<p>[Long</a> Island Middle School Bans Footballs, Other Recreational Items « CBS New York](<a href=“Long Island Middle School Bans Footballs, Other Recreational Items - CBS New York”>Long Island Middle School Bans Footballs, Other Recreational Items - CBS New York)</p>
<p>Let’s just wrap children in bubble wrap and control every aspect of their lives.</p>
<p>Banning balls, cartwheels and tag. So, I assume that a kid would get punished if he or she were to disobey and turn a few cartwheels? That makes me sad.</p>
<p>Will they ban pretending-to-throw-footballs, too, like they do with pretending to shoot a gun?</p>
<p>I am glad that my house is nowhere near that school! Because when those kids get out after the last class, they will need to release their energy somewhere. Goodbye, neighborhood mailboxes, lamp posts, shrubbery and so on!</p>
<p>Another article stated this was a temporary measure due to construction limiting play space. I was very surprised to read of a middle school having recess. Ours doesn’t, nor did mine back in the 70s. And thinking back to elementary school, there was no ball free for all going on. Usually there was a game of kickball with a teacher involved. There just wasn’t enough space to have baseballs, footballs, etc in that same space. We survived.</p>
<p>Back in the 70s in Brooklyn my Junior High School (we did not use the term middle school back then) had recess. Although since it was many years ago I don’t remember all of the details, some recess incident caused the school to ban balls at recess. Back then we played with those little pink “spauldeen” balls and enjoyed playing a bunch of games which we played against the wall (stoop ball type games). When the balls were outlawed the kids switched to playing johnny on the pony (basically a game where kids jump on each others backs piling up). I think after one day of this the school changed the rules back and allowed balls again!</p>
<p>I transferred from Catholic school to Public School in the 5th grade. When recess time came I followed the other boys out to the playground - a hard clay lot filled with many rocks. We played tackle football, or more precisely “Kill the man with the ball”. When you were tackled to the ground you had to toss the football in the air so the nearest boy could catch it and run until he was tackled by the swarm. When the recess bell rang, I sauntered back inside with my dress shirt torn, my dress pants a mess, and I was bleeding from my arm and my knee. But I had made some new friends.</p>
<p>I wore raggy clothes from that day forward.</p>
<p>It’s a good thing. Those nurf balls can be pretty painful when you try to catch them </p>
<p>Plus, we sure don’t want any kid improving his/her eye-hand coordination. :D</p>
<p>I didn’t think there were any middle schools that had recess any more.</p>
<p>Our local public school has recess through high school. In High School, students can go out and walk around, play a pick up game of whatever, or stay inside (do homework, meet with a teacher if available, talk with friends, etc.). As long as they stay on school grounds, they’re good. I think it’s a good thing.</p>
<p>Ah, didn’t even process that it is middle school. We had recess in middle school, but I don’t think all that many do have recess.</p>
<p>I have never heard of a middle school having recess. I do think it is a good thing, and the balls should come back. Obesity rates are so high and now we are encouraging the kids to stand still and not move so they don’t hurt anyone?</p>
<p>They’re probably keeping them inside so they can practice filling in the bubbles with number two pencils. If they let them out they might make a break for it.</p>
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Well wait, this is a new policy due to reduced space? Do you really want your kid trying to play volleyball on the same small court as 50 kids with footballs and basketballs?</p>
<p>This article (in original post) says nothing about the new policy being due to a lack of space.</p>
<p>"As CBS 2’s Jennifer McLogan reported Monday, officials at Weber Middle School in Port Washington are worried that students are getting hurt during recess. Thus, they have instituted a ban on footballs, baseballs, lacrosse balls, or anything that might hurt someone on school grounds.</p>
<p>According to this article, it has to do with the potential for students to get injured.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/living/parents-middle-school-bans-balls-recess/index.html?hpt=us_c2[/url]”>http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/living/parents-middle-school-bans-balls-recess/index.html?hpt=us_c2</a>
^here’s a CNN clip of the story</p>
<p>Long ago and in a faraway time, I went to this school when it was a junior high school, grades 7-9. I’m embarrassed by this story. :p: Trust me that I was in the middle of some of the world’s greatest games of tag there. ;)</p>
<p>Ridiculous. I think discipline problems and obesity rates would go way down with more emphasis on fitness.</p>
<p>No recess here in Middle School. Back in the stone age, I didn’t have recess after 5th grade. Gosh, in our middle school here, they tried to keep those tweens busy every minute of,the school,day.</p>
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<p>Based on that criteria you must certainly ban pencils, pens, scissors (!!!), hard cover books (not sure about soft cover books), laptop computers, chairs, tables with sharp corners, no- better ban all tables, any utensils in the cafeteria, grapes (choking hazard), shoes, belts, any jewelry (including rings, necklaces and bracelets), and of course ban all speaking because nothing is more hurtful than words, and by extension, ban writing also. Did I forget anything? Oh, and make sure teachers have proper firearms training so they can have guns at school to keep the children safe.</p>
<p>Around here they have PE in middle school, not recess.</p>