Phsyical Contact banned at Sacramento Elementary Schools - Dallas Dance Music - Dallas nightlife, music, tickets, and more

question · 08-23-04, 09:28 AM

I guess fun has officially been outlawed. Taken from > here <

---
Recess gets regulated
Worried about safety, schools restrict traditional games
By Sandy Louey -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, August 22, 2004

During recess at Woodridge Elementary School, a girl walked up to the foursquare court, wanting to join the game.

"You want to play," Briauna Ford, a sixth-grader, told her. "You got to read the rules."

Eight rules for Switched, a game Briauna and her friends made up, were scrawled on a piece of notebook paper: Rule No. 2: "You must say 'switch, switch' two times to begin the game." Rule No. 6: "Make right choices no yelling."

Sportsstore
Briauna and her friends drew up the regulations so the game wouldn't end up in shouting matches and hurt feelings - which could get Switched tossed off the playground in the Rio Linda Union School District.

Recess may be child's play, but it's serious business to adults. Dodgeball has spawned a hit summer movie and a TV game show. But as school doors begin to open again around the Sacramento region, kids thumping each other with a large inflated rubber ball isn't something you are likely to see on school playgrounds.

Concerned about safety and injuries and worried about bullying, violence, self-esteem and lawsuits, school officials have clamped down on the traditional games from years past.

Gone from many blacktops are tag, dodgeball and any game involving bodily contact. In are organized relay races and adult-supervised activities.

"It's fun stuff," said Azia Orum, a Rio Linda sixth-grader. "We just can't do it. People get hurt."

The restrictions trouble some early-childhood experts and parents. Recess is usually the only part of the school day where kids can do what they want. Experts say free play helps kids learn how to cooperate, socialize and work out conflicts.

"We ask kids to work hard," said Roberta Raymond, principal at Woodridge. "They need frequent breaks to give their minds a rest."

What games students can - or can't - play at recess varies. Each school tailors the rules to its own needs.

Growing enrollments in some districts make firm rules all the more important, educators say, though kids at lunch or recess are always difficult to monitor.

Maeola Beitzel Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District has about 1,200 students, while Natomas Park Elementary School in the Natomas Unified School District has about 1,100 students. Both are year-round schools, with at least 800 enrolled at any one time.

At Natomas Park, that means three recesses in the morning and two in the afternoon, along with five lunches for grades one to five. Up to six yard-duty supervisors roam during lunch.

Games where kids chase each other - tag or even cops and robbers - are generally banned in Natomas Unified's elementary schools. No grabbing or pushing is allowed.

At Natomas Park, students can only toss and catch a football - tackling or blocking isn't permitted. But the no-contact rule applies beyond the grade-school gridiron.

During lunch recess one recent afternoon, yard supervisor Janice Hudson spotted a first-grader pushing a girl on the swing.

"Do not push," Hudson told the student. "Let her push herself, please."

"One person can be a little stronger than the other," she said as she walked away.

During second-grade lunch, Hudson set up relay races so students could run within the rules. The whistle blew and the racers took off, dashing down the five lanes. A crowd screamed "Go! Go!" Each of the more than 30 students got a chance to run.

Natomas Park administrators say physical safety was the main reason they instituted restrictions. But they admit to worrying about bullying and potential lawsuits from parents.

At Maeola Beitzel Elementary, Janis Mayse, the mother of a fifth-grader, doesn't think the fun is worth it if a game is played to the detriment of another child.

"All of us want to hang on to the games we played as kids," she said, "but we have to keep an open mind that there are games that kids can get a benefit from without hurting one another."

Many see the recess restrictions as part of larger cultural shifts. Schools now must craft lesson plans on responsibility, honesty and violence prevention, Maeola Beitzel Principal Judy Hunt-Brown said. And those lessons, among other things, fit neatly into the structured, organized play so prevalent on today's schoolyard.

"To some degree, the school has needed to take a larger role in teaching children how to play with each other - the whole taking turns, how to deal with conflict," Hunt-Brown said.

Tightened restrictions on playgrounds are part of the growing trend to more strictly control what happens during the school day. Child behavior experts are concerned that strict rules for play threaten to straitjacket students' creativity.

Recess is supposed to be spontaneous play. The unstructured time helps fuel the imagination, said Dolores Stegelin, associate professor of early childhood education at Clemson University.

"It encourages creativity. It strengthens social development when they can be creative and plan something together and set up their own rules. It allows for leadership," said Stegelin, a member of the Association for the Study of Play. "Adults need to be there, but there needs to be more time for kids to be innovative and do their own activity."

Dodgeball teaches students eye-hand coordination and gross motor skills. Getting singled out and eliminated from competition is part of life, said Tom Reed, professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg.

"Life is not always fair," said Reed, also a member of the Association for the Study of Play. "You don't get what you want. Things like this are learned on the playground."

That's what worries Kellie Randle. A former teacher and a parent of a student at Joseph Sims Elementary School in Elk Grove, Randle believes kids aren't as creative as they once were.

"I'm concerned about the direction of a society where kids are encouraged not to run and play," she said. "If you take away running, freeze tag and red light, green light, you're taking away a big part of childhood."

At Woodridge, the bell signaling the end of summer school recess rang. The Switched players got ready to return to class.

Rule No. 5: If two people get a corner, choose a number between one and 20. The person who is closest gets the corner.

Rule No. 8: If you make bad choices, you must leave the game.

"It went better today with the rules," said 11-year-old Erma Murphy. Her friends nodded in agreement.

Anal Seepage · 08-23-04, 09:56 AM

damn hippies!

question · 08-23-04, 10:31 AM

No, damn stupid parents who want their child to think that the world is perfect and fair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterTarvis

damn hippies!

JoshM · 08-23-04, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by question

No, damn stupid parents who want their child to think that the world is perfect and fair.

More like damn stupid lawyers with their lawsuites. Its sad really.

question · 08-23-04, 10:41 AM

Parents have to get all bent out of shape over their kids before attorney's get involved. No one said attorney's had to go "well, this is frivelous, I can't take it". But parents seem to have blocked out their childhood, and what they've gone through.

I don't think this can be blamed on ANYONE but parents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoshM

More like damn stupid lawyers with their lawsuites. Its sad really.

JoshM · 08-23-04, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by question

Parents have to get all bent out of shape over their kids before attorney's get involved. No one said attorney's had to go "well, this is frivelous, I can't take it". But parents seem to have blocked out their childhood, and what they've gone through.

I don't think this can be blamed on ANYONE but parents.

I think its both. We have more lawyers per capita here in the states then any country in the world and people's fear of lawsuites is a big part of changes like this. We live in a society where people are quick to get an attourney for anything weather they are trying to make some quick cash or finding someone to blame for whatever. The article does say: "But they admit to worrying about bullying and potential lawsuits from parents" Parents have always gotten concerned over their kids but in this day and age i think parents would rather use a lawyer to solve schoolyard issues and the schools are having to adjust.

question · 08-23-04, 11:22 AM

The only reason parents are resorting to lawsuits is because they refuse to take responsibility for their child. They can't deal with the repercussions of their kid getting hurt at school. So instead of letting the kids be kids, the parents place the blame on the school for their child getting hurt playing kickball. So they sue. But the attorney's are doing their jobs by taking up the law suits. It's not their place to tell parents what they're doing is frivilous. The only people that can be blamed are the parents. They refuse to actually be involved in their child's life, so they want to sanatize the world.

They're just using the attorney's as tools to do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoshM

I think its both. We have more lawyers per capita here in the states then any country in the world and people's fear of lawsuites is a big part of changes like this. We live in a society where people are quick to get an attourney for anything trying to make some quick cash or finding someone to blame for whatever. The article does say: "But they admit to worrying about bullying and potential lawsuits from parents" Parents have always gotten concerned over their kids but in this day and age i think parents would rather use a lawyer to solve schoolyard issues rather and the schools are having to adjust.

Anal Seepage · 08-23-04, 11:24 AM

IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE HIPPIES1!!!!!!!1!!

JoshM · 08-23-04, 11:32 AM

[QUOTE=question]The only reason parents are resorting to lawsuits is because they refuse to take responsibility for their child. QUOTE]

Yup. Kids are raised with TV and defended by attorneys. Parents are lazy too. I feel old now to say "in my day we defended ourselves in the school yard we didn’t have a lawyer to do it for us" but its true. Plus recess would be boring without contact sports and fights

johnny861 · 08-23-04, 12:31 PM

I think it's a combination of fear of parents and lawsuits that a school would go to this extreme.

Either which way, this no contact policy is a very very bad idea for the development of children's social skills.

question · 08-23-04, 12:34 PM

Parents seem pretty happy with it. A lot of schools have outlawed any games that encourage competition, because it might hurt someone's feelings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnny861

I think it's a combination of fear of parents and lawsuits that a school would go to this extreme.

Either which way, this no contact policy is a very very bad idea for the development of children's social skills.

Dionysos · 08-23-04, 12:53 PM

We're raising a generation of bubble boys & bubble girls, all of whom are immobilized by their 48% body fat and the avalanche of 'participation' ribbons pinned to their plastic spheres.

johnny861 · 08-23-04, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by question

Parents seem pretty happy with it. A lot of schools have outlawed any games that encourage competition, because it might hurt someone's feelings.

Such a scary world we live in, I feel sorry for that generation of children...

08-23-04, 01:00 PM

I'm glad that we're finally focusing on the issues that matter.

SeanSparks · 08-23-04, 01:27 PM

YOU ARE STANDING IN MY PERSONAL SPACE. GET OUT OF MY BUBBLE.

-Sean

08-23-04, 09:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
question Foolish Bastard Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Downtown Posts: 5,321	Phsyical Contact banned at Sacramento Elementary Schools I guess fun has officially been outlawed. Taken from > here < --- Recess gets regulated Worried about safety, schools restrict traditional games By Sandy Louey -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, August 22, 2004 During recess at Woodridge Elementary School, a girl walked up to the foursquare court, wanting to join the game. "You want to play," Briauna Ford, a sixth-grader, told her. "You got to read the rules." Eight rules for Switched, a game Briauna and her friends made up, were scrawled on a piece of notebook paper: Rule No. 2: "You must say 'switch, switch' two times to begin the game." Rule No. 6: "Make right choices no yelling." Sportsstore Briauna and her friends drew up the regulations so the game wouldn't end up in shouting matches and hurt feelings - which could get Switched tossed off the playground in the Rio Linda Union School District. Recess may be child's play, but it's serious business to adults. Dodgeball has spawned a hit summer movie and a TV game show. But as school doors begin to open again around the Sacramento region, kids thumping each other with a large inflated rubber ball isn't something you are likely to see on school playgrounds. Concerned about safety and injuries and worried about bullying, violence, self-esteem and lawsuits, school officials have clamped down on the traditional games from years past. Gone from many blacktops are tag, dodgeball and any game involving bodily contact. In are organized relay races and adult-supervised activities. "It's fun stuff," said Azia Orum, a Rio Linda sixth-grader. "We just can't do it. People get hurt." The restrictions trouble some early-childhood experts and parents. Recess is usually the only part of the school day where kids can do what they want. Experts say free play helps kids learn how to cooperate, socialize and work out conflicts. "We ask kids to work hard," said Roberta Raymond, principal at Woodridge. "They need frequent breaks to give their minds a rest." What games students can - or can't - play at recess varies. Each school tailors the rules to its own needs. Growing enrollments in some districts make firm rules all the more important, educators say, though kids at lunch or recess are always difficult to monitor. Maeola Beitzel Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District has about 1,200 students, while Natomas Park Elementary School in the Natomas Unified School District has about 1,100 students. Both are year-round schools, with at least 800 enrolled at any one time. At Natomas Park, that means three recesses in the morning and two in the afternoon, along with five lunches for grades one to five. Up to six yard-duty supervisors roam during lunch. Games where kids chase each other - tag or even cops and robbers - are generally banned in Natomas Unified's elementary schools. No grabbing or pushing is allowed. At Natomas Park, students can only toss and catch a football - tackling or blocking isn't permitted. But the no-contact rule applies beyond the grade-school gridiron. During lunch recess one recent afternoon, yard supervisor Janice Hudson spotted a first-grader pushing a girl on the swing. "Do not push," Hudson told the student. "Let her push herself, please." "One person can be a little stronger than the other," she said as she walked away. During second-grade lunch, Hudson set up relay races so students could run within the rules. The whistle blew and the racers took off, dashing down the five lanes. A crowd screamed "Go! Go!" Each of the more than 30 students got a chance to run. Natomas Park administrators say physical safety was the main reason they instituted restrictions. But they admit to worrying about bullying and potential lawsuits from parents. At Maeola Beitzel Elementary, Janis Mayse, the mother of a fifth-grader, doesn't think the fun is worth it if a game is played to the detriment of another child. "All of us want to hang on to the games we played as kids," she said, "but we have to keep an open mind that there are games that kids can get a benefit from without hurting one another." Many see the recess restrictions as part of larger cultural shifts. Schools now must craft lesson plans on responsibility, honesty and violence prevention, Maeola Beitzel Principal Judy Hunt-Brown said. And those lessons, among other things, fit neatly into the structured, organized play so prevalent on today's schoolyard. "To some degree, the school has needed to take a larger role in teaching children how to play with each other - the whole taking turns, how to deal with conflict," Hunt-Brown said. Tightened restrictions on playgrounds are part of the growing trend to more strictly control what happens during the school day. Child behavior experts are concerned that strict rules for play threaten to straitjacket students' creativity. Recess is supposed to be spontaneous play. The unstructured time helps fuel the imagination, said Dolores Stegelin, associate professor of early childhood education at Clemson University. "It encourages creativity. It strengthens social development when they can be creative and plan something together and set up their own rules. It allows for leadership," said Stegelin, a member of the Association for the Study of Play. "Adults need to be there, but there needs to be more time for kids to be innovative and do their own activity." Dodgeball teaches students eye-hand coordination and gross motor skills. Getting singled out and eliminated from competition is part of life, said Tom Reed, professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg. "Life is not always fair," said Reed, also a member of the Association for the Study of Play. "You don't get what you want. Things like this are learned on the playground." That's what worries Kellie Randle. A former teacher and a parent of a student at Joseph Sims Elementary School in Elk Grove, Randle believes kids aren't as creative as they once were. "I'm concerned about the direction of a society where kids are encouraged not to run and play," she said. "If you take away running, freeze tag and red light, green light, you're taking away a big part of childhood." At Woodridge, the bell signaling the end of summer school recess rang. The Switched players got ready to return to class. Rule No. 5: If two people get a corner, choose a number between one and 20. The person who is closest gets the corner. Rule No. 8: If you make bad choices, you must leave the game. "It went better today with the rules," said 11-year-old Erma Murphy. Her friends nodded in agreement. __________________ True, without falsehood, certain and most true, that which is above is the same as that which is below, and that which is below is the same as that which is above, for the performance of miracles of the One Thing. And as all things are from the One, by the meditation of One, so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation.

08-23-04, 11:32 AM	#9 (permalink)
JoshM Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: austin, tx Posts: 974	[QUOTE=question]The only reason parents are resorting to lawsuits is because they refuse to take responsibility for their child. QUOTE] Yup. Kids are raised with TV and defended by attorneys. Parents are lazy too. I feel old now to say "in my day we defended ourselves in the school yard we didn’t have a lawyer to do it for us" but its true. Plus recess would be boring without contact sports and fights __________________ myspace.com/initstring myspace.com/musicofjoshmeredith

08-23-04, 01:27 PM	#15 (permalink)
SeanSparks Is gay because you say so Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: I just got back from there. Posts: 9,312	YOU ARE STANDING IN MY PERSONAL SPACE. GET OUT OF MY BUBBLE. -Sean __________________ UPCOMING BUSINESS SAVE THE SILOHS - NOVEMBER 28th @ Carrolton Silohs RESURRECTION - DECEMBER 12 @ eXcuses CLICK HERE for downloads of Sean Sparks live sets

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08-23-04, 09:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
Anal Seepage Drip, Drip, Drip Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Blank Posts: 626	damn hippies!

08-23-04, 11:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
Anal Seepage Drip, Drip, Drip Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Blank Posts: 626	IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE HIPPIES1!!!!!!!1!!

08-23-04, 01:00 PM	#14 (permalink)
-m- Guest Posts: n/a	I'm glad that we're finally focusing on the issues that matter.