Traditions still have a place in schoolyards

Many New Zealanders will have fond memories of playing bullrush, climbing trees and kicking balls around sports fields at school.

Sure there were bumps and bruises, a few tears and perhaps even some blood, but this was considered a small price to pay for the sheer enjoyment and freedom one could derive from such exhilarating outdoor pursuits.

Over the years, we’ve gradually seen a number of these activities go by the wayside, as a pervading sense of paranoia and overprotectiveness seeps into the school system.

We have seen schools scrap bullrush because it was deemed too dangerous.

Earlier this year there was even a Wairarapa School that banned tree climbing over fears it could be prosecuted by WorkSafe if a child was injured while scaling one.

The crackdown has likely been precipitated by a few isolated incidents where children have been seriously injured, as well as perceptions about the impact of health and safety law reforms.

But perhaps the most ridiculous ‘‘ban’’ in recent times was the decision by Auckland’s Mission Heights Primary School to discourage pupils from bringing their own sports balls to school.

Aspiring Silver Fern Kyla Murdoch, 10, was told by a teacher to keep her netball at home because they did not like students bringing anything considered a toy to school.

While principal Veena Vohra would not call it an outright ban, she did explain that toys created tension in the playground, and that pupils who wanted to play with sports equipment had a wide range of gear already provided to them.

Mission Heights Primary may very well have an unrivalled inventory of sports gear but one has to imagine that the tensions the school is so keen to avoid would arise in situations where multiple pupils want the same gear.

Allowing children to bring their own sports balls from home would seem like a harmless solution to this problem.

Schools should make decisions with the best interests of their pupils in mind, and there are certainly arguments for why the more risky pursuits, such as bullrush and tree climbing, should not be allowed.

There are also sound health arguments for some schools taking a healthy-eating approach to food provided at school functions or fairs, for example banning fizzy drinks and providing fruit as well as sweets.

But the one thing we don’t need to do is create rules to solve nonexistent problems, especially when these over-zealous edicts impinge on time-honoured schoolyard traditions.