I'll tell you, there's nothing like a good run around the schoolyard for the kids. However the schools don't allow it anymore, not only because of the *unions* but liability-- if one kid trips over his own feet and breaks his nose, the school and the teacher will be held responsible. So no one dares suggest it!
Unscrupulous lawyers and litigation have ruined childhood for our kids. I would propose jumping rope as an alternative, but then some Ritalin-drugged kid would probably try to hang himself or another kid from the monkey bars.
Best thing to do is to keep our kids out of public school; but if that is not possible, keep a close watch on what is going on. I fully intend to, as I've had to get back to work and can't homeschool my kids this year.
Certified teachers, safe school grounds and supervised activity would not make lawsuits an easy target.
Think about it...how many teachers are out-of-classification for the subject matter, how many playgrounds are unsafe, and is the supervision adequate for the number of students?
I see school programs all the time which do not meet my expectations for level of safety on all these criteria.
If classroom teachers were even helped to understand some of the things that can be done safely in the classroom...it would be one big step!
The kid who gets to pass out the papers etc, and gets to move around, is always the one who can sit still and be in control! Let the "wiggler" do it!!
I could go on and on!!!!!