Middle Schoolers Banned from Massachusetts School Playground
A 12-year-old makes a compelling argument for being allowed to frolic freely.
Middle school kids in a small Massachusetts town are fighting for their right to play on the playground after school.
In an op-ed in the local paper, the Carlisle Mosquito, 12-year-old Caroline Dailey wrote that she and her friends like to stay and play outside after school.
This generally isn't an activity that is frowned upon, especially in an era when the alternative is often hurrying home to a screen. But "during the second week of school," she writes, "that changed. The superintendent came outside, blew his whistle, and told us that middle schoolers couldn't stay on the plaza after school anymore. At first, we thought he was joking."
But no. A long dormant rule, recently revived by the acting superintendent, requires the school's playground/blacktop area to be free of middle schoolers until the elementary school lets out half an hour later. (The middle schoolers start earlier and get out at 2:30, the younger kids at 3:05.)
Children frolicking outside could be distracting to those still in their classrooms, the superintendent explained in a letter to parents. And there is no one to supervise them.
Instead, the administration has recommended the middle schoolers go elsewhere for half an hour and then come back.
At a hearing on this issue, Carlisle School Committee Chair Scott Jamison suggested "parents lead hikes to various places," according to a piece by Mosquito reporter Cynthia Sorn. But as Sorn also notes, the nearby places where kids had often congregated on their own—two stores and the library—are currently closed. (The library is temporarily undergoing construction.)
In her op-ed, Dailey writes that, "For as long as I can remember"—which is cute, considering she's 12—"Carlisle kids have stayed after school to spend time together. We talk about homework, laugh about something a teacher said, complain about how bad the salmon smells in the cafeteria, play Nine Square and simply hang out."
The hooligans! "It is "one of the few times we can just be together without a class, practice or organized activity," Dailey continued. "We can talk, play and decide what we want to do."
Those activities, according to Peter Gray, a Boston College professor who has spent his life studying the connections between free play, independence, and mental health, are probably the most important—and educational—parts of their day. Says Gray: "These middle school kids are asking to do exactly what they should be doing—proving to themselves and others that they can manage themselves. That's what growing up is all about."
Meanwhile, Dailey created a petition asking the administration to consider a way to keep the playground open to kids, with the understanding that bad behavior won't be tolerated. It got 200 signatures the first day. (The middle school has 285 students.) At this point, 469 people have signed it.
In his letter to parents, the superintendent said his concern is "supervision, not behavior. The district has a duty of care for students who remain on school property and we do not have staff assigned to supervise the plaza, playground or fields after school."
But what if the kids supervise themselves, as kids have done since the dawn of time? Or maybe the school can spring one adult from the office or classroom to supervise like a lifeguard? Or find a volunteer?
About a month ago the administrators granted the kids a space to play behind the school. "It's a concrete area outside the gym door," says Brooke Mackintosh, mom of three Carlisle middle schoolers. "It's the size of a large office." The buses and delivery trucks are nearby. But her twin fifth graders have taken a liking to it, while her 8th grader and his friends now bike to a nearby town, Concord, to play. (Actually, that sounds pretty cool. About 15 of them ride over.)
Meanwhile, the indefatigable Dailey and the middle school's "Beyond the Bell Committee" have drafted another petition, this one asking for 30 days for the kids to prove that they are able to play outside for under an hour without disrupting or destroying life as we know it. They are game to use just part of the playground, so they won't encounter or impede any elementary students.
The superintendent just met with Dailey and a few others to discuss this proposal. He asked them to return with a plan for handling injuries and disciplinary issues, according to Dailey's mom. (The superintendent's office did not respond to Reason's request for comment.)
The petition notes that the "Portrait of a Carlisle Graduate" asks students to become "resilient learners, responsible individuals, caring citizens, advocates for fairness, creative problem-solvers, independent thinkers, and effective communicators and collaborators."
In creating petitions, attending town meetings, writing op-eds, and politely interfacing with adults on all sides of this issue, the drafters say, "We believe we have already demonstrated these qualities."