October 19, 2006

HOW TO RAISE GOOD LITTLE STATISTS

Massachusetts school bans playing tag at recess over fears of injuries, lawsuits (CBC, October 18th, 2006)

Officials at an elementary school south of Boston 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.

Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.

While there is no districtwide ban on contact sports during recess, local rules have been cropping up. Several school administrators around Attleboro, a city of about 45,000 residents, took aim at dodgeball a few years ago, saying it was exclusionary and dangerous.

Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyo., and Spokane, Wash., also recently banned tag during recess. A suburban Charleston, S.C., school outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.

Danger has little to do with it. What is objectionable to these folks is that it is unsupervised

Posted by Peter Burnet at October 19, 2006 6:36 AM
Comments

I heard this yesterday. It reminded me of a segment on some news show several years ago on the Soviet elementary school system. The jist was that all activities are supervised. I recall the commentator saying something like, "even playing in the sandbox is is monotored to ensure that sand castles are built the right way." A teacher(?) was actually intervening to correct the way a child was building a ramp for his toy truck.

Let's just line the kids up to do jumping jacks/janes, run laps (oops, can't do this 'cause some kids can't run), sing patriotic songs (those who can't sing will have to learn), and play non-competative and inclusive feel-good games! Ahhh, to be back in the USSR

Posted by: Dave W at October 19, 2006 7:06 AM

If contact sports had been banned on the playing fields of Eton, we'd all be speaking French today.

Posted by: Lou Gots at October 19, 2006 7:43 AM

Bingo!

If they can't supervise you, they can't brainwash you.

Of course, this is only in the city schools, the suburbs are just fine. (heavy sarcasm)

Posted by: Bruno at October 19, 2006 9:31 AM

And people ask me why I don't send my kids to public schools.

Posted by: Mike Morley at October 19, 2006 1:57 PM
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