Balls. Yoga pants.
All kinds of things are getting banned from schools these days.
So far, it's only been schools in Ontario making headlines. A school with an overcrowded yard banned balls after a parent was struck with one and ended up with a concussion. Now, another school in Toronto has banned yoga pants. Well, actually, they say they are just now enforcing their dress code, and not allowing form fitting clothing.
It's getting a little ridiculous from my point of view.
I can see one kid getting into trouble because he or she gave someone a concussion with the ball they threw. But I can't see why that would lead to balls being banned completely on the playground. It really makes no sense. I mean, I remember kids getting hit in the head with balls when I was in elementary school. Glasses were broken. Tears were shed. But rules like this didn't suddenly erupt.
The school has relented a little, and now allows soft balls, including tennis balls, on its playground, but students have to get permission to play with "hard" balls, like soccer balls or footballs.
As for yoga pants, my feeling is that aren't there enough issues in school without worrying about how tight kids' pants are?
Are yoga pants any more revealing than tight jeans?
Weren't people just complaining about how baggy kids' clothes were getting?
Teenagers just can't win when it comes to how they dress, it seems.
One report about the ban stated that it was because tight clothing at school is distracting.
That raises the question: to whom?
Since yoga pants are primarily worn by girls, the majority of those who would be distracted by such attire would be teenage boys.
But teenage boys get distracted by a lot of things. So are a lot of men. So how about we teach them early how to focus themselves on what they need to be concentrating on, instead of blaming the kind of pants the girls are wearing for their distraction?
Frankly, I find it amazing that schools have time to focus on these issues at all, when they are having to deal with so many more social issues today than they have ever had to before. There's bullying, for one - an issue that I think deserves a lot more attention than yoga pants.
What about kids going to school hungry? Or those who are experiencing trouble at home? Those students with learning disabilities that have been undiagnosed? Or even those students with learning disabilities that have been diagnosed.
All of this deserves more attention and energy than yoga pants.
Frankly, if a school is so concerned about what its students are wearing, they should be issuing uniforms. End of story.
If I was a teenager right now, and I was being told "you can't wear this, this, this or this..." I'd be either confused or even more ready to rebel than usual.
And if I was a kid on a playground that the school admits is too small and not functional for the student population, and I was told that there would be no more balls to play with, I'd likely lose my mind. What are these kids expected to do at recess, then? Sit around? Smoke? It's not like they are adults on their coffee break. They are given recess so they can get rid of excess energy, allowing them to focus in class. What kind of excess energy can they burn off if the most basic playground equipment is taken away? And what could they lose next - skipping ropes? Chalk?
There is reaction to an issue, and there is overreaction, and I think these cases are both examples of the latter.
