you also have to trach your kids how to effectively and gracefully deal with it...for the future.
Plus, the little ones need exercize and to blow off steam.
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just don
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posted
I guess my persective is off of many here,,,my grade school was 'country' school and encompassed 9 different ages of kids all playing together.
Some ages blank,no kids there,,, some ages were many of same age,grade.
About the highest kid count in ALL 9 grades I can recall was about 12 kids. There might have been a few more or a few less from year to year IF some moved in or out of the school district!!
NOW the reason I say this IS there were no other 'boys' my age for four grades UP and four grades down.
This is what I contribute my social ineptness to cause there were none other to interact with.
Going to Saturday school was actually looked forward to,,,many more boys there, same age, I could at least play 'lawn' football with. SO cool.
Grade school girls are mostly allegic to boys at this stage anyway,,,and rarely talked to 'boys'.
Imagine social shock when you flip past the magic 8th grade and get thrown in with about 70 kids all starting high school together for the first time. Most of them wide eyed country kids that barely knew where town was!!
Throw them in a confussing 3 story high school building with a few mazes attached,,,with another 200 upper classmen,,,and all the town grade school kids in same building.
THIS building wasnt VERY big,as I look back on it,,,it cared for 350-400 kids on any given day,,,with an old gym and a 'newer' gym/band room built on,,,ag shop for ALL the boys,,,
plus a whole small luch room, which was about 10 tables long and about 4 tables wide. We all took turns in shifts using the same room. AND food was "GOOD"!!!
Everybody complained about it,,,but it WAS good. Only maybe once a week would we get something we didnt care for,,but ate anyway!!
Lots of trading around and even eatting other kids food IF they didnt like THAT!! if I can recall correctly we could go back for seconds of stuff we did like!!(specially if it was hamburgr day)(OR goulash,,yummy)
As we got older 'sometimes' we 'ran' two blocks down town to the teen center,,,or "Smokey's " bar
and ordered a hamburger and fries and spent a fast and furious luch time shooting most of a game of 'snooker' or pool while we enjoyed the grilled burgers.
After football practice(we NEVER got water during practice for hours on end) we would go to the 'corner' and buy a quart of 7-Up and down it pretty quick. Specially if it was HOT!!
Or we would have a supply of melons from some dear unsuspecting donor,and have a couple every day in the trunk(hot),
go drop them on the pavement on the edge of town and take your hand and grab the heart IF you were lucky!! BOY did they taste good!!
Okay, I confess I never was too fast. A slow poke of sorts. BUT still might surprise some of you in a 50 yard dash!!
So can I whisper something in YOUR ear??
Psst pss, psst!!!!!!!!, cant outrun them,,have to trick them instead.
Thats translated--- KAM,,, your it now!!!while--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
KAM's IT? How fast can her power chair go ?
posted
You're not it until KAM runs over you- and that may take a while.
But I'll pm her just to speed up the process.
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kam
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 3410
posted
As I am scanning these posts a commercial keeps running through my mind.....
You know the one...
...the one for headaches that gives you a headache....
...I even think it was created by a teacher but not sure...
...I think it goes something like
HEADS ON
HEADS OFF
OK Once the pain in the head and a** is gone...
I am now lining up at the starting line...
varoom varoom
Woo....Rosie is all ready down the trail. I swerve around Meg and hit the dusty, rough trail after Rosie
She is the one to catch next
Nope...she tagged a squirrel
ACORN....your it! (OK Rosie, you can leave the squirrel hole alone now and come eat your kibbles and bits)
[ 05. September 2007, 07:13 AM: Message edited by: kam ]
Posts: 15927 | From Became too sick to work or do household chores in 2001. | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Oh, I missed so much taking the day "off" here! Most of all I missed Don's really cool "back in the day" stories of his school years. Sorry Don!
As for you kids playing tag in this thread... just make sure you only run on the blacktop... wouldn't want to pick up any insects on the grass... like a tick!
-------------------- When I lost my grip on Faith in the maze of illness, Hope gently clasped my hand and led on.
RuthRuth Posts: 478 | From California | Registered: Jan 2007
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quote:Originally posted by meg: That's my face behind your back teacher
So is that YOUR hair too??
10 minute recesses are likely a result of the "no child left behind"....The students and teachers have to be "on task" WAY too much!!
I'm sure not every school has such short recesses. Ours was supposed to be 15 and it was usually stretched to 35-45 minutes.... We teachers had to keep our sanity ya know!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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kam
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 3410
posted
My two cents worth.
While doing a long term sub assignment with a group of students who were Deaf and had other conditions, we had lots of outdoor time.
I was surprised when I first started how uncordinated they were with being outdoors.
We had a pond and a creek near the school grounds.
So, we were able to do lots of science projects outdoors.
The point being...is the lack of large muscle skills at first.
But, the more time we spent outdoors the better they became.
It was good to see.
I assume that many of the kids spent a lot of time indoors while at home.
I had volunteers and student aids so we had the opportunity to just about have one on one with the kids so they were safe.
It was a lot of fun and all enjoyed it.
I also took them on field trips which they had not been on before and they did great.
I had kids from first grade to 8th grade in the same class.
RE: no hugging. When I was just starting out I had a long term kindergarden class and was not aware of the no hugging rule until it was pointed out to me.
One of the teachers at the very end of the day had circle time and would call each student up and give them a hug while I was there.
I thought this worked out well and I did the same for my students at the end of the day.
I also learned that if a student's parents were late, the student was not to stay in my classroom while they waited but to go to the office and wait.
That worked out well too. The office would be more aware of which parents were habitually late.
The parents would be more embarassed if the principle was there when they came late than a teacher too.
And it gave time to work on my own and more quickly with prep for the next day.
One of the volunteers knew one of the deaf students mother. When, the student was not picked up we drove him or her home. Can't recall now who the student was.
But, I do recall getting called into the office as they had heard I had driven a student home and met the mom.
I learned this was not allowed. But, only because of insurance reasons. Even though I was on my own time somehow if anything would have happened on the way home the school could have been sued.
RE: Tag
Don't recall that activity going on. We had other organized outdoor activities to keep them busy.
Posts: 15927 | From Became too sick to work or do household chores in 2001. | Registered: Dec 2002
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by Ruth Ruth: As for you kids playing tag in this thread... just make sure you only run on the blacktop... wouldn't want to pick up any insects on the grass... like a tick!
For sure- if the kids , well us in this case, can only run on the blacktop there won't be any more embedded ticks-just embedded gravel-which,can be healed with a bandaid embedded with one dose doxy.
Hey I just thought of a Lyme Slogan- Embedded for life by an Embedded tick.
I forgot who's IT now,maybe they're playing hide and seek instead, you know like ticks in the grass.
You don't know what we are talking about most of the time because everyone on this list is demented.
If you knew, if I knew, if anyone knew, I'd doubt the whole lyme thing...
Where am I? Who am I? Why do I have my hand in my shirt and want to take over France?
Anyway...yes, they lowered recess to 10 minutes. And if they get "punished" for talking they only get 5.
While the no child left behind and pssa testing could be a factor, the school isn't over-sweating it. Its a small town school with a HUGE graduation rate. And 90% of the kids who graduate go on to college...even if it's community. And while we are in the middle of nowhere, one of our teachers (my daughter's teacher this year, in fact) got teacher of the year from the state!
I'm nnot really sure what the rational is...but you bet your boots when I go to back to school night next week someone will hear me complain about it.
Agreed, these kids need to run and play and release some energy and interact and get the social skills going.
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lymemomtooo
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posted
I almost got in trouble yesterday at recess..
My oldest is a teacher. She likes to leave her car unlocked..I warn her but as Cobweb reminds, it doesn't work unless they listen to us..
Yesterday was her birthday..I got a balloon tank and supplies and was going to secretly decorate her car.
Well, darn if she hadn't left it unlocked so my plan escalated. I filled the whole thing with balloons..Figured she would be mad but laugh and realize she should lock the blasted car.
I was almost finished and kids come outside in front of the building. I was still a bit hidden but some of the teachers saw me. They of course got a charge out of it and one convinced my daughter to move for a game of catch so I could be safe for a couple of extra hours.
So recess can be good if you are behaving yourself. I was also lucky enough to have the principal and super see me but say I see nothing..
And no child left behind has everyone cutting all of the fun things of the past. Even if a project is related to curriculum, it is difficult to get it approved in light of testing and performance scores. lmt
Posts: 2360 | From SE PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:... certain topics turn into unfriendly debates,...[/QB]
Real debates are, by definition, not unfriendly! It is only an unfounded nasty remark, which has no place in a debate, that causes unfriendliness and causes a debate to degenerate into a "shouting match". Thus, instead of handing the winner of a debate a nasty remark, a concession might sometimes be in order! (or at least a promise to do some thinking)...)
DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
No debating allowed here at recess-if you can't you read the sign -Children At PLAY-then you don't get recess. You have to go to the Principal's office.
Speaking of which-did anyone save their ice cream sandwich,special treat for Friday's lunch, and stick it in their desk till after recess?
That was a real science lesson for me , coming back to the classroom to see it dripping from the hole in my desk.
Wasn't so much fun for DICK and JANE either.
So just what was the stupidest thing YOU did in Grade School?
quote:Originally posted by Ruth Ruth: [qb] As for you kids playing tag in this thread... just make sure you only run on the blacktop... wouldn't want to pick up any insects on the grass... like a tick!
We played tag and rugby on blacktop in elementary school. I would have rather risked the ticks than all the injuries- there were some bad ones! I'll bet if you look at everything, grass is less costly for the district. Deer control measures are probably not hard to implement, if thought out well. DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
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trueblue
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7348
posted
quote:Originally posted by Cobweb: So just what was the stupidest thing YOU did in Grade School?
Cobby
Where to start? I can't remember the stupidest at the moment but the ice cream reminded me...
In second grade, I was saving up my daily milk money (2 cents), all week, intending to but ice cream on friday. (10 cents)
So parents' day comes, when your mom got to observe the class, milk and cookie time rolls around I don't get given a milk... having not paid for one.
My mom was first confused and then annoyed and asked me why I didn't just ask for ice cream money.
Well...
I could do the math but that never occurred to me! Pffft...
We played outside lots in school. We got to go out as soon as we finished our lunches for the rest of the period.
Once, we were playing whip and whipped Joanne into the sand box. Man, it was fast if you were on the end. I don't think they let us play whip anymore.
-------------------- more light, more love more truth and more innovation Posts: 3783 | From somewhere other than here | Registered: May 2005
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My friends and I used to keep roly-polies or doodle bugs in our pencil boxes. We would get them at recess and then play with them when the teacher wasn't looking.
OH....I just remembered a really bad one. I didn't like my Spanish teacher in 4th grade, so I cut up little pieces of paper and put them in front of my cupped hands.
Then I would blow them and they would fly all over the place. We didn't get grades in that class or conduct grades so I figured I could get away with it!
Other than that, I was a model student. In the 50's and 60's you never dared to do much of anything wrong! Back then it was YOUR PARENTS you had to worry about!!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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