tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283604818197712227.post3316345576818809339..comments2010-05-25T11:02:17.482-07:00Comments on Teaching, Etc.: Recess Coaches: Do they stop bullying?Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935965638766203651noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283604818197712227.post-10550662095501122722010-05-25T11:02:17.482-07:002010-05-25T11:02:17.482-07:00Seriously. The whole panic over the supposed &quo...Seriously. The whole panic over the supposed "obesity epidemic" really burns my gears in general, anyway. Not to mention, as someone who's notoriously bad at any sport that requires equipment, I can't imagine how hellish recess would've been if I'd been forced to play basketball or whatever the whole time.Hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935965638766203651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283604818197712227.post-12901088312292810442010-05-25T10:27:04.485-07:002010-05-25T10:27:04.485-07:00Recess coaches are there to “curb bullying and beh...<i>Recess coaches are there to “curb bullying and behavior problems, foster social skills and address concerns over obesity. They also hope to show children that there is good old-fashioned fun to be had without iPods and video games." </i><br /><br /><br />Yup...because systematically singling out the fat kids about how they're <i>doing recess wrong</i> will change the attitudes behind bullying right quick.<br /><br />Crickets on a motherhumping cracker.Lisa Stefanowich McKnighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08988829482820406373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283604818197712227.post-59529197924715634692010-05-24T07:00:33.800-07:002010-05-24T07:00:33.800-07:00Thank you so much for sharing your story, and also...Thank you so much for sharing your story, and also for raising a really good point--that recess coaches won't necessarily do anything to stop bullying at recess, either. It's frustrating to see schools latching onto these supposed "solutions" without really considering how effective they are.Hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935965638766203651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283604818197712227.post-49318121530467400492010-05-24T06:23:19.401-07:002010-05-24T06:23:19.401-07:00Recess coaches won't work. I know this because...Recess coaches won't work. I know this because I can safely say, in all honesty, that my school tried this. 20 years ago.<br /><br />Here's another problem: who are the schools hiring to be recess coaches (we called them "playground monitors.") At my school, it was mostly<br /><br />parents of bullies.<br />They just happened to be actively involved with school business. You see a conflict of interest there?<br /><br />The monitors' kids personally targeted me and a few others for bullying, so it happened right in front of the monitor's faces. And I couldn't say anything about it, because *I* was the one who was punished. If I cried, I'd get the time-out and lose recess privileges. I certainly couldn't fight back.<br /><br />In the end I spent the last year or two of recess holed up in the Nurse's office. It was safer there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com