Story Archive

That’s It

Mercer Island, Wash., school officials said they wanted to keep students physically and emotionally safe, so they ordered them to keep their hands to themselves. That rule applied even to pupils playing tag during recess. Melissa Neher, mother of two Mercer Island students, said that she survived tag and that young people need exercise and spontaneous play. “This decision needs to be reevaluated with input from the kids and from the community,” she said. To collect that input, she launched a Facebook page that hundreds of parents joined. The district responded: “Tag as we know it and have known it is reinstated.” It promised to seek input from students and parents in shaping unstructured playtime. “Yes,” it said in its statement, “we are a learning organization, too.” (AC/KCPQ Seattle) ...Good thing Ms. Neher was there to teach them remedial common sense.