School ban on conkers

barbarawright

DKLS wrote: »

What a sad indictment of society.

I have happy memories of the assorted bruises, scabby knees and cuts I amassed as a kid, even at school we used to have teacher vs pupil snowball fights, British Bulldog and the DT teacher encouraged is to make billy karts to race down the big grass hill every year which was total carnage.

It must have been a sight to see for the parents to collect their kids after the billy cart race covered in mud, blood and bruises, with massive smiles on their faces telling anyone who would hear how awesome their wipeout was and showing off the resulting injuries.

I suppose these days it would be straight onto the ambulance chasers to get the compo.

Not every child wants games lessons to become a battlefield. I remember playing hockey on what was euphemistically called 'red grass' (actually a sort of gravel) and, as well as bruises from carelessly wielded sticks, there were regular painful cuts and grazes if you tripped over. It put me and many other kids off team sports for life. I doubt everyone at your school was as thrilled as you to be bruised and in pain because a teacher thought they shouldn't be 'soft'

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

New thing for this autumn. Nutmeg Rush.

If you have a ball, you use a ball. If you have a conker, use a conker. If you have a pebble, stone, paper cup or anything that can be kicked, you use that. If you then succeed in hitting another kid on the leg rather than obtaining the elusive footballer's nutmeg (straight through the legs), that kid gets rushed. Or bundled, mobbed, tackled like rugby or whatever phrase you choose to use.

Needless to say, participants don't always like being rushed (even though that's the point of the game) and can lose their rag, some end up on the receiving end of somebody being too rough/aggressive or over excited and some weren't even part of the game until they were stuck by the object of choice.

Add in various groups of other kids rushing to the defence of either side, the pack instinct and general stupidity and before you know it, there are fights happening across the school playground which require ten teachers to defuse.


That's why this sort of thing is just banned outright. Because kids are stupid.

dirty_magic

This isn't a new thing, conkers were banned at my primary school 20 years ago because someone got hurt. And British bulldog, yoyos and even pogs eventually!

Jagraf

I would ban too - not because I would want to but because of the risk of being sued.

How about the one where handstands are banned in case someone kicks another pupil in the face on the way up?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Jagraf wrote: »

I would ban too - not because I would want to but because of the risk of being sued.

How about the one where handstands are banned in case someone kicks another pupil in the face on the way up?

How about the state a neighbour's kid's left arm ended up in when she slipped mid handstand? (three operations, two plates and six months off school).

duchy

The funny thing is most kids have no interest in playing conkers .....It's the parents on their own nostalgia trip

barbarawright

duchy wrote: »

The funny thing is most kids have no interest in playing conkers .....It's the parents on their own nostalgia trip

Much like the way parents bemoan Blue Peter not being on BBC1 only about 150 children still watch it

Jagraf

duchy wrote: »

The funny thing is most kids have no interest in playing conkers .....It's the parents on their own nostalgia trip

Quite true - I work close to a beautiful tree so many conkers on it a couple of weeks ago, but no one to give conkers to anymore. Reminded me of my dad

jaydeeuk1

Not surprising - wifes old school have told teachers to sing baa baa rainbow sheep, and a school near by has banned running in the school playground incase kids fall over (think it made the news too) Its ridiculous!