"SANTA MONICA — A Santa Monica elementary school has banned the game of tag, once synonymous with youth and innocence, because they say it creates self-esteem issues among weaker and slower children."
Not because it's unsafe, but because some kids are stronger and faster than others. The logical next step, obviously, is to abandon all sports for the same reason. And while they're at it, they should probably get rid of anything academic that smacks of competition (like, say, grades).
Ugh. That makes me sick. I'm so tired of all this molly-coddling of children, trying to make them feel all warm and fuzzy 100% of the time. Kids aren't all equal and the sooner the little snots realize that the better!
While I agree that children should play games that burn off energy, I think "tag" can be retired along with any game that "chooses up sides" along with dodge ball. Tag is fine in private, with friends, but as part of a public school program, we can do better. For exmaple: http://web.bham.ac.uk/M.Cox/games/homepage.htm
OK, yeah, I agree, it seems really stupid to outlaw a game like Tag. Seems, at least on the surface, analagous to the way we're promoting allergies in kids by keeping them in such clean & sterile environtments (not MY house, though, heh heh heh...). Kids, like adults, grow with adversity (though, of course, we should protect them from overwhelming amounts of diversity).
ON THE OTHER HAND.... Hell. I've been up at the school yard. Kids are cruel to each other, they really are. And something which can seem as innocent as a game of tag can become, easily, a lightening rod for problems. And sometimes, harsh as it may seem, a ban on a particular activity -- even for a short period of time -- may be just the redirection the kids need. I mean, can you imagine Tag becoming an excuse for the strong/bullies/whatever to pick on the relentlessly-picked-upon? I sure can. Easily. Look at "Smear the Queer". Look at the way dodge ball was used as an excuse to pound on the weak.
Hell -- just the other day I threw away a pair of perfectly good swimming goggles. Why? Because we only had the one pair left, and it became a battle ground amoung my kids -- "Who gets the goggles" was the most hotly contested pool game -- leading to pouting, crying, name-calling, and near-violence. Mommy solution? Toss the damned things. Immediately puts a stop to the problem. Kids learn the lesson that they'd better play nice or they might not get to play. Was it the fault of the goggles? Of course not. Fault of the kids? Nah -- they're just being kids. It's just one of those things, ya know?
Same thing here -- while I don't know the particular school yard. My guess is it *HAD* gotten out of hand, folks WERE going over the top, using tag as the vehicle for bullying, etc. And the school put a stop to it by putting a stop to the game. Then the newspapers pick it up with a whiney "Oh, gee, I remember that game from when I was a kid, that was fun, what's the world coming to when we steal the fun from our kids?"
Yeah, I grew up in an era of no seat-belts/bike helmets/etc. I also grew up in a household of abuse. Mebbe we go over the top the other way sometimes, but hell, we're just trying to protect kids. It's not easy, but it's worth it, I think. :)
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From the article:
Not because it's unsafe, but because some kids are stronger and faster than others. The logical next step, obviously, is to abandon all sports for the same reason. And while they're at it, they should probably get rid of anything academic that smacks of competition (like, say, grades).
That's disgusting.
Re: From the article:
Re: From the article:
Re: From the article:
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And another thing...
Re: And another thing...
Re: And another thing...
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http://web.bham.ac.uk/M.Cox/games/homepage.htm
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Competition
Re: Competition
Re: Competition
Re: Competition
Re: Competition
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There's no sense in making kids deal with "winners" and "losers" beacuse there's nothing like that in real life, is there?
This makes me want to hurl. It also makes me ashamed to be a native Californian.
You just knew I'd have to kick in an opinion here, didn't ya?
ON THE OTHER HAND.... Hell. I've been up at the school yard. Kids are cruel to each other, they really are. And something which can seem as innocent as a game of tag can become, easily, a lightening rod for problems. And sometimes, harsh as it may seem, a ban on a particular activity -- even for a short period of time -- may be just the redirection the kids need. I mean, can you imagine Tag becoming an excuse for the strong/bullies/whatever to pick on the relentlessly-picked-upon? I sure can. Easily. Look at "Smear the Queer". Look at the way dodge ball was used as an excuse to pound on the weak.
Hell -- just the other day I threw away a pair of perfectly good swimming goggles. Why? Because we only had the one pair left, and it became a battle ground amoung my kids -- "Who gets the goggles" was the most hotly contested pool game -- leading to pouting, crying, name-calling, and near-violence. Mommy solution? Toss the damned things. Immediately puts a stop to the problem. Kids learn the lesson that they'd better play nice or they might not get to play. Was it the fault of the goggles? Of course not. Fault of the kids? Nah -- they're just being kids. It's just one of those things, ya know?
Same thing here -- while I don't know the particular school yard. My guess is it *HAD* gotten out of hand, folks WERE going over the top, using tag as the vehicle for bullying, etc. And the school put a stop to it by putting a stop to the game. Then the newspapers pick it up with a whiney "Oh, gee, I remember that game from when I was a kid, that was fun, what's the world coming to when we steal the fun from our kids?"
Yeah, I grew up in an era of no seat-belts/bike helmets/etc. I also grew up in a household of abuse. Mebbe we go over the top the other way sometimes, but hell, we're just trying to protect kids. It's not easy, but it's worth it, I think. :)
Lisa
da opinionated
Re: You just knew I'd have to kick in an opinion here, didn't ya?