Free Play

Unfortunately, many people think of play as a luxury, not a necessity, so it often falls to the bottom. Schools make do with outdated equipment or none at all. The thinking is that kids are resilient, so they'll be fine in the end. This raises some key questions: Is play really necessary? And if so, what purpose does it serve for kids?

-Darell Hammond

Paper Prompt:

 In the end, are we actually fine? With the obesity epidemic ballooning out of control, is it fair to extrapolate the assertion that it all comes out in the wash? For this research paper, you are charged with the task of analyzing the child obesity epidemic. What influential role does play, or a lack thereof, have on the increasing of waist sizes of youth in the U.S.A. Analyze the causation of obesity, and the direction it is headed towards.Create an argument based on your posturing towards the relationship between play and obesity.  

 

Up, Up & Away

                                                                                                                                   

Recess at l' École Saint-Rémi was always a much anticipated event. The school yard was expansive in landscape, and contained a wide variety of activities: a baseball diamond, tractor tires, dodge ball courts, basketball courts, champ courts, butts-up courts, a soccer field, a sand box, industrial sized swings and slides, a wooden bridge, and an a man made hill. The crème de la crème was a white box containing hockey sticks, that was rolled out at lunch time! My most found memory however, occurred on the kindergarten playground, a section quarantined by row of skinny trees. I suppose my older friends Matthieu and Karen regarded me as cannon fodder, because one day, while at after school day care, they had the wise idea of bending one of the trees backwards, mounting me and then launching! That was the idea, thankfully it didn't quite go as planned! I got snagged on the trunk, and was effectively dropped to the ground. The only serious damage was to the backside of my shorts...and underwear, that were almost completely torn off! A lot was learned that day, most importantly; just because someone is older than you, does not make them right! 

Oops, had the silly thing in reverse!

Blog #8

   The McCroak Special                                                    

Where does personal responsibility stop and corporate responsibility begin? Should an individual have the ability to sue a restaurant chain for the decline of  personal health based on the consumption of their product? These are some of the central points of contention Morgan Spurlock tackles in Supersize Me. With a quasi scientific method approach,this documentary sheds light on the negative side effects of ingesting a diet of fast food over a period of 30 days. Spurlock's hyper fast food diet included eating his three principle daily meal at McDonald's. The end result was dramatic, and the documentary convincingly proved that "you are what you eat". The philosophical question is: what is the role of the government? How involved should the government be in implementing regulations and brokering leverage to enforce them? Another important question is who's interest does the government protect above all else? In my opinion,better health regulations would benefit society. According to current obesity statistics, the situation is spiraling out of control. The government's responsibility is to protect it's citizens, and given the current acceleration of the obesity epidemic, not enough has been done. It is not my responsibility to lecture every overweight individual! Personal responsibility is irrelevant because the problem is too forgone! When I get a speeding ticket, law enforcement issues it, not a random civilian. Paradoxically, I do not find that fast food restaurants are the source of the problem, they are only emblematic. Their behavior is not more predatory than their competition.  The FDA has had a super sized failure. More smart government please!