Poll: Toronto School Bans Hard Balls - Do You Agree?

Mr. Eff_v1legacy

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An elementary school in Toronto has banned hard balls - like those used for football and soccer - due to safety concerns.
The ban apparently came into effect after a parent suffered a concussion. The principal of the school also says "kids were coming in complaining of injury, or being scared."
Soft balls made of foam are still allowed.
Full story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/11/16/toronto-school-balls.html

Personally, I think this is a huge overreaction, but it's not entirely surprising. In an age where people are encouraging kids to engage in physical activity, they are being deprived of the means to do so. Not only that, but kids can't be protected forever. Accidents happen. It's a part of learning.

So I ask you, Escapists: do you agree with the ban?
 

Jonluw

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May 23, 2010
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There needs to be some joke about testicles in this thread, but I can't muster up the effort to make one.

No, I don't agree. It's stupid. Do I really need to make an argument to support that view?
Nah, fuck it, my head hurts.
 

DasDestroyer

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Soft balls(hehe) can be hazardous too... given enough velocity or when stuffed down someone's throat they can have lethal results! We should ban them too!
[sub][sub]/sarcasm[/sub][/sub]
So yeah, huge overreaction.
 

Dr_Horrible

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DasDestroyer said:
Soft balls(hehe) can be hazardous too... given enough velocity or when stuffed down someone's throat they can have lethal results! We should ban them too!
[sub][sub]/sarcasm[/sub][/sub]
So yeah, huge overreaction.
Yeah, and what's this about using sharp pencils? You could take someone's eyes out with those things!

OT: Yeah, this is really, really, really dumb.
 

mikey7339

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Anyone wanna start a pool up on how long until they require them to go to school in full body environmental suits because one of their kids caught a rather nasty cold?
 

DasDestroyer

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Dr_Horrible said:
DasDestroyer said:
Soft balls(hehe) can be hazardous too... given enough velocity or when stuffed down someone's throat they can have lethal results! We should ban them too!
[sub][sub]/sarcasm[/sub][/sub]
So yeah, huge overreaction.
Yeah, and what's this about using sharp pencils? You could take someone's eyes out with those things!

OT: Yeah, this is really, really, really dumb.
And don't get me started on computers. You can grab a tower if it's sturdy enough(and most school computers are made with surviving the onslaught of careless kids' fingers rather than power in mind) and beat the shit out of someone sitting next to you!
 

Dastardly

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Apr 19, 2010
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Mr. Eff said:
An elementary school in Toronto has banned hard balls - like those used for football and soccer - due to safety concerns.
The ban apparently came into effect after a parent suffered a concussion. The principal of the school also says "kids were coming in complaining of injury, or being scared."
Soft balls made of foam are still allowed.
Full story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/11/16/toronto-school-balls.html

Personally, I think this is a huge overreaction, but it's not entirely surprising. In an age where people are encouraging kids to engage in physical activity, they are being deprived of the means to do so. Not only that, but kids can't be protected forever. Accidents happen. It's a part of learning.

So I ask you, Escapists: do you agree with the ban?
Yep. Not because I think it'll help anyone, but because (as a teacher) I wouldn't want to get sued, either. As long as schools can be sued for stuff like this, I think they're right to ban every last bit of it.
 

spartan231490

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Most.
Idiotic.
Thing.
Ever.

Footballs and soccer balls aren't even that hard. And concussion my ass. With the number of times I got slammed in the head with soccer balls and suffered no ill-effects I'm not buying it.

Besides, give a little kid a stick and he will start beating things with it, people if he thinks he can get away with it. Are you gonna ban trees, rulers, pointers, ect? Just idiotic.
 

Viptorian

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I can't stand how soft the world is getting. If you get hurt, you get hurt. You're not going to die from a football or soccer ball.
 

Dastardly

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Apr 19, 2010
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spartan231490 said:
Most.
Idiotic.
Thing.
Ever.

Footballs and soccer balls aren't even that hard. And concussion my ass. With the number of times I got slammed in the head with soccer balls and suffered no ill-effects I'm not buying it.

Besides, give a little kid a stick and he will start beating things with it, people if he thinks he can get away with it. Are you gonna ban trees, rulers, pointers, ect? Just idiotic.
While I agree this is an overreaction, you can't act like a concussion isn't possible.

Force = mass x acceleration. Whether or not it "hurts really bad" or something isn't part of the equation. And just like every gunshot doesn't end in a death, or every cut doesn't get infected, not every impact leads to a concussion.

Just the same, I don't blame the school for not wanting to risk liability.
 

Marter

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Oct 27, 2009
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No, I don't agree. When I was in elementary school, the only thing I did during recess was play soccer. Yes, even in -30C/3 feet of snow, we played soccer. And it was glorious. I can only imagine how terrible elementary school would have been if we weren't allowed to play soccer.
 

Drenaje1

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mikey7339 said:
Anyone wanna start a pool up on how long until they require them to go to school in full body environmental suits because one of their kids caught a rather nasty cold?

I'll toss my coin in the pot for that one. This is just a little bit ridiculous, honestly. What's that, you say? Your child's been struck by a passing dodgeball? HOH NO, we're clearly going to have to ban all play objects that could potentially be slightly painful!

Oh, what more is there to say? Overreaction. Stupid decision, etc, etc.
 

ACman

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Maybe they should make the entire school out of jumping castles and marshmellow. It's be safe... And delicious!
 

Cgull

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Oct 31, 2009
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spartan231490 said:
Most.
Idiotic.
Thing.
Ever.

Footballs and soccer balls aren't even that hard. And concussion my ass. With the number of times I got slammed in the head with soccer balls and suffered no ill-effects I'm not buying it.

Besides, give a little kid a stick and he will start beating things with it, people if he thinks he can get away with it. Are you gonna ban trees, rulers, pointers, ect? Just idiotic.
Whilst I completely agree with your sentiment in that I don't believe hard balls *muffled snigger* should be banned either I feel I should assert the opinion that it's entirely possible to get a concussion from a football, speaking from experience. It's only happened the once (and, speaking as someone who was a football crazy child and is still a football crazy adult, I've played it a lot) but it has happened.

Very hard shot, back of my head, not a pleasant experience for a couple of days.

Incidentally, my junior school (ages 6-10/11) actually implemented a simliar ban when I was there (sadly over a decade ago) but to try and cut back on injuries, not through fear of being sued because of them. Whilst it did suck, it didn't stop me from going straight to the park afterwards and playing the game as nature intended anyway, nor has it stopped me from growing up into being a fully capable adult, with a healthy understanding of health and safety.

Now, if only they could ban stray elbows when jumping for a header...THAT would stop concussions!
 

weker

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May 27, 2009
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I can get where they are coming from, I said yes as I support their decision tho I don't think it should be a wide spread thing. Almost all the injuries in my school were all caused by balls, and were more then frequent. So yes this will save a lot of people from injuries.