The obligatory “school cancels tag because kids are getting hurt” post
posted at 1:33 pm on April 15, 2008 by Allahpundit
Obligatory because it’s one of those stories that no one cares about on the merits but which encapsulates the conservative and liberal worldviews so perfectly that it’d almost be cruel to deny blog readers the chance to rant about it. Rugged individualism vs. nanny statism, played out on a canvas of the most innocent of childhood pastimes. Should they ban it outright? Regulate it with new rules? Or go the libertarian route and let these kids experience recess red in tooth and claw? That scraped knee isn’t an injury, son; it’s a badge of freedom.
Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School, has told students they may no longer play tag during recess after determining that the game of chasing, dodging and yelling “You’re it!” had gotten out of hand. Hooker explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game “of intense aggression.”…
“We are regulating the fun out of normal childhood activity,” said Jan van Tol, father of a Kent Gardens sixth-grader. “In our effort to be so overprotective, we are not letting children be children.”
Gerri Swarm, secretary of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, said she was glad the principal was taking seriously student concerns about being pushed or shoved. “In this day and age, you can’t dismiss this as something not to worry about,” she said…
“This is not the old-fashioned tag, where you could use two fingers and you would be it and move on to someone else,” Hooker said. The game, she said, has become much more aggressive. “I call it the nouveau tag.” [The French is for extra gravitas. -- ed.]
This tag involves grabbing people who do not necessarily know they are playing and possibly bumping them to the ground. “Then the kids do ‘pyramiding’ or ‘towering.’ They pile on each other. [Sometimes] they call it ‘jailhouse’ or ‘jailbreak,’ ” because the child has to break out, she said.
Follow the link for the predictable quotes about the school’s competing missions to protect Our Children and prepare them for the harsh realities of life. Exit question: The kids aren’t allowed to break dance either? What kind of school is this?
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: 1 2 Next »
If you haven’t been walloped in the face with a big red ball, you haven’t lived.
lorien1973 on April 15, 2008 at 1:35 PM
lol what a bozo
Tacitus on April 15, 2008 at 1:37 PM
AP has absolutely been itchin for a good game of tag…
Wind Rider on April 15, 2008 at 1:38 PM
I must be one of only three children who survived the 50′s.
Well, maybe only two of us made it.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 1:38 PM
It stings……….but it sure builds character.
omnipotent on April 15, 2008 at 1:40 PM
I would expect a game with the name ‘nouveau tag’ to be a bit more pansy-ish… with the kids surrendering everytime the ‘it’ kid even looked their way.
I sucked at tag, but this banning makes me sad.
the goddess anna on April 15, 2008 at 1:40 PM
When I was kid, we dangled from metal bars over concrete at recess, and wearing a helmet while riding a bike was unheard of.
Are there statutes of limitations on child abuse, or can I still have the police bring my parents in?
frankj on April 15, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Nope, make it at least three of us. You haven’t seen aggressive ’til you’ve played dodge ball the way we played it in school.
TooTall on April 15, 2008 at 1:41 PM
So I take it “Smear the Queer” is out.
Squarestate on April 15, 2008 at 1:41 PM
Role model Michael Vick was unavailable for comment.
dmann on April 15, 2008 at 1:41 PM
All America needs is more pasty-faced, sickly looking tots, who have no conception of physical exercise.
Good job – public schools. Good job.
OhEssYouCowboys on April 15, 2008 at 1:42 PM
The horrible, cruel and sadistic practices we inflict upon the youngest among us…dodgeball, kickball, line soccer, hide and seek…they all just so reek of … of …. competition that vile scourge!
Wind Rider on April 15, 2008 at 1:42 PM
I guess BB gun wars are really banned. Ahhhh memories ;:- )
abinitioadinfinitum on April 15, 2008 at 1:42 PM
Well, since AP started the break dancing references, I call it Tag II, Electric Boogaloo.
James on April 15, 2008 at 1:43 PM
My guess is predominantly white?
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 1:44 PM
So if we ban Monopoly there’d be no slumlords? How long before the class action suit against Parker Brothers? It’s tag fer cryin’ out loud, I played it in crowded bars in my 20′s.
trubble on April 15, 2008 at 1:44 PM
Eh, mixed feelings about this. The schools have stopped disciplining kids, and can’t expel thugs, and class sizes are quite large, so you have a real Lord of the Flies thing going on at schools.
You could have recess with 60 kids playing rough and tumble games if Sister MaryFrancis was a threat to appear out of nowhere with her yardstick of doom if you crossed a line into serious violence. That threat is no longer in play, so …..
funky chicken on April 15, 2008 at 1:45 PM
That’s it. It’s about time they outlawed that dangerous and despicable game before someone got a complex from it.
We should make it mandatory for all children to wear helmets, protective pads for knees and elbows, mouthgaurds and have them carried to all of their classes so as not to risk a trip and fall. God forbid these kids actually get a scab. Moreover, I submit an idea to render any further testing to exclude actual scoring. We don’t want any children to actually feel as if they are ahead or behind anyone else. Also, we should keep these kids from watching any sports on tv or otherwise so as to shield them from the idea that there are winners and losers in sports.
The pussification of American children is far from complete, however, we are making progress. /
Geronimo on April 15, 2008 at 1:46 PM
sigh more concise statement of my point
funky chicken on April 15, 2008 at 1:46 PM
It’s almost enough to make you think they’re at the Jefferson Memorial or something.
its vintage duh on April 15, 2008 at 1:47 PM
And bottle rocket wars. Ahh, the good old days.
Geronimo on April 15, 2008 at 1:47 PM
Then some A-hole showed up with a pellet rifle and ruined the whole thing.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 1:48 PM
To the tune of “America the
BeautifulPussies.”OhEssYouCowboys on April 15, 2008 at 1:49 PM
I suppose then that “Smear the Queer” is long dead.
Those bastards.
Mindfists on April 15, 2008 at 1:49 PM
Hahaha!! Oh man have times changed. And what a flashback you just provided me. I can distinctly remember my mom asking me what I did at school and responding by telling her that we played “smear the queer” again at recess. She didn’t think much of it. Its not like we were beating up homosexual kids. I can guarantee you that none of us even thought of that word as having any sexual connotation at all. I cannot imagine what would happen today if a public school teacher heard kids say that they were playing “smear the queer” at recess. It would probably be on the news that night. Unreal.
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 1:50 PM
My brother and I were at the doctor almost monthly getting stitches, in this day and age my parents would have been scrutinized to no end, but we were just rambuctious boys.Naturally, he became a hockey player.
bbz123 on April 15, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Ya know, HA is my homepage. I do love it. But, I’m getting kinda depressed, when I read about what’s happening to America. I know. I know. I can’t be an ostrich with my head in the ground, but this shit is getting depressing.
OhEssYouCowboys on April 15, 2008 at 1:51 PM
True! He said he would only pump his gun one time. That liar.
abinitioadinfinitum on April 15, 2008 at 1:53 PM
That was our favorite game! Harsh but fun.
ronsfi on April 15, 2008 at 1:53 PM
“Smear the Queer” is long dead.”
Yes, you will be dragged off to the violence re-education camp and the gay agenda re-education camp if you resort to such antics.
I used to love that game. I always wanted to get the ball, even though the only reward for getting the ball was to get tackled.
Another great game was “push down”, where the kids on the top of the hill pushed down any kid trying to get to the top of the hill.
And we played these games without anyone getting sued or without the principal needing smelling salts.
NoDonkey on April 15, 2008 at 1:54 PM
Professional?
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 1:56 PM
There it is! All our troubles are from .177 slugs.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 1:56 PM
I believe the break dance ban stems from the “You Got Served” dance wars from a couple of years ago. Bad times those were.
Shtetl G on April 15, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Instead of playing tag … the tots should just form a circle and discuss Marxism/Leninism, and how it should be applied in everyday life.
OhEssYouCowboys on April 15, 2008 at 2:01 PM
Meanwhile… actual targeted bullying is routinely ignored…
Sounds to me like the gin control debate all over again.
Does anyone really think banning tag is going to stop the trouble makers?
Never stopped them from coming after me…
Sackett on April 15, 2008 at 2:03 PM
I had a group of friends who lived down my street who played this game. Never got into it myself, for, you know, fear of getting shot combined with a lack of trust in regards to the adherance to the predetermined agreement about gun pumping limitations. In college, I knew a group of guys who would get drunk, strap on football shoulderpads, buckle on a helmet and try to run from one side of the room to the other while trying to avoid flying darts. Wasn’t a big fan of that game either.
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 2:04 PM
Our game was called “Kill the guy with the ball”.
2 broken arms and one separated shoulder later, we all survived.
mylegsareswollen on April 15, 2008 at 2:06 PM
This seems to me to be the only objectionable part.
So, uh, instead of banning the game? How about just making a rule that you have to be PLAYING the game voluntarily?
Romeo13 on April 15, 2008 at 2:06 PM
That was a great game. Brutal but fun.
ronsfi on April 15, 2008 at 2:07 PM
Have you ever shot Roman Candles at each other? That’s what my brother and cousin and I did one 4th of July.
cjs1943 on April 15, 2008 at 2:08 PM
We used to play dodge ball with a basketball.
One person would get the basketball, and the rest of the kids would line up against a brick wall and try not to get hit. If you got hit, you were out. If you caught the ball, it was your turn to throw it. And everyone who was out was now back in.
Anyone getting hit in the face cried and didn’t play for a while. But then, no one tried to hit anyone in the face. It was accidental if it happened.
We’re raising a bunch of wimps nowdays.
AteMyFoot on April 15, 2008 at 2:08 PM
That’s how I met my wife.
Hening on April 15, 2008 at 2:09 PM
As my old mum used to say “It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Then it’s just plain hilarious”!
Trafalgar on April 15, 2008 at 2:12 PM
Seriously though, right now I’m reading “Lone Survivor” by US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. His wonderful experiences growing up in Texas, swimming, fighting off the occasional alligator, running night and day, prepared him to become a SEAL (and win the Navy Cross). The on-going ‘sissification’ of our children by absurd school administrators will eventually deny us the ability to field armed forces who are repected and feared throughout the world. But at least we’ll be able to surrendser without scars on our knees and elbows.
Trafalgar on April 15, 2008 at 2:18 PM
I’d say bring guns to school.
Let them kids shoot each other.
If one crazy kid can bring his dad’s gun and shoot other kids, then the other kids should have the right to carry guns to protect themselves.
If we’re going to allow it at universities, then we should allow it at schools as well.
We live in a jungle anyway, does it matter who’s carrying a gun nowadays?
You can’t take away guns and you won’t be able to stop a kid from bringing a gun at school.
So be it. Let them play with guns too not just tag.
You think it ain’t gonna happen in the future?
Wait and see.
Indy Conservative on April 15, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Ahhh. The memories. We used to play army with BB guns and shoot bottle rockets across the creek at each other’s forts.
My dad did draw the line when he caught us lobbing M80′s as hand grenades. Great fun. I feel sorry for the kids today.
BacaDog on April 15, 2008 at 2:24 PM
We played BB gun wars in the landfill behind one of my friends houses. Good good fun. How does a parent raise his or her child today to not become a total pansy. I’m curious as to how some of the posters on hot air are doing it.
gator70 on April 15, 2008 at 2:32 PM
Huh? So you think banning tag means that we are heading in the direction of legalizing school kids to bring hand guns to school? You lost me there Indy.
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 2:36 PM
I recall my PE teacher in elementary school letting us box for two rounds during PE (punching in the face and head was allowed). Dodge ball was also part of the PE curriculum, at least twice a week. My old PE teacher would probably be arrested and on the national news nowadays.
Rick on April 15, 2008 at 2:38 PM
It seems that the problem is more about bullying than tag when it involves tackling people who are not playing to enlist them in the game. I think the point that most people are missing is that some students aren’t respecting others, but I’m sure that their behavior extends beyond that exhibited in the game of tag anyway. I think it would have been better to discipline those students that are being overly aggressive instead of banning the game outright. It would go a long way to demonstrate what should be acceptable behavior on the playground.
According to some on this board, fistfights and stoning would also be acceptable.
threeCents on April 15, 2008 at 2:41 PM
Bravo. See, we can’t punish individuals who will use the “tag” excuse to go rough up some kid who wasn’t in the game, because it might hurt the individual thug’s self esteem. We as a society have chosen blanket bans of entire classes of activities over punishing individual violators. I read something about this a while back that was excellent, but can’t remember where.
funky chicken on April 15, 2008 at 2:41 PM
Fistfights and stoning aren’t games. Well, aside from boxing but they don’t even have that in high school.
Geronimo on April 15, 2008 at 2:48 PM
Don’t ban anything. Well, ban guns if you can.
What I’m saying is:
There will be a time when everything will be allowed whether we like it or not. It will come naturally.
This society is progressing towards permissiveness.
Everything will be allowed.
We are witnessing the decline of America in progress.
Got it now?
Indy Conservative on April 15, 2008 at 2:48 PM
Couldn’t they have tag where everybody is always it? That way nobody ever loses.
exhelodrvr on April 15, 2008 at 2:49 PM
That’s true, but when activities like it become part are games that normally aren’t like that, it becomes a problem. Picking on a kid that is not playing the game and piling-on does not build character, as at least one person has said, it is called bullying. Perhaps you should read the story a little more closely.
threeCents on April 15, 2008 at 3:01 PM
I guess they don’t allow taser tag either. Now that one gets aggressive.
saiga on April 15, 2008 at 3:05 PM
We had a broken arm and a broken wrist from monkey bar falls at my kids’ school this year, if that helps restore anyone’s faith in America.
Bike helmets for kids? Yeah, we didn’t have them, but they are a good idea and we SHOULD have had them.
The rough and tumble days when our parents took us in for stitches. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH STITCHES COST THESE DAYS??? A couple staples cost us $125, and that’s WITH insurance.
tlynch001 on April 15, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Please.
There were bullies in school. I don’t remember any bodies hitting the floor. There was a simple (if looked down upon) solution. Tell. The teacher then wholloped the bully and the problem was over.
There ya go Lim, spouting off about how violence solves everything.
Sorry, but I don’t remember any bodies hitting the floor when I was in school. There was the odd bloody nose, but it taught us all that noses bleed on both sides of the aisle.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 3:17 PM
We called it “War Ball” – can’t imagine that being allowed today. No rules, no holds barred. Kids got hurt – and survived. *gasp* Did some kids go too far? Of course. Did the school ban War Ball or Dodgeball? Nope – the kids who went too far were punished. Imagine that! *gasp*
KrisinNE on April 15, 2008 at 3:20 PM
I read about this story first on Amazon of all places. I get that they’re probably trying to skirt lawsuits by making it so nobody plays as opposed to the bullies, but geez.
“Intense aggression.” I went to elem school in the 80s and 90s, and we called our dodgeball “murderball,” and it was definitely aggressive, but we all survived. A few trips to the office for an icepack, but otherwise…good times.
Dubn8tr on April 15, 2008 at 3:21 PM
I was born in ’89, so this “Smear the Queer” you old folks keep referencing is foreign to me. I assume it’s somewhat like what we used to have when I was a boy, “Kill the Man with the Ball.” Not as catchy a title, but when I was a kid queer already had sexual implications.
Anyway, if tag is out, what about “Punch-for-Punch?” Now there was some good fun.
Gunhaver on April 15, 2008 at 3:24 PM
It’s alright ma, I’m only bleeding.
Sasnak on April 15, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Dear Lord,
So what does this make Mumbly Peg? Serial murderer training?
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 3:27 PM
How about those folded paper things the girls would make where you pick a color and then a number, and it would say something demeaning? Do kids now go to sensitivity training for that?
Sanjoboy on April 15, 2008 at 3:29 PM
Dude, I was born in ’82, and I played smear the queer! My mother didn’t think much of the name, though. The punch game got me thinking about something. I play the Sims 2, and there’s a game where the Sims take turns punching each other in the arms. It makes me smile every time one of my Sims plays it autonomously.
My boys and daughter are covered in bruises from wrestling with each other. No shorts for them – don’t want people to think I’m abusing them or anything!
the goddess anna on April 15, 2008 at 3:31 PM
I’m proud that my son’s High School sponsors a “War Ball” tournament, in which the teachers also participate.
PappaMac on April 15, 2008 at 3:34 PM
No more “Tag: you’re it!!”: now it’s something like “Touche: you’re fully equal to the rest of us!” on the playground?
Is the next generation doomed to be totally defenseless and completely unable to make decisions? I thought learning to compete and deal with adversity was a useful…no, an essential life skill!
The schools are making our kids helpless little permanent dependents!
landlines on April 15, 2008 at 3:41 PM
This is exactly what my DH was talking about when he said that the school system has turned our kids (boys, in particular) into a bunch of pansies. He is convinced that this is why these school shootings carry on as long as they do because, years ago, the boys would have tackled the person shooting their friends and girlfriends and stopped it quickly. Boys are no longer being raised to be “protectors” but, instead, are being raised to be pacifiers.
Conservative_SAHM on April 15, 2008 at 3:43 PM
Heh, heh, I love that game…
Unfortunately today, it’s stand around and play a rousing game of “multi-cultural self actualisation”…
Wyznowski on April 15, 2008 at 3:44 PM
You’ll put your eye out, kid!
;) Sorry, I just had to!
Pulchritudinous Patriot on April 15, 2008 at 3:52 PM
I think so. Do you mean everything will be underground? Like drugs?
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 3:55 PM
We’ll just have a bunch of druggies playing tag
Zetterson on April 15, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Well, I have 2 girls. One is 8 and the other 13. Both are a bit tomboyish, and each have had !GASP! toy guns, baseball bats etc. I also run a nudist Barbie and Ken colony in my spare time! I also encourage then to play and play hard. We play tag as a family and on family get togethers (2 aunts, 2 uncles and 6 cousins, plus me and my two) we usually get up a good game of football (tackle or flag)or badmitton or dodge ball.
Oh, I’ve also taken both of the girls to the firing range and taught them how to shoot, gun safety etc, etc.
Pulchritudinous Patriot on April 15, 2008 at 3:59 PM
A lot of people seem to have this idyllic vision of children playing tag in the schoolyard, and forget that “innocent” kids can sometimes be just as vicious as adults. If the kids are using tag as an excuse to beat each other up, it’s the school’s responsibility to put a stop to that behavior if it can. Also, the school has to be concerned about its own liability and expenses in a case like this.
Big S on April 15, 2008 at 4:03 PM
I remember taking turns poking at each other with sharpened pencils on the school bus. I still have a piece of graphite in my finger from that one. And, by the creek we would throw rocks in to splash each other, which was fine until my brother threw a rock that landed on my hand while I picked up another. But, thirty minutes later the swelling did go down.
It’s hard to figure out where to draw the line with my kids, who are quite rambunctious but need to be kept safe. Basically, we have the bike helmets but don’t freak out if we see one of them ride around the yard without it….
cs89 on April 15, 2008 at 4:08 PM
Oh, and the worst thing happened while playing tackle football in a cowpasture. A friend landed face first in a cow patty- with an open mouth (eww!)
cs89 on April 15, 2008 at 4:10 PM
Hmmm…this banning of Tag is a depressing statement on the wussification of American kids. It makes me want to run through the house with a pair of scissors.
Lunkinator on April 15, 2008 at 4:18 PM
Typical.
Ban the game outright, rather than actually monitor what goes on, and stop it when things get out of hand.
But, that would involve disciplining the kids. School officials don’t allow their teachers to do that anymore, so better to get rid of it entirely.
I’m all for safety, and even for having kids wear helmets, knees, and elbow pads. (I’d have died in a childhood bike accident, involving a car, if I hadn’t been wearing my helmet.)
But, bit by bit, we are taking their childhoods away from them.
Hawkins1701 on April 15, 2008 at 4:20 PM
Fair points all.
I worry, though, that this is going to continue until kids can’t do much of anything on the playground anymore, because they might get hurt.
I’d suggest “Ultimate Frisbee” as a good alternative to tag, but then something tells me that they wouldn’t want that, because the kids might get hit by the frisbee.
Hawkins1701 on April 15, 2008 at 4:26 PM
That’s a regular event now during our neighborhood block parties every New Year’s & 4th of July. Last 4th my 12 year old son won and this New Year’s my 17 year old son was the winner. I can’t figure out why my 10 year old daughter hasn’t shown an interest yet… although she can’t wait until she gets to play paintball with us!
;-)
Pachyderm on April 15, 2008 at 4:31 PM
First of all, the discussion is not about when you were in school. Let’s keep this within the context of the story. Tag was not the issue, it was certain children who were being abusive to other students through the game, and the school that went overboard by banning it. As the story states:
I’m taken aback by the cavalier attitude you have toward this behavior on kids who are just minding their own business. You may not remember “…bodies hitting the floor”, but this quote sure sounds like it to me. I’m shocked that you think this is tolerable within the context of this story. It’s one thing if they’re all agreeing to participate, it’s another to be forced into it.
threeCents on April 15, 2008 at 4:32 PM
Be shocked all you want. Make sure you keep all those little victims in the world safe while you’re at it. If you need any help with the knitting or fung shui classes you’ll have to ask someone else.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 4:36 PM
One more thing: this is just a school recess, so it’s 30 minutes, tops, per day that the kids can’t play tag. Once the final bell rings, they can go home and beat each other up all they want. Maybe the school just got tired of sending a dozen or so kids to the school nurse every day after recess to bandage up the scrapes and cuts.
Big S on April 15, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Now that’s talking! Great points, makes sense.
Look, I have no problem with the school getting involved to control any rowdy behavior, but instead of making some kind of carpet ban on something maybe they just need to take the bullies to the carpet. All this PC coddling is getting us is woosiefied.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 4:50 PM
What happened to punishing the kids who misbehave and letting the rest play tag (or not)? The game isn’t the problem, the problem is the undisciplined punks and the knee-jerk reaction of the principle.
Pachyderm on April 15, 2008 at 4:54 PM
It figures that you’d result to personal insults when your arguments run dry. Perhaps you’d more comfortable posting at the Daily Kos where they accept this type of drivel. It tells all of us a lot your true character, doesn’t it?
threeCents on April 15, 2008 at 4:56 PM
Yep. You can find me there. Come on over. Nice and ‘cavalier’ there.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 5:01 PM
I taught in public schools for a couple of years, and in my experience, the PC crap is used as a cop-out just as often as it is the origin of the school’s concerns. Sometimes it’s easier (but not necessarily the best idea) to blame the game than it is to single out a few rowdy kids for punishement. I taught in both affluent suburban and poor inner-city schools, and each of them has their own reasons for this. I the affluent area, the degree to which lawyers and psychiatrists are involved in each student’s education is appalling, and the school might want to avoid dealing with them. In the rougher schools, where loyalties are strong and violence often gets out of hand, the school might not want to deal with ongoing consequences of any playground issues.
Big S on April 15, 2008 at 5:14 PM
Point(s) taken Big S. I am just lamenting, I guess that’s being cavalier, over the fact that bullies get to keep the lunch money while Johnny goes hungry. Ain’t right, but that is the way we have allowed the system to go.
Limerick on April 15, 2008 at 5:17 PM
If I may say, it sounds more like laziness on the part of the administration than anything else. It would seem to me that not disciplining those responsible doesn’t help the kids who are acting badly nor does it help set behavioral standards through a teaching moment. My “buddy”, Limerick, may want a more anarchic stance, but the ultimate goal should be to teach responsibility, accountability and respect for each other rather than to shuffle problems under the rug so the behavior can appear elsewhere in more egregious forms.
threeCents on April 15, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Maybe there’s a laziness component to it, but if the cost of policing games of tag greatly outweighs the apparent benefits of it, the school is likely to ban the game on its premises.
Big S on April 15, 2008 at 5:52 PM
I see your point. However, banning the game solves the teachers’ problem rather than the students’ behavioral problems.
threeCents on April 15, 2008 at 6:05 PM
Another issue is that many parents today are perfectly happy to sue when something happens to their child (no matter how small).
Your kid got tackled on the playground even though they weren’t playing a game of tag – sue the school for not protecting them
Your kid got tackled on the playground even though they WERE playing a game of tag – sue the school for not anticipating that the game would get out of hand
Your kid keeps getting in trouble for being to rough in the game of tag – sue the school for singling out your kid when other kids are play too
It may only be a few parents that are “sue happy”, but, in the end, it makes it far easier to just institute a blanket ban in these instances than to deal with the possibility of a lawsuit.
JadeNYU on April 15, 2008 at 6:09 PM
…and someone threw the frisbee it at someone else…
…and the frisbee is plastic…
You can’t give in to the PC insanity…not one inch…because they are never satisfied: no extreme escalation of the insanity will ever be enough for them!
Look at what they’ve done to kids’ baseball!! No pitching, no competition, no scoring: complete Wussification. I hope there’s a real need for compliant pansies with absolutely no guts and no competitive skills or ambition in the world of the future!!
When I was a kid I’m just glad we had actual sandlots where we could play a real game of baseball whenever we wanted, with whoever was available! Real pitching, real bats, real hard ball. Yeah, windows got broken, and sometimes kids got bloody noses and scraped knees!!! Sometimes we had to negotiate with bigger kids for equipment or lot time: and sometimes fists flew! But we all lived…really lived!!!
landlines on April 15, 2008 at 6:41 PM
My favorite game to teach the meaning of life:
Kill the Ball Carrier!!!! Throw a ball up in the air, the one who has the most guys goes after the ball (i.e. Who’s the risk taker). The rest of the guys…try and kill him.
What a great game for kids though!!
HarryStar on April 15, 2008 at 7:36 PM
My children were given a list of new rules recently. First among them was “no tag”. I told the principal that I would not support that decision. Other rules were just as stupid such as no kicking of “red” balls.
Our schools have gone asinine on us.
crosspatch on April 15, 2008 at 8:16 PM
oh no…what will be banned next water balloons? let’s see, can’t play ball, can’t play tag…maybe they think the kids will just stand around and chat during recess.
kanda on April 15, 2008 at 8:22 PM
Playing tag is becoming outlawed,but is dodge ball
on the list?
canopfor on April 15, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Remember the 4 pump rule? I always preferred the Red Rider. 1 pump, 1 shot.
We always had a sore loser who you’d want to avoid. He’d be the one who, after getting plugged, you’d hear sitting behind a tree pumping the ole Crossman up enough to kill a moose.
BowHuntingTexas on April 15, 2008 at 10:19 PM
On the contrary, Smear the Queer is an official policy plank in the Democrat platform.
Jaibones on April 15, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Comment pages: 1 2 Next »