martial arts in schools

[ruthie]

I understand what you are saying, but we live in a much more violent time now. We are more progressed now, and there is a deeper understanding of violence in society.
Taking this to present times, I would have been pretty pissed if it was my 5yr old.
Actually, I think there needs to be a major curriculum change in our public schools.
Life skills should be part of it. When you raise your kid with kindness as one of the themes, you might just like the results.

[hobbes]

I understand what you are saying, but we live in a much more violent time now. We are more progressed now, and there is a deeper understanding of violence in society.
Taking this to present times, I would have been pretty pissed if it was my 5yr old.
Actually, I think there needs to be a major curriculum change in our public schools.
Life skills should be part of it. When you raise your kid with kindness as one of the themes, you might just like the results.

Self esteem is learned at home.

Porn does not lead to rape, spanking in school does not cause mentally healthy children to be violent.

So much a part of growing up is never seen by the parent, but how one deals with these adversities is strongly influenced by the sense of self worth a child has, as seeded by the parents.

I told the boys who wanted me to smoke that my Mother did not approve and if they didn't like me because of this I didn't care. I was fine without their approval.

Wrapping our children in a blanket to buffer them from the real word does not make them kinder, more peaceful individuals, just naive ones.

I think the greatest cause of anxiety in a child comes from parents who tell their children how to behave, but don't lead by example. Their concrete minds can't understand this.

I guess a drugged out mother and abusive boyfriends ought to be mentioned, but that is obvious.

I must say that my group of gradeschool friends grew up pretty well and are socially adapted. Those that have faultered are the victims of poor role models at home and parents who call them "stupid" rather then tell them to aim for higher goals.

My 2 cents.

[ruthie]

Self esteem is learned at home.

Porn does not lead to rape, spanking in school does not cause mentally healthy children to be violent.

So much a part of growing up is never seen by the parent, but how one deals with these adversities is strongly influenced by the sense of self worth a child has, as seeded by the parents.

I told the boys who wanted me to smoke that my Mother did not approve and if they didn't like me because of this I didn't care. I was fine without their approval.

Wrapping our children in a blanket to buffer them from the real word does not make them kinder, more peaceful individuals, just naive ones.

I think the greatest cause of anxiety in a child comes from parents who tell their children how to behave, but don't lead by example. Their concrete minds can't understand this.

I guess a drugged out mother and abusive boyfriends ought to be mentioned, but that is obvious.

I must say that my group of gradeschool friends grew up pretty well and are socially adapted. Those that have faultered are the victims of poor role models at home and parents who call them "stupid" rather then tell them to aim for higher goals.

My 2 cents.

There are also kids who grow up in mentally, emotionally healthy homes that still get fucked up. That's just the way it is. Environment forms the common mind. It is not only parents and the home that effect children. You can give them a secure, grounded home life, and in the end..so what. Then you have kids that grow up in totally fucked up environments and they are able to move through it and grow and mature into healthy adults.
Parents are not the only influence in a kid's life.
Some kids I grew up with are successful, son lead eclectic lives, and some are dead from overdoses. High school for me was in the 70's.

[hobbes]

There are also kids who grow up in mentally, emotionally healthy homes that still get fucked up. That's just the way it is. Environment forms the common mind. It is not only parents and the home that effect children. You can give them a secure, grounded home life, and in the end..so what. Then you have kids that grow up in totally fucked up environments and they are able to move through it and grow and mature into healthy adults.
Parents are not the only influence in a kid's life.
Some kids I grew up with are successful, son lead eclectic lives, and some are dead from overdoses. High school for me was in the 70's.

Yeah, some kids are fucked up, but that has nothing to do with violent gym class. They are just fucked-up.

[ruthie]

don't know that for sure, and neither do I. I agree to disagree. LOL

[spinningfreemanny]

I personally don't dissagree with the teaching of martial arts (plus dodgeball, foam spankings, and the like...)in school; But I think that the schools inability to realize that some parients will object is idiotic.

[hobbes]

don't know that for sure, and neither do I. I agree to disagree. LOL

Actually, I do.

No one ever beccame a problem child because of gym class. It all starts at home and how parents instill self esteem.

I don't even think this is worth debate.

Please give me any shred that this care -bear attitude has any merit.

If i tell you that the sun is bright, does putting a child in the closet make this less than real?

If you are to think that dodgeball and karate fundamentally change a child, then please support this with evidence.

[Rat Faced]

At 5, they should learn T'ai Chi or some other related art.

This would not be used for violence as its far too slow, however it also teaches the Discipline required for the other Martial Arts and would give them a head start when they finally do learn one of them.

Its Healthy for them and non violent.... however even this should be with parents consent.


At 5 years old, they will be doing Kung Fu fighting on each other, whether the school teaches it or not anyway however... Copying their favourite cartoon/TV characters of the time.

I used to curse the Power Rangers 8 years ago

[3RA1N1AC]

At 5, they should learn T'ai Chi or some other related art.

that's what i was thinking of, in my earlier post. i used the word "kata" which is sort of a generic term to describe a variety of martial arts practice routines. Tai Chi Chuan is a specific slow-motion exercise.

[Biggles]

Schools over here usually require consent forms for non-curricula activities. Parents can then decide if the activity is appropriate for their child. One, for example, would not ask a child with a medical condition to take part in activities that might result in injury to that specific child.

Nevertheless, for most, physical exercise is good and martial arts have some very good non-violent mental disciplines attached to them. We considered it for SGG - torn as to whether it would help her cope better with her temper or whether it would simply furnish her with even more fire-power than she already possessed. We decided the latter was the more likely outcome and concentrated efforts on her artistic tendancies. On retrospect such a discipline might have resulted in no fewer outbursts but the retribution meted out might have been more artfully executed.