Oh Common Sense, Wherefore art thou????

OK - so I was perusing a local school's website the other day when I ran across this playground rule that made my head want to explode: "There will be NO chasing or tag games on the equipment, on the field, or on the blacktop. NO PHYSICAL CONTACT OF ANY KIND IS ALLOWED ON THE PLAYGROUND." The emphasis is not mine - this is exactly what it says.

SAY WHAT?????? There are few things that make me angrier than this whole move to strip children of their childhood one little piece at a time under the guise of safety or educational issues. Don't even get me started on my major pet-peeve - "all-day kindergarten" but this is right up there. There are even schools out there that have had the gall to cancel recess all together. What is wrong with allowing kids to be kids - do we really have to turn them into miniature adults as early as age 5?

I get so much joy watching my kids, for example, at homeschool tumbling, running around, and even (gasp) chasing and playing tag with their friends - a.k.a. ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!!!!! I think it's awesome when all the boys in Mo's class gather under the trees with their light sabers and have their miniature versions of the Luke and Darth Vader moments. That is what kids should be doing - and for heaven's sake - NO PHYSICAL CONTACT? What is it - a school or a prison? These aren't hardened criminals, these are children, children with energy to burn. Is there no common sense in making these rules? The bigger question for me is why any parent would put up with them. I wouldn't let my kid near a school that was hell-bent on stripping my kid of all things child-like. It's ridiculous and way over the top - it's zero-tolerance for the playground. Unfortunately, zero-tolerance is often the result of zero common sense adding up to 100% stupidity. It's enough to make me scream!!!!

For myself, this is simply another reminder of why we homeschool!