Preventing Playground Bullying

My family took our son out of public school partly because of bullying.  Honestly, there was at least two parties in the wrong; the most important one was that of the adult teacher on playground duty that refused to teach kids proper educate in play.  Sorry, no thank you.  Our child doesn’t need an education in the school of hard knocks.

Kids aren’t born knowing how to play, but even ducklings look to their mother for guidance in everything.  Children are born as wild animals, and therefore we must teach children to play correctly through guided play.

This creates the idea of a new job, modern playground supervisors, almost like the recess monitors of the past, but this time, differently, college should provide education and certification for teachers that are supposed to teach kids how to play.

We need paid teachers to teach kids how to play on the playground.  Different from teaching physical education, we also need kids to run around in play, all the while teaching skills such as conflict resolution.

The teaching that our son needs to be educated in the ins and outs of bullying through receiving a mental beating on the playground, as a part of his time that he spends in grade school is false.  The knowledge of how to play in a civilized way isn’t innate.  In the best scenario, we must teach playtime education.

Senator McCain, The Playground, and The CIA's Use of Torture

The belief that ‘boys will be boys’ is exceedingly dangerous in adults. It is an attitude that starts in childhood, and that if it goes uncorrected, it is very dangerous, such as what we have here. It is time we taught our children how to play, rather than let them engage by themselves without guidance. This is a preventative measure.

My wife is going to pull my son out of public school in favor of homeschooling for precisely this reason; that the playground is going unfettered. Children might have the imagination required for play, but too often guardians have made excuses for boys dangerously saying, “Boys will be boys.” Without correction, that attitude is sometimes carried into adulthood, and I think that is what happened here.