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New Zealand School Tries Recess With No Rules

posted by n1 on Friday June 13 2014, @09:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the we-could-start-a-riot dept.

Anonymous Coward writes:

In contrast to the modern trend of helicopter parenting and safety-first playgrounds, one school in New Zealand has decided to completely do away with rules during recess playtime to great effect. They aren't alone in this reversal, some of which can be justified by a study showing that children who injured themselves by falling from heights grow up to be less fearful of heights than those who weren't hurt.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Sir Garlon on Friday June 13 2014, @10:18AM

    by Sir Garlon (1264) on Friday June 13 2014, @10:18AM (#54880)

    From TFA:

    And now the principal’s unconventional approach has made waves around the world, with school administrators and parents as far away as the United States and the United Kingdom asking how they, too, can abandon a rulebook designed to assuage fears about school safety in a seemingly dangerous time.

    I would point out that rulebook is designed to assuage _parents'_ fears about school safety. The restrictive rules are not really for the kids' benefit, and this principal, at least, seems to get that.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Friday June 13 2014, @11:14AM

    by MostCynical (2589) on Friday June 13 2014, @11:14AM (#54901) Journal

    I'd go further: parents' irrational fears.
    Mainly derived from tabloid fear-mongering and the "sue them" culture.
    The poor kids in modern society watch more tv (and other screen time)* AND spend more time indoors* (back yards: SO twentieth-century!)

    When I was at school (not that many decades ago), a plaster cast on an arm or leg was common enough that we had developed particular preferences for where we would try and write on the cast - a joy lost now to fibreglass and other modern technology, as well as to the fact that ther just aren't as many kids with broken limbs these days.

    Risk? No, the insurers and actuaries removed it.

    On a side note: has "sue them" become the new "burn her"?

    *google it yourself

    --
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    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Adrian Harvey on Friday June 13 2014, @05:44PM

      by Adrian Harvey (222) on Friday June 13 2014, @05:44PM (#55065)

      I should point out here that the article is about New Zealand and there is no 'sue them' culture there. Because you can't. The right to sue for things like playground accidents was abolished long ago and replaced with a government run accident compensation / rehabilitation scheme called ACC. ACC levies employers, employees and other things (like petrol) and fund and support medical expenses, rehab, etc. They obviously work to keep unsafe things in check too, and levies also vary with risk, so H&S is just as important as anywhere. But it's not driven by fear of being sued...