Banning Tag? My Elementary School Memories

Like Dodge ball, Tag is now being pushed out of school playgrounds. At McLean School, Playing Tag Turns Into Hot Potato describes the controversy that is brewing at a McLean, VA elementary school that pitts those who think tag fosters “intense aggression” and those who think that banning tag is an example of “overzealous rulemaking.”

At first, I wondered why anyone would have a problem with the harmless chasing game that I remember from my childhood. Then, I discovered that, at some schools, Tag has some new options.

Now, in addition to running and chasing you might also consider: ‘pyramiding’, ‘towering’, ‘jailhouse’, or ‘jailbreak.’ It’s not enough to tag your opponent, in this game you want to knock down or tackle them. It’s more like football than an innocent game of tag.

And really, who thinks football, without any protective gear, is a good game for the playground?

Then again, was Tag a harmless game when I was a child?

My first clear memories of the school playground are from 2nd Grade at Wood Acres Elementary School in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools District. Perhaps it’s the shared recall with my life-long friend, Ann, or the fact that I’ve been returning with my kids, but I have lots of memories from that playground.

I remember swinging on the metal monkey bars (the kind that were later banned due to injuries) or trying to fling kids from the child-powered merry-go-round. And, I have to admit that my girlfriends and I weren’t shy about violence. Our favorite variant of Tag was a boys-against-girls chasing game, where we used ring-covered fists for maximum impact to deliver knuckle-bar sandwiches.

The next year, 3rd Grade at Kensington Elementary School, is a blur. I don’t remember playing tag, but I also don’t remember any friends.

And then, I spent two whole years at Chesterbrook Elementary School in McLean, VA, and found a couple of “best friends”. I should have lots of memories from attending this school. But, I don’t. Whenever I think of that school, I remember one humiliating scene - the day my entire 4th Grade class played ”keep-away” chase with one of my private letters.

I had written a “To Whom It May Concern” letter on the long drive back from a family vacation at Disney World - but it was never meant to be shared. In it, I poured out all my deepest, hidden feelings for the object of my childhood crush, my classmate, Todd.

Somehow, perhaps when we stopped for gas, this letter must have flown out of the car, and straight into the hands of Todd’s buddy, Brian.

The next day, Brian threatened to read the letter to the class while I chased after him to stop the inevitable humiliation. That was the most painful game of tag ever. At the time, I’m sure I would have preferred to have suffered a broken bone from a ‘jailhouse’ version of tag. And, I was more than ready to inflict a world of hurt on that rotten boy, Brian.

Looking back on my childhood games, I can’t say that kids played differently back then. I believe that the potential for Lord of the Flies behavior was no less apparent then, than it is now.

What do you think? Were there less injuries on the playground thirty years ago? Is there more bullying and “intense aggression” today?

Where do you draw a line between letting kids learn how to master playground politics, and keeping them safe?

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