I think it's sad that the school felt like it had to come to this decision. Maybe this says more about parents than it does about schools?Dastardly said:
Poll: Toronto School Bans Hard Balls - Do You Agree?
- Thread starter Mr. Eff_v1legacy
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Yeah, as I despised hardball sports as a child. I sympathise with any children who hate hardballs, because I got hit by basketballs and footballs a few times. -_-
Yep. Everyone wants everything to be someone else's fault, and no one can touch parents. You can fire a teacher for making one mistake, you can vote out a representative because you don't like his hair, but you can't do anything to a parent no matter how incompetently they do the job (provided the child isn't absolutely starving).Mr. Eff said:
There's protecting children from danger and harm, then, there's padding them in bubble wrap and protecting them from EVERTHING. The latter, is BAD for children. Life is hard, they need SOME steel in there bones and some thickend skin to survive. A few bumps and bruses aren't going to kill them. This is stupid, but it's the natural progression that socitiy is heading down. Kid gloves for everyone! It's not going to end well... IMO.
Indeed. I wish just once that a school would come out and say that dealing with risk is an essential part of one's education. And while I'm at it, I'd like a pony.Mr. Eff said:
I think that part of my confusion comes when I try to understand what a school means by "injury". They appear to mean "anything which causes a person to suffer some degree of pain or discomfort", like maybe a scraped knee or a cricket ball to the leg. When I talk about an injury, I mean something along the lines of a broken limb or a severe concussion. Something that's going to take you out of action for awhile.
In my primary school we weren't allowed to play sports or run in the playground. Neither were we allowed to bring in trading cards, handheld games (Gameboy/PSP etc) or any other toys. Break and lunch times were very boring in primary school.
(For any that don't know, primary school in the UK is from ages 4 - 11, and for me pretty much all I wanted to do in that time was run around and play sports.)
(For any that don't know, primary school in the UK is from ages 4 - 11, and for me pretty much all I wanted to do in that time was run around and play sports.)
I smacked my head on the ground really hard once (I jumped for a rope hanging from a tree, slip down the rope, got rope-burn on my hands, and hit the back of my head on my roots) and got concussed. It wasn't that bad. Felt a little dizzy and couldn't see straight for a while, but it was a pretty fun experience. This is a huge overreaction. Kids need to experience concussions!
For the young kiddies, I totally agree with it. At my school we weren't allowed to play with hard balls until we were out of juniors (about 9 years old), and even then size 5 balls weren't allowed until we hit high school (age 12).
Getting hit in the face with a hard ball fracking hurts, especially when you're knee high to a grasshopper. I don't see this as coddling at all. Tiny child = smaller ball, it makes sense.
Getting hit in the face with a hard ball fracking hurts, especially when you're knee high to a grasshopper. I don't see this as coddling at all. Tiny child = smaller ball, it makes sense.
Sure take away hard balls. What about erasers? I mean...those can give quite a sting if lobbed at a kids head, better remove those too. Oh damn and backpacks! Drop one of those on your foot and you might be in trouble. Come to think of it, table corners are far too sharp. Everything should be rounded...and the teachers should be made of nerf.
Hey guys, we should ban books. If you drop one of them on your foot, it could break your toe. And nothing kills a child's confidence like a broken toe.
Also, compulsive "reading" can lead to eyestrain and social withdrawal.
DANGER CLOSE.
Also, compulsive "reading" can lead to eyestrain and social withdrawal.
DANGER CLOSE.
Not the right approach. Obviously, they shouldn't use hard balls for things like dodgeball (I nearly broke my glasses, dammit!) but it's not exactly possible to longbomb a foam ball while playing (American) football.
I agree with this for two reasons: 1) It's an elementary school which has younger children who are more likely to get injured due to still growing and being generally more sensitive than older children/adults, and 2) As someone who has actually been knocked out cold before by a soccer ball to the back of the head I can say with ease that kids that age don't have the restraint necessary to play with them and avoid major injuries in an area where neither they nor the parents are the ones who would be held responsible. If they want to play with them on their own time then fine, no one is trying to stop them there. But in a school environment where the chances of injury are much greater I say it's better to be safe than sorry.
I think the fact that in football you tackle each other really hard would be more likely to cause a concussion....
Except this shit doesn't actually protect children. We learn not to fuck about because, in the past, we've gotten ourselves hurt doing it. We remember the dangers of football because we took a ball to the face, or the obvious weak point.
What do I remember about the dangers of full-contact rugby? Well, in school it wasn't allowed. We played tag rugby in school. With a Welsh instructor. That's what I remember about it in school.
It wasn't until college, when I suffered soft tissue damage thanks to a misplaced kneecap and a lot of momentum. That's my memory of why I should be faster. Not any health and safety substitutes. Just experience. You bring kids up with foam and softness, and the second something real hits them, they're gonna lose their shit.
What do I remember about the dangers of full-contact rugby? Well, in school it wasn't allowed. We played tag rugby in school. With a Welsh instructor. That's what I remember about it in school.
It wasn't until college, when I suffered soft tissue damage thanks to a misplaced kneecap and a lot of momentum. That's my memory of why I should be faster. Not any health and safety substitutes. Just experience. You bring kids up with foam and softness, and the second something real hits them, they're gonna lose their shit.
Funny, I live in a town just north of Toronto and the elementary school I went to did this when someone got (barely) hurt when a dodgeball hit them in the face. It was a huge overreaction but this one in Toronto looks even worse. There must be compromise that can be reached somehow. Playing without proper sports balls is really stupid.
I agree with it, I used to hate the idiots who tried to kick them at people.
P.S. FUCK YOU CAPTCHA LEARN TO FUCKING READ
P.S. FUCK YOU CAPTCHA LEARN TO FUCKING READ
If this goes on in years to come each kid will have to go to classes in his own protective bubble.
No I don't agree, if you've a couple of kids messing about with..."hard balls" (heh) you educate them, you don't just take it away for everyone. What kind of nonsense is this teaching?
Asides from this, the rough and tumble is an integral part of childhood, it shapes their perspective, stripping their lives of these things are not in any way beneficial.
Asides from this, the rough and tumble is an integral part of childhood, it shapes their perspective, stripping their lives of these things are not in any way beneficial.
That's something I was thinking about, too. People learn from trial and error, and this is especially important for children.Speakercone said:
Think about the kid who kicked the ball that hit the parent in the article. If this kid knows that they hurt someone, I would think that this kid learned to be more careful. That their consequences can have actions.