[annyokie]

More recess time would solve that Ritalin issue. Of course you can't play dodge-ball in gym anymore and running around the playground is considered dangerous.

I guess there's still smoking in the boys room and dropping explosives down the plumbing.

[StatesEnemy]

Of course you can't play dodge-ball in gym anymore

Dodge ball? Us dudes would find the far field (away from nanny 'monitors') and play "Kill the guy with the ball"

[Poohbah]

I guess there's still smoking in the boys room and dropping explosives down the plumbing.

Ah, memories...some of us who thought that 8th grade was the best five years of our lives...

[Welsh Rabbit]

Of course you can't play dodge-ball in gym anymore and running around the playground is considered dangerous.

I had to do some work at an elementary school playground a couple of weeks ago. I was disgusted by the extreme safety measures; the swings and slide were only about five feet high, the swing chains were covered with protective plastic to prevent pinching, and most the yard was covered with soft, cushiony rubber.

[Frapster]

We used to play 'smear the queer' when I was in gradeschool. Of course then it was nothing more than a game of 'keep away'. Someone would get a ball and start running and it was our job to tackle him. I was in 4th grade at the time and we didn't know what homosexuality was - much less to associate 'queer' with such activity. We might as well called it 'smear the wierdo' or something else. Bah - it would still be to un-PC.

[cookcounty]

"More recess time would solve that Ritalin issue. Of course you can't play dodge-ball in gym anymore and running around the playground is considered dangerous.

Interesting comment.

Are we the only ones that have noticed that recess for elementary school is far shorter and much more restricted than it used to be? Any one else care to comment?

[tiki]

You are right there. The kids are not allowed to run on most playgrounds.

My son, who had never been a problem started acting up in 5th grade. Come to find out his punishment for any infraction was loss of recess and I just told the teacher he better think of a different punishment or live with the results.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

"More recess time would solve that Ritalin issue."

This would help, a dog-tired kid will sit still. And, once you can get a kid to sit still, they can learn.
More male teachers would help. I still remember the positive impact that one 4th grade teacher had on one of my sons. This guy had a black belt in Karate, he had once been in NYFD and he had a Phd. He commanded instant respect from every unruly boy in the class, and they strove to excel in every subject just to earn a little praise from this teacher.
Years later this same son had a run-in with a boy-hating (old hag) vice-principal who believed every lie from every little girl, and banished every boy she could. My son survived, and to this day, this vice-principal never stays in one school long; they keep shuffling her around (but she has tenure).

[Held_to_Ransom]

I have taken the battle to new heights.

I am an indenpendent business person, and I do appreciate the jury system, but I get called now every year simply because they know I will come. So, on the last application I put down that I have ADD(? ADT - I can't remember, I must have walked out during the commercial.) I certainly do by all the commonly cited symptoms. In particular, I get really bored, particularly in front of TV or in a meeting or classroom. As long as I can remember I have found it helpful to close my eyes to in order to not loose track of what someone boring is saying to me, and people hate that. I can't imagine the judge would like it, but watching most people go about their business makes me think the world has shifted into slow motion.

Not bragging, but I recently read the autobiography of a famous lawyer. In the book, he included a sworn testament from a business partner who watched him write a speech to give to a political convention in the evening of the same day while in the afternoon he handled a law suit in court. He won the case and finished the speech all in the same afternoon. He never took notes in court as he believed that if he couldn't remember something about the case, neither could the jury. No doubt the judge believed he was taking notes. I am not so sure society would be better off by eliminating such people.

[Mr. Mojo]

More recess time would solve that Ritalin issue. Of course you can't play dodge-ball in gym anymore and running around the playground is considered dangerous.

We used to play a great game in jr. high phys ed. that I'm sure isn't allowed anymore. It was called "medicine ball." Four guys crouched at each corner of a huge wrestling mat with a big heavy medicine ball placed in the center. When the instuctor blew the whistle we'd crawl as fast as we could to the ball and attempted to wrestle it to our corner. The fights that naturally ensued were epic, and outrageously fun.