I'm sure we can all agree that it's important to keep kids safe from the big dangers of this world, but there is certainly a line between safety and stupidity and many schools these days have jumped right over that border. Cracked ha a great list of the most idiotic things schools are doing in the name of safety, including making them wear electric tracking bracelets, banning all photography and preventing all physical contact. Read about the rest over at the link.
Link
I grew up with a guy who had a peanut allergy, and his parents were perfectly fine - it seems we're getting a little more paranoid about it now.
- the principal banned running at recess because it caused too many accidents
- the principal sent my friend to the office because she hugged me and this was a "hands off school" (I am a girl)
- after the third grade (age 9) you were no longer allowed to play on the playground because you were "too old" and it "posed a hazard"
- you were only allowed be on the back field if you were playing an "organized game". Any game other than football or soccer was deemed "unorganized" (ie. tag, hide and seek, catch)
- if it snowed enough we weren't allowed to play in it. We had to stay on the concrete where it was plowed
- "Healthy Eating Month" always started in November, so the day after Halloween teachers would critize your lunch for the "amount of calories it had". Some lunches would be thrown in the garbage if deemed too unhealthy.
- no discussion of faith or religion was allowed between students and teachers, and teachers were not allowed to talk about their personal beliefs
Now that I am in high school:
We have twice yearly "lock down" drills where we all hide in a corner, tape up windows, turn off all the lights, and sit without talking for half an hour, sometimes behind a shelter of desks. This is to prepare us for gun or bomb threats.
All this from a little town in Southern Ontario.