In a new book, Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman, the authors write, that children in a Massachusetts school are jumping rope in physical education classes without using ropes. The reason for this is because some children will get a poor self image because they cannot jump rope.
While I am concerned about children’s’ self-image, this brings the issue of self-image to a new absurd level. Where will this all lead? Why not play baseball in school without using a ball or bat? Why fail any child who has failed to master the educational material so that we can build a failing individual’s self-image? Schools need to be concerned with building self image but at what cost? I recently heard a comedian’s comments about this book. He said that when he was in school, nobody was concerned about his self image because if they were, they would have eliminated things which hurt his self image like mathematics, science and English. Students need to recognize, and schools need to play their part, that some children are better at jump rope, baseball and learning than others. And that they need to try to do better rather than compromising their values.