Posted on 02/10/2007 8:46:17 AM PST by John Jorsett
PARENTS were up in arms last night after a headmistress banned kids from playing tag on their breaks.
Other playtime favourites such as kiss chase are also forbidden, with pupils told they can only touch each other to help if one has fallen over.
One mum said: “Kids have been playing these games for centuries. The ban is barmy. It hardly helps children learn to play together.”
Headmistress Susan Tuck ordered the 400 pupils at Bracebridge Heath Primary School, near Lincoln, to keep their distance after a minority “persistently offended” in the playground.
She said she hoped to slowly reintroduce “supervised and appropriate physical contact between pupils”.
She added: “I couldn’t say to the boys they couldn’t play certain games and then allow the girls to go around linking arms. I think on the first day the children thought, ‘How is this going to work’?
“Now I have spoken to some of them and they think the playground has become a lot calmer.
“Pupils are more creative, playing games such as trying to jump on each other’s shadow instead of shoving each other roughly on the back.
“We certainly haven’t had the same number of bumped heads we were having.”
The move is the latest in a long line of playground games, including conkers and football, stopped by some schools for “safety reasons”.
You beat me by 2 1/2 min.. Didn't get to your post or I wouldn't have tried to infringe on your glory.
I read that as meaning a minority of the total student body, not a representative of any particular minority race or ethnicity.
Pay no mind. Real legends don't mind sharing the adulation. :-)
Footnote:
The British don't speak English very well, they're barmy.
LOL!
I think the problem is that parents are not teaching their kids how to play appropriately and punishing them when they get too rough.
So you have a lot of kids who can play tag and other somewhat physical activities because their parents have taught them correctly, but then you have the very aggresive type of kids that end up hurting someone.
Of course, I always think you should punish the kid who is being too aggressive instead of punishing everyone. By eliminting these games, you are punishing everyone for the actions of a few.
This is happening all over. My buddy was a teacher in Compton, CA for gradeschool. I helped him do a project about baseball one day. After my presentation, we took the kids to the diamond. First little boy smacks the pitch, and I yell "Run." He stopped me and said, "Dude, we can't say that."
We did too, and none of us made any connection between queer and, well, "queer".
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