Playing tag is no longer a benign sport

What? They never heard of Ringalevio? Wimps!

Reply

HA!! Like banning tag on the playground keeps kids from playing it. . . Look, if your kid is aiding in a dogpile on some poor little tyke who didn't have the sense to keep to the side of the play yard when a game of tag is being played, then you have to dicipline the dogpiler and let the poor tyke learn.
I can understand how parents and school officials don't want to see little kids beating each other up (even for play) because of all the different accidents that can arise, but THAT'S LIFE.
You can't teach a kid right from wrong by simply telling them about it. Wait for them to fudge up and slap them on the wrist. Of course, you tell them you don't wanna hurt them, but punishment is the only way they're gonna learn properly.
And going back to my initial statement: banning tag on the playground doesn't mean that kids can't play it in the parks or any other place outside. It just means they can't play in school and work off all that wonderous ADHD-esque energy before the other classes of the day.
Let the kids play tag. I don't care if you have to work a little harder to make sure someone doesn't lose an eye, LET. THEM. PLAY.

Reply

more and more it seems that all schools should be banned. home schooling s looking much better everyday

Reply

I guess playing Dr. is now banned too !!

Reply

PARENTS! PARENTS! PARENTS! PARENTS! PARENTS! IT'S ON YOU! How ridiculous to expect schools to educate children beyond those of academia, and shame on those parents who cannot tame their children and teach them well. These children are spoiled and disrespect boundaries which are taught and begun at home. PARENTS! PARENTS! PARENTS! PARENTS! Remember your place and teach your children first.

Reply

Give me a break, too violent. We used to play a game we called rough and tumble. You threw the football into the air, someone caught it and then everyone piled on when the guy was tackled. There also was a game called buckety buck. Two teams lined up and one team tried to collapse the other guys by jumping on to their backs. Now I grant you this was extreme, but tag, too violent, I don't think so!! We're raising a generation of kids that can't stand any type of confrontation, and thats exactly what the real world is going to give them when they grow up!!The tree huggers and environmentalists are trying to turn us into a Soylent Green society. NUFF SAID

Reply

LS - Completely agree with your original statement. Without allowing kids some time each day to play, run, and generally 'get the wiggle bugs out', how can you expect them to sit in classes for so long each day? But God forbid there isn't a standardized test for Gym Class or Recess or even Art anymore, and school districts suddenly find all the reasons they can to take these classes out of the school curriculum. Best thing to do - as a class or school lay down some basic 'rules of tag' at the very beginning of the year. If they're broken, don't take tag away - remind students of the rules and discipline in private (to help them 'save face') as necessary. Otherwise - let them get a few scrapes and bruises until they learn to slow down next time. Let them run now...the real world (no running at work allowed) is all too close for even the little ones.

Reply

I am an elementary school teacher and EVERY day one of my kids ends up getting punched, hit, choked with jump ropes and my students are only 6 years old!

I agree with many of you that there needs to be more supervision on the playground, but this begs the question: Who will pay a decent wage to these people who are hired to watch the students? When a school budget fails, its hard to justify more schoolyard supervision vs. up to date text books and supplies.

Reply

DAmned Right..Good for the SCHool. We need to get the kids into video games and porno. They should spend more time on the computer then running around the outside playing such dangerous games as tag. I bet every mass murderer at one time in their childhood played tag..so the evidence is there. Get them on tranqualizers also..that will keep them quiet and give them a taste of the drug life. Keep up the good work you fantastic educators.

Reply

After reading of the 13 yr old boy who was arrested shackled and strip searched four times for giving another kid a slap on the but last year nothing these principals do surprises me.

Reply

yes, it's sad. but if parents aren't teaching their kids. it's not the educators job to do everything for the parents. they can only try and help and do there best. they only have the kids sometimes at recess you can only teach a child so much, if all their other influences aren't helping them. kids are taught today that they can do whatever they want when parents stick up for there kids when they do something wrong. you wouldn't believe how many kids that the parents don't discipline them or let them act any way they want. parenting isn't a right it's a responsibillity.

Reply

Why can't people just let kids be kids!!! Kids need to be able to run around and play. It's part of childhood. We are making our kids FAT and LAZY because we keep taking everything fun away from them. Who cares if kids fall down and get hurt. That's part of being a kid. Hello??? Didn't we do that? More people need to remember their childhoods and realize that childhood is such a short valuable time. That's why so many kids aren't growing up now days because they never got to actually experience being a kid! They keep searching for the fun they somehow know they've missed. I teach safekey, and they've banned dodge ball at safekey because some kid got hurt. We play it anyway, and our kids have fun daily. I let my kids out on the playground the other day and just let them run and play. They created games on the playground equipment and had a blast, and then we went out in the field and looked for lady bugs. They ran all over the lawn and has so much fun. That's called being a child! Freedom to have fun. If one person messes things up and does something stupid, then he needs to have some kind of time out and not be able to participate. If there is nothing to participate in, then where is the punishment? I dont' believe in everybody being punished for one or a few kid's mistakes. That's just STUPID!!!

Reply

well they have no prayer anymore.now no more tag..i guess jumping rope is next........LET KIDS BE KIDS !!!!!!!!!GOOD GRIEF.

Reply

This all of nothing thing has gotten way out of hand! In my elementary school, our prinicipal has banned everything from school milk at snack time (because she can't have kids walking through the halls, and doesn't have the staff to handle it), to talking on the bus lines (the kids must now read books after an entire day of learning, while waiting for their bus). I've been an educator for 21 years and I don't understand this all or nothing mentality. She even came up with and published a list of acceptable "celebration" snacks (ie: for birthday celebrations). If it isn't on the list, you can't send it in or it will be sent home. How pitiful! Where has the "fun" part of education gone? These gestapo tactics have got to stop! We are the taxpayers that support their salaries, how do we get them to stop this nonsense? I've been trying to make my point known for a while. Unfortunately, our principal is also retaliatory. She will take it out on you and your kids if she doesn't like what you do and how you do it. What a sad commentary on where our education system is going in this country. Teachers need to stand together and work hard at not letting this happen, as well as the parents......

Reply

Indeed, our schools are administrated (and classrooms sometimes taught) by utter fools! Instead of discussing these issues with the students they prefer to ban the activity! I suppose recess will eventually either be banned altogether ... or students will be assigned a spot on the playground where they must stand motionless for 10 to 15 minutes while breathing silently ... but not too deeply ... rationing air will probably be next! Ugh!

Reply

To all you liberals out there: Don't complain about this kind of crap, y'all started this nonsense when a few of you wanted to ban school prayer. It's going to snowball and before long everything will be banned. Our kids will be just a bunch of robots. It's ridiculous how a few whiners are more powerful than the majority.

Reply

judithgrayson- why was it necessary to say that the school was an inner city school? This type of savage behavior is not isolated to the inner city- it happens everywhere. I live in an affluent neighborhood and the way these children behave isn't any better or different than the actions of the children in the inner city schools.
I will believe till the day I die that the violence in video games have desensitized ALL children. When a child doesn't bat an eye when they see someone's head being blown off, there's something very wrong with our society. This nouveau tag doesn't surprise me at all. Everything a child learns starts at home, no matter what type of home and these days parents are not taking the time they should to teach their children how to behave in public.

Reply

Why not keep tag and ban "pyramid" and "tower" "jailhouse"

Reply

I wouldn't even call what he described as the game of tag, but I work in a school system and they have to be careful of lawsuits. There are some people who are so sue happy these days. That's why holidays have been taken out of our schools because the Jehovah Witnesses in our area threatened a lawsuit.

Reply

I was a fifth grade teacher and I agree that banning tag may be a little harsh. However, I can understand why they did it. We always had plenty of monitors and you still can't watch everything that is going on. The problem is that if someone does get hurt (I know they're kids and it's inevitable that they will get hurt in their lifetime) too many of them have parents that will be demanding to know what will be done and threatening to sue the school. So, the school has to do what is best to protect the school.
Also, children do need to learn social skills in school but, that is not the primary goals of school. If the children need more exercise to not be so fat and lazy...maybe they should play outside after school instead of watching so much TV and playing so many video games...it's not the job of the school to make the children eat healthy and get exercise!

Reply