Boys all sitting like rocks in a circle at recess

[LindaCl]

Have we lost our ever lovin' minds? Starting this fall, elementary schools in this area banned running on the playground for all students up to third grade. Brilliant, eh? They worry about those boo-boos and bangups on the playground, thus........"free range" running is banned.

So now when I drive past the playgrounds when there is a recess, I see something I've never seen before: these glumps of boys sitting on the ground with their legs folded, in circles. I presume it's because they forgot themselves, broke the rule and were forced to sit out the recess.

Aghhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! Every dang year, it gets worse with yet another totally asinine new policy passed down by the Grand Poobah experts in education. Heck, with this many boys unable to ignore their own natural, healthy instincts to run, it's still too dangerous for them to be allowed to walk either. I say just put these poor fragile creatures in a padded puppy crate and carry them from place to place bungee strapped on a luggage cart.

[Maggieinnh]

:

And at the same time they worry about obesity!

[CathMac]

Originally Posted by Maggieinnh

:

And at the same time they worry about obesity!

And why they can't sit still in class. But I guess that's what Ritalin is for.
~Cath

[BusyMommy]

: Pls bring that one up to the school board!!

[USAmma]

Are you kidding me?! that is soooo . . I have no words.

[supervee]

Ridiculous! I want to see bumps and scrapes (and mud and paint) on my kids after school. I can't imagine what a difference experience it would be to have kids in a school that had constricting rules about recess. I'd be yelling all the time, I'm afraid!

[2crazykids]

OK, Teacher-Mom here!

That's the most stupid, assinine, backward, crap I have ever read!

This is unnacceptable! What do the other parents, teachers, and community members say?

Contact the superintendent, local news media, doctors, child advocacy groups, PTA/PTO, do ANYTHING to stop this rule. It serves no good and no purpose for the children.

I cannot understand how anyone thought this was a good idea!:

Wanna give us the school district so we can all make a stink?

Talk about schools being like prisons.

Please, please do something about this and keep us posted. Let us know how we can help. This is cruel and unusual treatment of young children.

[Momily]

Blech!

How are kids supposed to learn to keep themselves safe if we put so many rules on them that they can't experiment and find their own boundaries? :

[Jazzmin]

OMG, that is unacceptable. Children need to run, esp. the littler ones. Geez, how can people possibly think young children will willingly be still for 7+ hours a day. I would be in the school raising h-e-double-hockey-sticks.

[muse]

Where is the logic?

Can you take them a copy of Raising Cain???

[kate~mom]

are you KIDDING????? that is the most ridiculous policy i have ever heard. why even have recess? :

[karne]

While I don't have it at my finger-tips, I think that there has been some mainstream media press regarding the link between activity and learning (all very positive), indicating that doing away with active recess is going in the wrong direction! Someone else might know more specifics on this...It's always helpful to have a study to back you up, although this policy is so wrong it is a no-brainer!

[wildmonkeys]

That is weird. I have never heard of such a thing in any school system.

[Zach'smom]

What!!!!! Where so you live??? That is the craziest thing I have ever heard!!!!

Ds's teacher carries a first aid box with her at recess. That way when someone hurts themselves she can patch them back up. That is what little kids do! That's why we fill out emergency cards!

Has the school been sued because a child was injured playing at recess??

[Momily]

I have to say as a teacher that while I think this is really really awful, it is not the "most ridiculous" recess I've heard of.

The prize for that went to the reading program we used at my old school that suggested that you take your kindergarteners out and make them run laps for 10 minutes instead of recess. The argument was that since recess is about preventing obesity that would be an efficient way to meet that need.

Recess is about so much more than preventing obesity, it's about making friends, negotiating rules, making your own choices, getting different kinds of sensory input, having fun, an many many more things. Above all it's a chance for kids to have a choice and not be told exactly what to do!

Needless to say we skipped that particular direction in my class.

[rabrog]

Huh. You guys are just now hearing about this? It was all over the news last year when this "no running" thing started going into effect at elementary schools across the country. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it til now.

I totally agree - it's awful and I'd be in the office, at the school board raising hell about it if that were the policy at my kid's school.

So we now have crappy high fat, high sugar lunches and no running at recess and limited or no PE class...yep, that's the way to do it! :

Jenn

[LindaCl]

Originally Posted by Momily

The prize for that went to the reading program we used at my old school that suggested that you take your kindergarteners out and make them run laps for 10 minutes instead of recess. The argument was that since recess is about preventing obesity that would be an efficient way to meet that need.

Oh geez. You're right. That's even worse. Kill the natural joy children have to run, climb, jump etc by punishing them for doing it when they happily play. Replace it with a slogging exercise regimen that just about all children will certainly hate. Yeah, what more perfect cure for the obesity problem in this country.

You're so right that recess is more than exercise. It's so important for children to experience and experiment with fantasy play, with working together, forming friendships, negotiating conflicts and to experience the rejuvenating joy of being outside in the fresh air, sun, cold, etc.

Sometimes I think some of these *experts* are in the wrong profession. They are following a guidebook designed for building robots.

[CarrieMF]

While I don't have it at my finger-tips, I think that there has been some mainstream media press regarding the link between activity and learning (all very positive), indicating that doing away with active recess is going in the wrong direction!

yup. In my dd's Grade 1 class during reading if a kid can't figure out the word blend she has them do actions to remember. She says they now know(compared to when we were in school) that movement helps kids learn, that even a little action like that helps the kids.

This isn't the first I've heard of this no-recess stuff. Here though they don't have silly policies like that. In the province there is In Motion In the Education in Motion section there is a few research links.

Unfortunatly it stops in Grade 7 at some of the schools here but it's just another reason why we plan to move to a different community.

[blizzard_babe]

Well... it's ridiculous.

But just as ridiculous... We had a parent raise a stink at school because her son fell down while running on the playdeck (we don't have a playground because tundra is smooshy and wet) and strained his finger. She claimed that the teacher was "not paying attention" and "letting him get too wild," even though he was just running around, doing normal first grade things, and both the teacher and the aide were actively involved with the students' activities.

Schools are so afraid of getting sued, they're banning just about everything. One school in our district got rid of all its playground equiment because a student (who was using the equipment not during school hours, with no parental supervision) broke his wrist and the parents threatened to sue. So... no more swings or monkey bars for that village.

Some people just refuse to accept that kids get bumped around if they play the way that kids play.

[Maggieinnh]

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

One school in our district got rid of all its playground equiment because a student (who was using the equipment not during school hours, with no parental supervision) broke his wrist and the parents threatened to sue. So... no more swings or monkey bars for that village.

If I would live in that community I would rally pretty much everybody around to get rid of that family and I for sure would raise hell with everybody involved removing the playground equipment!
Where the heck is this going to end? Everybody has to give up their freedoms just because some money making maniacs threaten to sue!!! :