Another Sign That the Apocalypse Is Upon Us — $18.7 Million Grant To Teach “Recess” To Children
[Posted by WLS]
As my 7 year old would say “Seriously, it’s true.”
This from today’s WaPo:
Brearn Wright Jr. remembers recess during his first year as principal of Clark Elementary School in Petworth as “like a MASH unit.”
“Recess time was the time the school nurse dreaded, because she knew she’d have so many kids waiting in the lobby” to be treated for injuries from fighting or falling, Wright said.
Traditionally the one period of the school day when children are free of adult-imposed structure, recess is increasingly regarded by educators as a trouble spot. They say that in the Xbox– and Internet-dominated world of many students, the culture of healthy group play has eroded, turning recess into a chaotic and sometimes violent period where strife from the schoolyard can spill over into afternoon classes.
So last year Wright decided to outsource recess. He hired Sports4Kids, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit organization that introduces students to a regimen of traditional playground games, along with a more closely supervised version of such team sports as basketball. The program also stresses conflict resolution, with disagreements mediated by, of all things, rock-paper-scissors.
If you read the whole article, it’s hard not to have some sympathy for the teachers and administrators.
But a nice big paddle mounted on the wall of the principal’s office would be a lot cheaper.
But a nice big paddle mounted on the wall of the principal’s office would be a lot cheaper.
Well, now we know.
Another Drew (8a6fd1) — 9/17/2008 @ 4:18 pmWLS is a closet child beater (rolls eyes vigorously).
AD — worked on me.
WLS (26b1e5) — 9/17/2008 @ 4:25 pmYou mean play isn’t supposed to be fun?
kimsch (2ce939) — 9/17/2008 @ 4:53 pmGee, another liberal policy comes back to bite somebody in the ass. Who could have predicted it? Show of hands.
Icy Truth (db6433) — 9/17/2008 @ 5:04 pmMy wife is a second grade teacher and she has seen recess get cut and cut and cut. While it has something to do with school boards and administrators, it also has a lot to do with overbearing parents. She literally gets a few parents every year that complain that her students should spend more time on math/science/etc than recess. And her kids are 6-7 years old! Letting them burn off energy, learn vital social skills (how to interact with others, sportsmanship, etc) are vital, IMO, to successful elementary education.
Now, spending $18.7m to get there….never mind.
Cankle (8aa31a) — 9/17/2008 @ 5:36 pmI firmly believe that 75% of the democrats are either in, or need to be in, some intense mental health care facility. I’ll bet every Holy-wood nut who attended Hussein’s crowning last night has a personal mental health care worker on their payroll. I haven’t purchased a CD, DVD or went to a movie in several years or since the Holy-wood nuts started thinking they know how to run the country because they read it in a ‘play’. I no longer believe one word that comes from the Lame Stream Media and I definetly don’t trust any ‘government school’ teacher. They are the worst of the mental midgets.
Scrapiron (d671ab) — 9/17/2008 @ 7:11 pmWell, DUH!
sh007r (a83db7) — 9/17/2008 @ 7:58 pmThey ( dems/aclu/the left) took God out of the class rooms and chaos ensues…even at recess.
Thanks Libs.
WLS…
Another Drew (8a6fd1) — 9/17/2008 @ 8:47 pmThe coaches at my HS kept a drilled cricket bat in their office in the locker room –
not something to be up-close and personal with.
The worst though, was the stuck-on-stupid who acted-out in a class-room.
The teacher would call one of the coaches to “escort” the poor miscreant to the V-P’s office;
who would, on the way, counsel the poor lad with a demonstration of the friction properties of stucco on the human back.
You never wanted to get escorted to the V-P.
When I was just a wee lad in school, the paddle was referred to as the “Board of Education” and it was engraved as such. And it was truly an educating experience when it was properly wielded to the miscreants backside.
peedoffamerican (389cf6) — 9/17/2008 @ 11:43 pmYou have to actually be at a school to understand the level of violence on playgrounds and parking lots. I recently observed two girls screaming obscenities at a boy in the playground of Chatsworth High School; I mean grotesque insults. He finally snapped and chased one down and just pummeled her unmercifully for about 30 seconds before the other girl returned with a mob of ten others armed with pipes, battery cables, etc., and started to assault the boy. He was joined by some of his friends who were about to attack the girls before campus cop showed up to the howls of protests by the participants. These girls were totally wild and out of control while the boys seemed to have a deadly purpose about them. I spoke to an administrator about the “incident” and he just shrugged, “It happens at least twice a day and sometimes in a classroom.” This ain’t Potsie and Ritche having harmless fun.
howard432 (cc8b85) — 9/18/2008 @ 5:56 amI support this only if I get paid the majority of the money to teach the class
I’m an expert at recess
KatAttack (edae44) — 9/18/2008 @ 6:50 amBut a nice big paddle mounted on the wall of the principal’s office would be a lot cheaper.
There is a TV show on the truTV channel (formerly known as CourtTV) called Principal’s Office in which a camera crew observes the disciplinary meetings in various high schools throughout the nation.
One Arkansas high school allows students facing Saturday detention the option of getting paddled three times. It was very…(ahem)…unsettling observing one nubile student who cut class to get coffee volunteered for the schmacks on the back(side). She walked into the counselor’s office wearing skin tight jeans, and the door was closed. The room was mic’ed up, and while the pants-on paddling couldn’t be seen, it could be heard.
WHACK! (Owww!) WHACK! (Owww!) WHACK! (Owww!)
She emerged with a slight smile, saying it wasn’t as painful as she expected, and that she would now get to sleep in Saturday morning.
Yeah, it’s “reality.” Still, I got the feeling that everyone involved — including me, the viewer — enjoyed it more than we should have.
L.N. Smithee (ecc5a5) — 9/18/2008 @ 9:59 amI homeschool think I could get a grant for recess?
Kari (036a24) — 9/18/2008 @ 1:26 pmI raised 5 boys and led Cub Scouts for 15 years. I could settle any inter-personal problem with rock-paper-scissors because the kids knew it was fair, and because they were in control of the outcome. I confess to structuring the choices on occasion, but generally used this method to teach them how to work things out. And yes, civilized behavior does require teaching. If they aren’t getting it at home (and they certainly are not watching good models on TV), then calling in professionals is not a bad idea.
Kate0j (b16338) — 9/18/2008 @ 6:29 pmyep Kate, usually all it takes is a loving mother to raise a kid to at least be a good person.
Recess isn’t supposed to be led… it’s a time for kids to develop their social skills. Just making sure they aren’t biting eachother is all the teachers need to do (granted, that is sincerely tough work for any teacher).
It’s all about the parents, and these grants send that message loud and clear that your kids don’t need to learn anything at home: Big Brother is going to take a stab at it.
Juan (f48840) — 9/18/2008 @ 6:40 pm