I heard some ridiculous ad on talk radio... I didn't catch all of it but it had something to do with "not letting the playground become the pain-ground." In some respects, I agree with it but we cannot put our children in bubble wrap. Honestly, has anyone LOOKED at an "average" American child? Fat! Fat! Fat! Yeah, I said it. Fat! Let's do the math here...
Let's see...in the 90s, we cut back music and art. Test scores dipped so in some areas it was brought back. So now the communists that are on most school boards had to find another way to pad their pockets.
Let's see...how about we do "fundraising" for the school by installing soda machines and vending machines? I had those when I was in junior high but we were strictly forbidden to use them (they were literally behind locked doors until after school. Your average 20 oz soda is about 200 calories (if not more). Juice isn't much better - it's mostly sugar. But at least with juice you get some vitamins.
Okay, well let's keep looking....still not enough? How about we cut back or do away with PE? After all, someone might get knocked down when learning to follow the rules (gasp!!) of a game. Forget all about the Presidential Challenge or running a mile in 12 minutes. If that's not bad enough, let's cut back recess because children aren't "learning" enough.
Could it be that children aren't learning enough because they are stuffed with sugar and have no where to run it out of their systems? I've seen news reports of schools getting rid of playground staples such as swings and monkey bars to "protect" the children. What a crock of.....I'll give you a hint and it isn't butter.
My eight year old does his homework on the bus so he can play outside with his buddies when he gets in. Why? Because they have recess for 10 minutes before lunch. After lunch (did I mention it was a SILENT lunch room), they go right back to class. So much for burning calories. Yet the schools can't figure out why kids are such little troublemakers.
Let's review: cutting art and music = lower test scores. Light bulb moment: bring back some art and some music.
Let's review: cutting recess or taking away recess activities and PE and adding vending machines = fat (FAT! ), hyper children with nothing to do but take it out on their teachers.
We can't protect them from everything. They will eventually fall and hurt themselves. I don't know a single parent who doesn't have a "fell and hit their head" story. Shall we do away with Little League and Upward Bound sports programs too? Oh crap...I better shut up. The communists are probably listening and they don't need anymore ideas.
BRING BACK RECESS AND PE!! BRING BACK THE ABILITY OF A CHILD TO BEHAVE LIKE A CHILD IN SCHOOL!! GET RID OF VENDING MACHINES (I am so thankful the schools my kids attend already did this)!! LEARN CALORIE CONTROL AND PORTION CONTROL - PACK THEIR LUNCH YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE TO!
Amen sister!! If worse comes to worse we can physically wear the kids out so they go to bed early and stay out of trouble on school nights. LOL. (Didn't work for me but it makes for a good arguement.)
Amen sister!! If worse comes to worse we can physically wear the kids out so they go to bed early and stay out of trouble on school nights. LOL. (Didn't work for me but it makes for a good arguement.)