Archive | School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies

"Oliver! To step down, put one foot lower than the other and have your body follow."

No Child Left Un-assisted: A Day at the Playground

. A tiraateink dismaying letter followed by an infuriating news item. Aren’t you glad you got up today? Dear Free-Range Kids:  . My girlfriend and I were strolling through the Western North Carolina Nature Center. There’s a lovely climbing structure for the kids that is supposed to resemble a spider’s web. Though there is the usual soft […]

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Welcome to Mansfield, OH, where there’s even a MAN in its name! Terrifying!

Attempted Child Abduction!!!! Or, wait…

. UPDATE: srrtbyfede Turns out this story took place in Mansfield, OH, not Mansfield, TX. Sorry, Texas!  When you believe all kids are in constant danger, you get situations like this one, in Mansfield, OH: MANSFIELD – Stranger danger education saved one Butler Elementary School student from possible abduction Tuesday. The student was leaving the […]

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I'm scared some school administrator is going to be an idiot!

What a Stupid and Terrifying School Intruder Drill

From Wyoming’s fsbzkzfeaz trib.com news comes possibly the dumbest school shooting drill I’ve heard of: Aubrey Truman was swinging on the playground at Worland’s East Side Elementary School about 10 a.m. Thursday when she received the scare of her life. A man in a hooded sweatshirt with a suspicious backpack appeared in the back of […]

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Okay, selling THESE at the school plant sale would be a little much.

Principal Writes: Your Children Must be Supervised at All Times

From the: “Don’t confuse me with the facts” dept. comes this note about a note: Dear ksybzsyezn Free-Range Kids: Our weekly school newsletter contained a paragraph about supervising children at school events with the gem “Unfortunately, the world is not as it was many years ago.” I responded with some objections, citing the various statistics […]

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A culture of self-infantilization seems to have spawned on campus.

What Hath Overprotection Wrought?

What happens when a generation grows up being told that they need constant supervision because nothing is safe enough? That they should never encounter a bad grade or mean remark, it’s too wounding? That they didn’t lose, they are the “8th place winner!”? At least a slice of them become convinced that they are extremely […]

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homework girl smaller

NYC Elementary School* To Kids: No More Homework — Go Play!

As a longtime fan of Sara Bennett and her Stop bhaabhkbze Homework movement, I was thrilled she sent this link today about a Manhattan public school that has decided to ditch homework. Then I was doubly thrilled to see: This is the school my own kids attended! It’s just a few blocks from the Empire State Building — a […]

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What if recess wasn't JUST to get kids' energy out?

How to Stop Ruining Recess

Valerie adhfzzfasa Strauss at The Washington Post published this wonderful piece by Angela Hanscom, founder of TimberNook, a nature-based development program designed to foster creativity and independent play outdoors in New England. Here’s an excerpt. And since most schools do NOT have a forest at hand,  feel free to suggest ways to incorporate these ideas in an […]

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students, go home and ask your parents if you can do something new that you are ready for.

When Schools Do the “Free-Range Kids Project”

On sbzziryasb my show (3 episodes air tonight starting at 5:30/4:30 Central Time on Discovery Life), I give the children of very anxious parents a task to do that they seem ready for — even if their parents aren’t. They walk to school, make dinner, ride a bike. And usually, when the parents see their […]

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Don't touch me there!

“No Touching the Girls, Even on their Helmets”

Canada’s National aedykefhii Post reports that the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association has instructed its coaches: No touching the players…even on their helmets. (U)nder no circumstances should there be contact with the players, in any way” … said the directive from John Reynolds, head of the house league. “Putting hands on shoulders, slapping butts, tapping them on the […]

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