Bourgeois Pacifism

[Red_Banner]

http://news.yahoo.com/middle-school-bans--hard--balls-from-recess-154637551.html

[Thirsty Crow]

That's not pacifism, but overt care for the physical well being of kids.

[CECE]

Haha, wow. This is a laugh. What's the fun of living is there's no risk involved? :P Slightly tongue in cheek but this is ridiculous... Might as well tear down the jungle gym altogether because kids are still going to get hurt. While you're at it might as well keep everyone inside for recess, they can just watch T.V. for 45 minutes instead of play...

"In Iowa, students are banned from even looking at their cell phones because of overuse and fear of cyberbullying."

If we just don't look at, it'll go away!

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

Safety regulation often is implemented in a really poor fashion so I know why people complain about it going too far. But really who cares? Was getting smacked in the face by hard rubber balls during recess and gym really that central to your childhood development?

[Thirsty Crow]

Haha, wow. This is a laugh. What's the fun of living is there's no risk involved? :P Slightly tongue in cheek but this is ridiculous...
I actually agree. The best moments in physical exercise classes were when we played footie and someone tackled you hard, seriously :lol:


Safety regulation often is implemented in a really poor fashion so I know why people complain about it going too far. But really who cares? Was getting smacked in the face by hard rubber balls during recess and gym really that central to your childhood development?
Of course, teachers should make sure that kids know how to avoid any serious injury. For instance the heavy "medicine" balls we used at school (some 15-20 lbs) can really fuck you up.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

I'm not sure me pegging people in the head with footballs after lunch can be classified in the same category as teaching children to avoid being hit by heavy objects though. Regardless of how much fun it was at the time

[Thirsty Crow]

I'm not sure me pegging people in the head with footballs after lunch can be classified in the same category as teaching children to avoid being hit by heavy objects though. Regardless of how much fun it was at the time
Yeah, I'm just pointing out that teachers should act as supervisors in potential cases of serious injury.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Goddamn it.
You know what actually harms kids? Homophobia. Patriarchy. The same shit that harms adults. Ban "hard" balls and instead of getting hit with a football the "fag" is just going to get hit with fists. Some "safety".

[synthesis]

The article in the OP obviously has nothing to do with bourgeois pacifism or genuine care for the welfare of the kids. It's strictly about the school's fear of being sued.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I don't actually see what is so wrong/controversial here.

It's a pretty standard measure in most schools here that you can't just walk around the playground whacking footballs through windows, or throwing hard balls around. The potential for injury is pretty high, and if shit around the school starts getting broken, then it's the school that has to pay for these things to be replaced out of its own budget, which then negatively impacts its ability to fund positive things like school trips, educational resources etc.

[Art Vandelay]

Why don't we put pads on the kids?
Helmets, head gear and mouth pieces!
Then we could pad the floor and walls,
Put cameras inside bathroom stalls

Anyone who says this is anything but ridiculous has no clue what they're talking about. I mean dear god, the article even mentions a school's 'no tag, no chasing' policy. Its been underway for a while now, I can remember getting in trouble once for tossing around leaves at recess in elementary school in case they got 'in someone's eye' or some, equally stupid, line of reasoning. All this school has done is effectively remove their student's ability to play both baseball and football, two of the most popular sports in the world.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

I remember once some kid fell over and hurt himself when we were playing bulldog (basically people run from one side of the playground to the other and try not to get hit and if they do get hit they join the kids in the middle who do the hitting) and then the head master banned bulldog so we invented 'semi' where you run from one semi circle to the next in pretty much exactly the same fashion. Things were so much easier back then. :P

But, yeah, this isn't bourgeois pacifism. This is schools being shackled by bourgeois legal systems and being unable to provide a welcoming educational environment.