KNOCK KNOCK.
WHO'S THERE?
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD, WHO?
THE WORLD IS LOSING IT'S FREAKING MIND.
McClean VA. elementary school has put a ban on tag, the children's game that Jesus himself probably played 2000 + years ago. This is the 5th such school or entire school district that has banned the game. School Principal Robyn Hooker claimed the "game was becoming increasingly intensely aggressive, and is causing some children to feel bad about themselves."
Heeeeeere we go again. First it was the fat kids and dodge ball. Now it's tag. What's next? "Red Rover" has to be called:
"A mixture of magenta and yellow makes the color but not that color because it's offensive to American Indians?" Try chanting that while holding hands in a line.
Are we going to insist on banning Hop Scotch, Four-Square, The Farmer in the Dell, Kick the Can, Capture the Flag, Duck-duck Goose, Steal the Bacon, and Red Light/Green Light too?
Look. To all the *@#*% thunderheads in our educational system: Recess was created to allow the aggressive energy to flow out of small children so they'd be more attentive and receptive in the classroom. How is it that all these academics don't know or have forgotten this? And why do we have to stress ad nausea that there are no winners and losers, and that all children should be sensitive and caressing of each other?
Children...for those of you that don't know this...are little adults. Yup, they are. They think, breathe, talk, calculate, and compete just like we do. If we teach them that no one wins and no one loses, we're teaching them a lie. People do win and lose. If we give everyone a trophy for playing, we're destroying their value system. And if we tell them that everyone is equal - as opposed to telling them everyone should be treated equally, we're going to confuse them because they can clearly see with their own eyes the fellow students who are struggling academically, the students who have behavioral issues, and who the best kick-ball player is in the third grade - IF in fact kick-ball is still allowed, that is.
What I'm saying here is this. The sanitized PC environment we have and still continue to create for our children is going to be the undoing of this nation. Not a bad President. Not higher gas prices. Not even some moron hiding in a cave in Pakistan. We're sacrificing our future, and we're doing it voluntarily, which makes me want to throw up. It's high time we came to the realization that kids don't draw up plans to kill other kids because they get beat at "Simon Says." Kids bring guns to school because our system and our society keeps telling them they're all equal - and therefore deserving of equal reward - when the truth is they are not all equal...and they know it. Kids shoot their teachers and classmates because they're receiving crappy or no guidance at home, not because they boinked a spelling test. Please don't give me this bully crapola, either. There were bullies 45 years ago when I started kindergarten, and no one shot anyone back then. It's our lack of personal accountability that is creating this festering mess. Taking away playground games doesn't solve any issues - it only serves to create more.
We have lost the ability to rationally explain to our children that "life's a bitch", and here's how you go about winning the game:
"It's called hard work and perseverance, little Johnny. Your friend Tim is better at baseball than you because he just is. Johnny, you need to stop obsessing about how life isn't fair, and find what you're good at doing, so you can out perform Tim in some other aspect of life."
It's called "Tough Love" boys and girls, and we currently suck at enforcing it.
Johnny is receiving mixed signals, so the chances of him following solid advice and putting his nose to the old grindstone are diminishing as we speak.
As is our national prowess.
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5 comments:
I wonder if these (Adult?)decision makers are the same people who think health care should be free, and rage about gas prices as if driving a car were a right and not a privilege, and then complain about the cost of their Ivy League education? Oh- and how expensive it is to send their kids to their piano lessons?
Just wondered-
I agree that political correctness can go too far. But instead of taking the "tough love" route and saying "Look, kid. You just aren't good at baseball, let's find something else." I think we should encourage an attitude of "Baseball's fun even when you dont win a game, isn't it? Isn't it fun to swing a bat and run around a field? And aren't we lucky to have sunny days and hot dogs and baseball?" Excelling at something is part of the fun; it's one aspect of it. It's up to us how important it is to win or lose. Even losing can be part of the fun if we make it so in our minds.
We shouldn't sweep these things under the rug, but we don't have to wallow in it either.
The point of my post was not about winning and/or losing; rather about the overwhelming fact that freedom to fail is being taken away from our children.
Like it or not, everyone is obviously not good at everthing. In this case, I used baseball. Look, if you have a child who wants to play the flute - but they suck at it - by all means you should allow the child to continue playing, but simultaneously you should be trying to ascertain exactly what the child IS good at, and then gently nudge and cajole them in that direction.
While doing so, you can infuse the life lesson that failure is part of the process we all go through.
Bottom Line: Eliminating "Tag" is another example of avoiding the difficult task of telling a child he or she is not as gifted as some others in this particular area. In doing so, we lose the opportunity to pass on wisdom the child can take long into his or her life.
The point of my post was not about winning and/or losing; rather about the overwhelming fact that freedom to fail is being taken away from our children.
But why is it important to base our definition of "failure" or "success" on being better than other people? You basically imply that if you don't outperform your peers in one arena - if you fail - then you should move along to the next thing. Because then you will beat them and by beating them you will be happy. But any feeling of happiness that comes from something like that is guaranteed to be fleeting because there will be someone else to beat around the next corner. That's not saying we dont have the freedom to fail, it's saying that we have the freedom to be happy within ourselves because we aren't reliant on anyone else to point out that we've failed in their opinion.
Look, if you have a child who wants to play the flute - but they suck at it - by all means you should allow the child to continue playing, but simultaneously you should be trying to ascertain exactly what the child IS good at, and then gently nudge and cajole them in that direction.
Not unless they ask to do something else. If my child finds joy in playing the flute I will be satisfied. If she loves it then she is already successful. So many people go through their entire lives without finding something they love. It's worth celebrating when you do. She doesn't have to be the next rising star and I hope that I never lead her to believe that my love for her is based on any such expectation. If we all went around giving up activities that we enjoyed just because we weren't #1 world champs we would all be miserable and frustrated all the time. I believe that a parent's job is to nurture and support. If she says, "I dont feel satisfied by only playing the flute. I would like to try the violin." Then okay let's try the violin as well. But I don't want to make that decision and push her in another direction just for my sake - for my own pride or bragging rights or whatever. So I fear that probably puts me in the category of "the type of parents you can't stand" but the intention is the same - to do the best for our kids as we can think of.
Bottom Line: Eliminating "Tag" is another example of avoiding the difficult task of telling a child he or she is not as gifted as some others in this particular area.
I guess my bottom line is that I don't think we need to tell them that. Children are much more intuitive than we adults give them credit for. They know what's up. The most important lesson is kindness, to themselves and others. Happiness never comes from outside. If you win the first place trophy in a tournament, be happy about it and don't resent it if the 10th team out of 10 gets a little trophy, too. It doesn't devalue the effort you made. Let them have it. They made an effort, too.
Ok..Ok...gotcha
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