Obesity isn't going to be fixed by recess or gym until something is done to fix the kids going home to $0.99 meals because it's all their families can afford. Those cheap meals make the kids feel full, but they're loaded with every "don't eat" ingredient you can list. And since they're underfed, their bodies are in constant "starvation" mode, which slows their metabolism and stores fat - making them obese.
We keep getting stories about the dangers of helicopter parenting on kids, but what about helicopter administration in school districts? Sometimes they remind me of the scene out of that movie about Babe Ruth where he would stand against the wall chanting "The devil finds work for idle hands." because his childhood caregivers were afraid that if he had time to himself he'd become a trouble-maker. That seems to be the prevailing "wisdom" guiding district policies.
Forced interaction does NOTHING to impart social skills or teach kids to make friends. But dodgeball does instill the groundwork for pack mentality and lessons on how to team up to take down the weakest of least liked members of one's group.
We keep getting stories about the dangers of helicopter parenting on kids, but what about helicopter administration in school districts? Sometimes they remind me of the scene out of that movie about Babe Ruth where he would stand against the wall chanting "The devil finds work for idle hands." because his childhood caregivers were afraid that if he had time to himself he'd become a trouble-maker. That seems to be the prevailing "wisdom" guiding district policies.
Forced interaction does NOTHING to impart social skills or teach kids to make friends. But dodgeball does instill the groundwork for pack mentality and lessons on how to team up to take down the weakest of least liked members of one's group.