More schools ban games at recess

Some traditional childhood games are disappearing from school playgrounds because educators say they're dangerous. Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyo., and Spokane, Wash., banned tag at recess this year. Others, including a suburban Charleston, S.C., school, dumped contact sports such as soccer and touch football. In other cities, including Wichita; San Jose, Calif.; Beaverton, Ore.; and Rancho Santa Fe., Calif., schools took similar actions earlier.

The bans were passed in the name of safety, but some children's health advocates say limiting exercise and free play can inhibit a child's development. Groups such as the National School Boards Association don't keep statistics on school games. But several experts, including Donna Thompson of the National Program for Playground Safety, verify the trend. Dodge ball has been out at some schools for years, but banning games such as tag and soccer is a newer development. "It's happening more," Thompson says. Educators worry about "kids running into one another" and getting hurt, she says.

In January, Freedom Elementary School in Cheyenne prohibited tag at recess because it "progresses easily into slapping and hitting and pushing instead of just touching," Principal Cindy Farwell says. Contact sports were banned from recess at Charles Pinckney Elementary early this year, says Charleston County schools spokeswoman Mary Girault, because children suffered broken arms and dislocated fingers playing touch football and soccer. Some schools that ban games at recess allow children to play them in gym class under supervision.

Critics of the bans say playing freely helps kids learn to negotiate rules and resolve disputes. "They learn to change and to problem-solve," says Rhonda Clements, an education professor at Manhattanville College. Joe Frost, emeritus professor of early childhood education at the University of Texas-Austin, sees playground restrictions as harmful. "You're taking away the physical development of the children," he says. "Having time for play is essential for children to keep their weight under control."

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Neglected government school suddenly noticed

If it had been a private school in such a state, there would have been lawsuits left, right and centre

Parents at this Brisbane primary school battled for years to get the State Government to fund an urgent upgrade to the school's crumbling electrical system. Despite the wiring being so bad that students at Darra State School in the southwest suburbs risked a blackout every time they turned on a computer, and despite warnings of an extreme fire risk, their desperate pleas were refused. Then they contacted The Sunday Mail.

Within hours of this newspaper asking Education Queensland for a response, the school was told it would get $25,000 towards the upgrade. Darra State School P&C president Tania Schott was amazed by the development. "They couldn't find the money on Tuesday when I was told there would be no funding for this," she said. "Then, all of a sudden, they've found $25,000 worth of upgrade a few hours after the media called them."

But the money is not enough. Ms Schott, a mother of two, said the school still needs another $55,000 to ensure the electrical system is safe. "You never know when you flick a switch if it is going to short the whole system out," she said. Ms Schott said the school was operating on single-phase power, the same system used in a normal domestic home. "Electricians have told us we should be running on nothing less that phase-three power," she said. Funding is available for a new airconditioning system but there is no point in installing it because the electrical system could not provide enough power.

When more than six PCs in the computer lab are turned on, it causes a short. "It is so outdated we cannot even put an oven in our tuckshop because it is in the same building block as the computer lab. If we use an oven, the computers shut down," Ms Schott said. Electrical experts say the system is a fire hazard and would most likely be illegal if it were in an industrial building of the same size. "Any system which cuts out regularly because it can't handle the power is inherently dangerous," an electrician, who asked not to be named, told The Sunday Mail. "In this day and age every school should be on at least a phase-three system."

Queensland Teachers' Union representative Marion James said the school needed an urgent upgrade of the electrical system. "We need it to be able to install airconditioning, which has been made available through a Federal Government grant, but more importantly to run our computer lab," she said.

Opposition education spokesman Stuart Copeland demanded Education Minister Rod Welford explain why the electrical system had been allowed to deteriorate so badly. "So much for Peter Beattie's Smart State. When our kids can't use the school's computers, when the tuckshop can't feed our kids, it's an appalling indictment of the Beattie Government," he said. "A good education and safe school is one of the basics. "The Coalition calls on the Education Minister to explain why his department refuses to provide adequate funding - particularly when there is a danger to children at this school."

The Sunday Mail was refused an interview with principal Warren Beetson but an Education Queensland spokesman denied parents' claims that they were ignored. "An audit needed to be carried out to determine precisely what work was required. That audit was completed recently and arrangements have been made for an upgrade to occur during the school holidays," the spokesman said. "The main switchboard will be upgraded to provide three-phase power for the school's computers and resolve electrical issues in the tuckshop."

But the department still refuses to completely upgrade the school to the phase-three level. "The electrical capacity provided to schools is determined by the electrical load within the school. On this basis, it is not necessary to have three-phase power in all schools," the spokesman said. Education Queensland declined to answer a request for information on the number of schools in Queensland suffering from the same problem.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

The NEA and similar unions worldwide believe that children should be thoroughly indoctrinated with Green/Left, feminist/homosexual ideology but the "3 R's" are something that kids should just be allowed to "discover"

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