Raising a nation of wimps

[Sasaki Kojiro]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...news-headlines)

Andrea Levin is grateful that Broward County schools care about her daughter's safety. But this year when they posted a sign that demanded "no running" on the playground, it seemed like overkill.

"It's too tight around the equipment to be running," said Safety Director Jerry Graziose, the Broward County official who ordered the signs. "Our job was to try to control it."

How about swings or those hand-pulled merry-go-rounds?

"Nope. They've got moving parts. Moving parts on equipment is the number one cause of injury on the playgrounds."

Teeter-totters?

"Nope. That's moving too."

Sandboxes?

"Well, I have to be careful about animals" turning them into litter boxes.

Cement crawl tubes?

"Vagrants. The longer they are, the higher possibility that a vagrant could stay in them. We have shorter ones now that are made out of plastic or fiberglass."

Broward playgrounds aren't the only ones to avoid equipment that most adults remember. Swings, merry-go-rounds, teeter-totters and other old standards are vanishing from schools and parks around the country, according to the National Program for Playground Safety.

In their place, a lot of playgrounds now are inhabited with clusters of bright, multi-use contraptions with names like "Ed Center" and "Platform Climber Composite Structure." They're lower to the ground than their predecessors, coated with plastic and engineered for safety.

Since 1999, Broward County schools paid out about $561,000 to settle 189 claims for playground accidents, about 5 percent of the amount the district spent on all injury claims in that time. To keep those numbers low, Graziose said, he needs to keep thinking of ways to make playgrounds safe.

She scanned the tall metal sign while her daughters, Emma and Sarah, wandered with two other young girls through a sparse play area that's reserved for the youngest grades in school.

It warns 5- and 6-year-olds to "not use equipment in this playground without adult supervision" and "do not use equipment unless designed for your age group."

No running? Are they insane? What are you supposed to play, "walking tag" and "walking soccer"? Oooh I forgot the soccer ball is probably too hard, they could hurt themselves with it. And people wonder why obesity rates are so much higher. The only time I hurt myself on a climber was when I decided to jump off the top (about 12 feet) and sprained my ankle. Guess what? I never jumped off anything that high again.

I said raising a nation of wimps but in reality they are already grown up, and suing the schools because their kid tripped on the playground and they want some free cash.

Suing the government has become another way of winning the lottery.

[scooter_the_shooter]

we need to make them run not stop them . this is pathetic. Sad day indeed

[Crazed Rabbit]

I remember when I was in first grade, runing around. I hit my head on the bottom of a metal slide. At first I just kept running, since it only hurt a little, but then I rubbed my head and noticed it was bleeding. Should've sued the school, but I just went to the nurse instead.

And in H.S., our idiotic cross country coach wouldn't let us kick a soccer ball around while we waited for the race to start, since we 'might hurt our ankles.'

Don't forget all the whiners who are indoctrinating our youth to respond to bullies by holding signs that say such asinine things as 'bully free zone', etc.

Crazed Rabbit

[scooter_the_shooter]

Rabbit that article is one of the stupidest thing i ever read wth is this country coming to

[Uesugi Kenshin]

The only time I ever got hurt while playing on that type of equipment was either a scrape/bruise or by the other kids.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???

[GoreBag]

There is a playground almost directly behind my house. When I was a kid, it was great, but after a few years, the epic wooden structure was taken down and replaced by a shorter, plastic one. The main reason? The preservative in the wood has small amounts of cyanide in it. I guess they're afraid that kids will suck the stuff right out of the wood.

I agree that the condition of playgrounds in North America right now is silly, but "raising a nation of wimps" is an issue that encompasses many more things than children at play.

[Marshal Murat]

Thats why people grow obese.
"Don't run Jimmy, you'll fall and cause a laceration in your knee!"
"Don't slide Jimmy, it could rub off your skin!"
"Don't swing on the swing, you could fall off and crack open your head!"
"Don't play kickball, you might break your leg!"
"Okay, eat a candy bar and sit on the couch, and do nothing"

I think America needs to have laws were a child, if they are injured on a playground with parent supervision, it should be the parents fault, to not monitor their child.

I can't wait for High School to have the posters
"Don't fight, its not right" signs up all over the place, and a monthly assembly to discuss the problems you have with bullies, and non-violent ways to respond.

[The_Doctor]

LOL.

Why has it happened?

Is there anything like that in Britain?

[Samurai Waki]

I think the notion that telling your kids "it's okay to cry" or "it's okay to be emotional" is the drive behind the nation of whimps. NO! You suppress all emotions, and kill without mercy!

[Crazed Rabbit]

I think the notion that telling your kids "it's okay to cry" or "it's okay to be emotional" is the drive behind the nation of whimps. NO! You suppress all emotions, and kill without mercy!

I don't know were you're from, but you sure have a strange way of playing kickball.

Crazed Rabbit

[Axeknight]

I don't know were you're from, but you sure have a strange way of playing kickball.

Crazed Rabbit

I don't know about that, but I wouldn't want to see him in the opposing pack on the rugby pitch

[scooter_the_shooter]

I think the notion that telling your kids "it's okay to cry" or "it's okay to be emotional" is the drive behind the nation of whimps. NO! You suppress all emotions, and kill without mercy!

Its better to have that then to have a nation of pathetic people

[Lemur]

This whole thread hurts my feelings. Stop posting mean things, you big bullies.

[Azi Tohak]

At least we can still tell the stupid they fail.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050720/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Ha!

But I don't think we are raising a nation of wimps. We are raising a nation terrified of lawyers. You can find a lawyer and win money from ANYTHING here. That is the tragedy

Azi

[Samurai Waki]

I don't know about that, but I wouldn't want to see him in the opposing pack on the rugby pitch

Rugby is god!

[Xiahou]

At least we can still tell the stupid they fail.

Yeah, right. Did you miss the stories in the US where teachers are forbidden from using red pens to correct papers because they have a 'negative' connotation? Negative? That's the whole idea- you put a red X on an answer because its wrong.

Or how about Florida dropping letter grades? Instead you'll get either a 1, 2 or 3 on your report card.

[scooter_the_shooter]

In some school districts they give Es instead of Fs because the kins will feel negative with an F

[discovery1]

This whole thread hurts my feelings. Stop posting mean things, you big bullies.

*slaps Lemurmania*

YOU ARE WEAK!!! EMBRACE THE PAIN AND USE IT TO UNDERSTAND YOURSELF!!

I think the notion that telling your kids "it's okay to cry" or "it's okay to be emotional" is the drive behind the nation of whimps. NO! You suppress all emotions, and kill without mercy!

Uh, no. Bad idea to supress all emotions(well I guess that depends on the situation) but it's ok to kill without mercy.


That aside, this is pretty sad. I'm going to hate being one of the all too few fit people who will get to support the vast numbers of obese people thru my taxes. At least I suppose this weakness in others will give me a competitive advantage in the workplace, right?

[BDC]

They went for a 'safety before everything' campaign here until some research showed it actually made things worse for kids. So Gods only know what they are doing now. Trying to make things dangerous in a safe way I guess.

Although I have noticed that my old primary school has removed its old equipment. Probably for the best. I have fond memories of getting stuck in it even as a 5 year old.

[Goofball]

I remember when I was in first grade, runing around. I hit my head on the bottom of a metal slide. At first I just kept running, since it only hurt a little, but then I rubbed my head and noticed it was bleeding. Should've sued the school, but I just went to the nurse instead.

And in H.S., our idiotic cross country coach wouldn't let us kick a soccer ball around while we waited for the race to start, since we 'might hurt our ankles.'

Don't forget all the whiners who are indoctrinating our youth to respond to bullies by holding signs that say such asinine things as 'bully free zone', etc.

Crazed Rabbit

I agree that not letting kids run in playgrounds is absolutely ridiculous. However, I read the link you posts CR, and I am puzzled. It seems to be about an education process designed to imbue kids with respect for others and for themselves to try and prevent bullying before it starts. The aim seems to be to prevent children having to resort to physical violence to solve disputes. Yet this is what the author has to say about the program:

The latest example of Hand-Holding 101 comes from the New York City public schools. According to Lauren Collins of The New Yorker magazine, the school system is introducing a new curriculum called "Operation Respect: Don't Laugh at Me" into all of its elementary and middle schools. The program is now used in at least 12,000 schools and camps across the country.
Ostensibly, the program helps kids deal with petty meanness and name-calling from insensitive classmates. Not by instructing them in self-defense, mind you, but by inflating their self-esteem. The organization's stated mission is "to transform schools, camps and organizations focused on children and youth, into more compassionate, safe and respectful environments." Instead of "put downs," teachers encourage "put ups." The Operation Respect website depicts well-adjusted children holding up signs with ego-affirming messages: "Ridicule Free Zone," "No Dissing Here," "U Matter," and "Peace Place."

Among the mindless training exercises teachers undergo is the "Caring Being" session. Collins quotes a conflict-resolution expert in Brooklyn leading middle-school educators through the lesson: "I want you all to share a time in your career as an educator where someone did or said something that made you feel like you were not cared for or respected. . . . Now do the opposite." After drawing figures encompassing their negative and positive experiences, teachers shared their finished products, "Caring Beings," which would be used to "explore creating agreements around behaviors."

Blecchh.

[SARCASM ON]Oh, yes, I totally agree. Rather than trying to teach children to respect and not bully each other in the first place, we should be teaching our children to respond to any name calling with immediate violence.[/SARCASM OFF]

[Steppe Merc]

Reminds me of the countless of tax payers money pored into my middle school to make a "Bully Free Zone". It was a joke.

Supressing emotions is very bad. However, there has to be moderation, which people tend to forget.

[Blodrast]

Yeah, right. Did you miss the stories in the US where teachers are forbidden from using red pens to correct papers because they have a 'negative' connotation? Negative? That's the whole idea- you put a red X on an answer because its wrong.

Or how about Florida dropping letter grades? Instead you'll get either a 1, 2 or 3 on your report card.

Xiahou, do you have any links for these ? I don't mean you should look for them, but I thought there was a fair chance that you actually already had them.
Thank you. No biggie if you don't.
No sarcasm, I'm genuinely interested.

[Xiahou]

Well, I heard them both on radio originally- but here's some relevant links.

Teachers back away from red ink


Letter report cards dumped

[Papewaio]

I had a teacher who was against ruling margins in red because it was a throwback to Imperial Britain.

So I ruled my margins in black.

I wouldn't call him soft... he was the economics teacher who was an ex-SAS sgt-mjr.

Positive reinforcement is a good thing.
Negative reinforcement should be used for lack of self discipline not lack of understanding.

When kids where bad in my class I made them stand on their toes and look at a dot on the board or stand in the corner. Boredom really is the best punishment for kids.

As for bad marks as a group that meant redoing the lesson in a different style for the group. Bad marks for an individual needed to be addressed as an individual. Kids are very competitive and you need to use that in a positive manner. Kids that go from 40% to 60% need to be praised and have it reinforced that a better grade is a good thing.

Kids who did not get a passmark in the tests had to stay back and repeat the test. Another thing kids hate to do, so they learn quickly to study and get it right the first time (pass mark was 80% normally btw).

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

WTF is this? The first time I was injured, I split my toe in hlaf while running, age of about 4. Sure, I cried, but it toughened me up quite a bit. In twenty years gym classes will be banned for "safety concerns", or will take place in padded "metal house" rooms. EARTH IS DECLINING!!!!! LIBERAL SISSIES ARE TAKING OVER!!!!! COME TO MARS, WE DON'T HAVE SISSIES HERE!!!!!

[scooter_the_shooter]

In my old middle school we couldn't even aim for peoples head in dodge ball


and there was no picking teams


All this #$%^ has got to stop.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Do you have large supplies of firearms that operate in reduced atmospheric conditions?

Oh, yes, I totally agree. Rather than trying to teach children to respect and not bully each other in the first place, we should be teaching our children to respond to any name calling with immediate violence.

Goofball, the signs and 'bully free zones' promoted by the libs are not to stop people from becoming bullies, its the libs foolish response to kids who are already bullies. They can't bring themselves to tell the kids to stand up for themselves, so they stack a house of cards designed to inflate the kids self esteem- not through having the kids doing anything, just that they are 'special', should be proud of themselves, etc.

They don't teach them how to deal with problems- only how to hide them and pretend they don't exist.

Crazed Rabbit

[Blodrast]

thank you, Xiahou.

[scooter_the_shooter]

Do you have large supplies of firearms that operate in reduced atmospheric conditions?





Crazed Rabbit

what do you mean by this??

[Blodrast]

gasp ! I read both those links, and I must admit I am shocked ! (and I'd like to think I'm not that easily shocked, especially since I'm a Member Emeritus of the Apathy Club... ).
I also find it unbelievable that there exist people with such esoteric jobs, that can spout such utter crap:

"Teaching should always be a positive practice. Red seems to stand out in such a negative way," said [...], school support specialist with the New York Charter Schools Association (search). “Little guys internalize the red and it doesn’t make them feel good.”

Are they supposed to feel good if they were WRONG ? Isn't the whole point to make them aware that they were wrong ?! They "internalize the red" ?? I consider myself lucky I've never read any books that contain phrases like this...

sheesh, I think I can understand positive thinking and all that, but this is an incredible amount of hypocrisy...

Now I must add another job to the list of strictly-no-contact-with-people-who-do-that for my kids: "school support specialist"...