Big Fight on the Playground (Parents Protest as Schools Take the Play Out of Recess)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ^ | Friday, October 10, 2003 | LAUREN LIPTON

[presidio9]

Callaghan Elementary's fourth-graders returned to school this fall to an unusual new recess activity. Worried the nine-year-olds have too much independent playground time, the Virginia school decided to have them walk the track.

"The teachers will make it fun," Principal Nancy Moga says. One possibility: Kids may plot how many miles they've logged for math class.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

We didn't have such a colorful name - it was simply "Tackle the Man With the Ball". And yes, girls weren't invited.

LOL Are you kidding me? I would've LOVED the girls to play! The guys just would've took a longer time "tackling" them LOL!

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

It wasn't a good recess unless someone bled.

Those who bled in recess then wore an impeneterable aura of cool for the rest of the day.

[JoeSixPack1]

He never changed his own oil.

Now that's just flat out UnAmerican!!!!!!!!

[ladylib]

There will be more PE for students in Illinois, but they'll be required to volunteer before graduating from high school.

The Gov of IL and his wife have decided that Illinois children watch too much TV and are neglecting their minds and bodies, so they've decided that students should be forced to "volunteer" in order to better themselves and take more PE classes.

Of course, no one said anything to the parents about whether or not their children watch too much TV or whether they want their children's free time micromanaged by the Nanny State. But what the hell, parents just pay taxes that's all and send their kids to the ever-intruding government schools.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-service10.html

[hattend]

Future Headlines:

"Recess activities ended...ADHD cases increase" News at 11.
"ADHD cases increase...kids overmedicated - Reports show"
"Overmedicated kids go on rampage on plyground - 13 killed, 40 injured - Sarah Brady calls for new gun laws"
"Schools end recess. Say it's for child safety"

Public Schools, Its not just for reading, writing, and math anymore.

[Spiff]

You get what you pay for and you can't gripe about it. If you send your kids to welfare schools, you're going to have to accept whatever they're handing out. Just like if you're in line for the welfare cheese handouts, you can't gripe that they didn't give you Brie.

[blackdog]

"Smear The Queer" is now a College course taught at UW, Madison that involves four well hydrated people of identical gender, a midget, eight double A batteries, and latex gloves.

It's original meaning has been obscured and no longer reflects unfair, competetive, neanderthal play behavior of misdirected adolescents.

[hattend]

Our school yard had windows that opened outward, hinged at the top. If someone was chasing you (you have the ball) and if you got too close to the building it was like a decapitation.

Funny, nobody got sued in those days, either. (60's)

[IYAS9YAS]

Smear the queer (no related meaning to the queers of today), dodge ball, king of the hill/mountain, red rover, tag, run-n-gun (a modified version of football - 4 downs to get a touchdown, if your flag was pulled or you dropped the ball, you stopped and that was a down. Kinda like keep away with teams),monkey bars - metal, slides - metal, concrete pipes partially buried to crawl on and through. Gads, I need a real recess.

[Spiff]

As Steve Martin used to say "LET'S GET BLAND!!"

I thought he said, "Let's get small!". Hmmm...

[reagan_fanatic]

"Man, oh man, I'm glad I grew up in the '60s and '70s and had FUN at recess."

Me too. Before long the only thing kids will be able to play with are foam bats, foam gloves, foam basketballs and foam footballs.

Kids today are missing so much.

The P.C. crowd has gone completely off the edge.

[exile]

"kids play something called Sushi, like dodgeball except they throw balls at a wall"

How does Wasabi figure into this? This structured recess thing sounds a lot like gym class. Don't kids have gym class anymore?

[jimkress]

"organized recess" = what we called gym class.

Isn't school supposed to have some fun aspects? The Liberals suck the fun out of everything. They are the fun police of the 21st Century, the Carrie Nation's of our era, the Temperance Movement of our time, the Puritans of our Age.

[Modernman]

The problem is most parents use the school as a free daycare.

No such thing as free education or free daycare- the money comes from all of us.

[hattend]

A slab of playground gutterspout ice placed under your butt when going down the slide guarantees a mach 2 speed down the slide. After explaining it to my youngest daughter, she and the rest of the kids were banned from the practice last winter because the excessive speed sent kids flying out of control at the bottom of the slide.

Living in California, ice was hard to come by but we all had a huge source of wax paper in our lunchboxes/bags which increase the slide speed nicely. The neat thing about wax paper is it left a residue so those without the paper could still benefit!

When you're a kid, flying out of control is what you do best!

Amen.

[El Laton Caliente]

"Bombardment", one of my personal favorites. Thirty plus years later I still smile at having the scholl bully chase me four times around the gym after blind-siding him with a half inflated ball upside the head. :^)

[r9etb]

bump for wallball! I was gonna post it. And we used a volleyball for maximum hurtage.

We used those little 5" diameter rubber playground balls. I'll never forget the time I got pounded in the forehead and smacked the back of my head on the wall -- talk about a headache!

[E Rocc]

Worried the nine-year-olds have too much independent playground time

They are trying to collectivize their mindset through regimentation. "Organized play", school uniforms, being taught what to think instead of how to think....it's all part of an effort to develop compliant sheeple.

-Eric

[E Rocc]

I'm guessing no one plays Smear the Queer with the Football anymore.

It happens:

-Eric

[madison10]

"Recess" sounds like Communist China's idea. They march their kids around in circles, too, right?

Awww, the kids might get hurt...life is like that. Hard knocks make one strong. Good for the homeschooling mom.