Posted on 04/15/2008 1:10:36 PM PDT by Proverbs 3-5
A playground pastime is getting a timeout this spring at a McLean elementary school.
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."
The principal said that her goal is to keep students safe and that she hopes to restore tag (as well as touch football, also now on hold) after teachers and administrators review recess policies.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Didn’t Monk cover this in an episode?
I totally forgot about that game.
LOL.....
It's all about FEEELLLIIINNGGSSSS!
Oh, oh, oh feelings.
Can you imagine these empty headed, cowards defending our country if we have a war on our soil?
They've been taught to be petrified of a GUN!!!
Heck, they won't have to fight us. All they'll have to do is insult them verbally and they'll cry and submit. The sight of a gun may cause many to faint.
LOL. What the Hell???
“intense aggression” = boys playing and getting it out of their system.
Now they’re going to wonder why there’s more “violence” in the hallways, classrooms, and after school.
The inmates really are running the asylum.
I saw this happening to my son in the nineties.(Sissyfication) What did I do ? Took him to Nascar races in the infield,taught him to handle a gun then to hunt . Dang, now he is a better shot than I am & he loves and respects women and America too !
Welcome to FR.
I did the same for my Daughters.
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.
Sometimes kids get out of control, and it is necessary to restore a reasonable level of order.
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.
Since the prohibition began early this month, physical education teachers have begun a "chasing, fleeing and dodging" unit in first through fifth grades. Students essentially play variations of tag, and the teachers remind them about safety rules and point out the athletic skills they can transfer to other sports, said Sue Straits, a PE teacher.
So basically they can still play tag, and likely will be able to play tag on the playground once again once the school figures out some reasonable rules for what is allowed and what isn't.
It does sound like some of the kids were being overly aggressive to the point where kids were going to get hurt.
They didn't try a zero tolerance approach and call the police and have the kids charged with assault. They just suspended tag long enough to get their teachers on top of the problem.
I'd have rather they just disciplined the particular kids that were causing the problem, but it sounds like the problem was widespread enough that their approach is reasonable.
The old game of Smear the Queer...now it means something else...sadly.......
Kinda if a tag, red rover game....
As kids bacck in the day, fun.
Now. hell..........
Disciplining the kids properly is the solution.
However, haven't we seen more than enough examples of improper discipline.
I don't think there's enough information in the article to tell if they are handling this really well or not, but since they only seem to be temporarily banning tag, and are doing so because it was getting far out of hand, it sure doesn't seem like they are taking a really bad approach, and might even be taking a reasonable approach based on the situation.
They didn't implement a one size, fits all, zero tolerance approach, and that should be recognized and commended. They gained control over a situation where the kids were out of control.
And they appear to be planning on addressing the problem, rather than just permanently banning any behavior that might be close to being a problem.
The could screw things up from where they are now, but I don't think they have done badly so far, despite the spin the author put on it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.