Teachers Defend School’s Ban on Morning Sports

MISSION VIEJO — Ever since Viejo Elementary School banned aggressive, high-energy games such as tag and football before school, students have been coming to class calmer and teachers are beginning lessons on time.

That’s what the principal says.

Some parents are complaining that the prohibition, begun in September as an experiment, is taking all the fun out of being a kid. They want the school board to revoke the policy.

“I think children should be allowed to play,” said parent Penny Reeves. “It’s ridiculous. It’s like a military school.”

But teachers, administrators and other parents say the rule, which requires students to line up and sit or stand until the bell rings, is making a more stable learning environment.

“In the past, we have had difficulties with children who are becoming too aggressive before school and having their conflicts follow them into the classroom,” Principal Patricia Griggs said. “It was taking our teachers time to resolve the conflicts.”

She said children have opportunities during two recess periods and at lunchtime for strenuous play.

The school adopted the policy on a trial basis after teachers reported that settling disputes among some children took time away from all the others who had to wait to begin their lessons. And some parents complained last year that their children fell down and were hurt playing chase.

“The way the day starts is the way the day goes,” said Crystal Ballash, a second-grade teacher. “If my day starts hectic, it escalates throughout the day. Children learn so much better when they are calm.”

The policy here was modeled after one begun four years ago at Wood Canyon Elementary in Aliso Viejo, according to Wood Canyon Principal Donald Mahoney. “Teachers seem to like it because students do come in ready and focused, and students don’t seem to mind because they are there with their classmates,” he said.

Griggs said 20 to 25 parents in a school of 700 students oppose the ban on before-school activity.

Capistrano Unified School District Supt. James A. Fleming said he ordered the District Restructuring Council to determine how the school’s policy came about.

“If the process had appropriate teacher and parental involvement, the policy will stand,” he said. “It’s the principal and the community whose views should be paramount in the educational interests.”

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Parent Scott Malkemus said the conflicts among children are not significant.

“Children are not emotionally and mentally prepared for class if they are not able to burn some of their energy,” he said. “They have an inner necessity to play.”

A small number of parents are bringing their children to school just before class begins or protesting the rule by standing away from the classrooms with their children until the bell rings, according to Griggs.

They argue that children’s uniforms--the school was the first in the district to require uniforms--get dirty when they sit inactive on the ground. Griggs says children are encouraged to decorate brown paper bags to sit on. They are easily folded up and keep their clothes clean.

Other parents stand by the prohibition, saying their children are calmer and they tend to socialize rather than get into squabbles with other students.

Parent Mark Wolfe said he initially opposed the policy, but his 9-year-old son, Alexander, supported it.

“A lot of his friends are not in his class, but they shuffle over into his line, share homework or a project. Some kids were singing or having a conversation instead of running,” Wolfe said.

The trend toward working couples and single-parent families has resulted in many children being dropped off at schools early, according to Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Mac Bernd.

“We are not only seen as teaching and learning institutions, but we are seen as custodial and child-care institutions,” he said. “We have students coming too early to school, and it creates supervision problems for us.”

Many districts don’t regulate free time, believing children should be free to either play or socialize with one another.

“Lifelong lessons are learned on the playground,” said Fountain Valley School District President Larry Crandall. “That’s how we learn how to get along with people.”