A new threat lurks at our public education, and it's not in the classroom: that's right, it's outside on the playground. Nope, it's not bullies -- it's a game of tag.
ATTLEBORO, Massachusetts (AP) -- Tag, you're out!
Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school liable.
Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.
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Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Spokane, Washington, also recently banned tag during recess. A suburban Charleston, South Carolina, school outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.
"I think that it's unfortunate that kids' lives are micromanaged and there are social skills they'll never develop on their own," said Debbie Laferriere, who has two children at Willett, about 40 miles south of Boston. "Playing tag is just part of being a kid."
Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.
When are we "playing" it too safe for our kids? Although it is absolutely necessary to keep our kids safe, I agree that 'playing tag is just a part of being a kid.' I remember after I was in first grade that swings were no longer on playgrounds. And while in elementary school, children were banned from sliding on ice. If there was any ice, an adult was sure to be found. So we made our own ice: we continually slid down piles of snow, and after two days the whole snowpile would be covered in a slick layer of fun ice. I can agree with the "no snowballs" rule, but when do our rules starting taking the fun out of life?
Isn't it hardships and mistakes that form us into the people we are in the future?
First tag, and what next? No slides or chutes?
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