A North Carolina pre-school was docked rating points by one state regulator for (gasp!) having nine green plastic army men in the play area.
“If stereotyping or violence is shown with regard to any group, then credit cannot be given,” wrote evaluator Katie Haselden. “It was observed that nine ‘army men’ were present in the block play area. These figures reflect stereotyping and violence, therefore credit cannot be given.”
[…] Anna Carter, supervisor of the N.C. Division of Child Development’s Policy and Program Unit, said authors of the Environmental Rating System consider toy soldiers inappropriate because they represent a violent theme. “They don’t enrich the environment and can be potentially dangerous if children use them to act out violent themes,” she said.
When asked if parental influence could prompt some children to view soldiers as positive, protective role models, Ms. Carter insisted that children couldn’t draw that distinction. “They’d be more likely to use the toy soldiers to hurt the other army men or to shoot the stuffed animals,” she said, adding that if that happened she didn’t believe most early childhood educators could be trusted to redirect the children toward more appropriate play.
Well, duh.
I think it worth noting that I played with army men as a child (in a household where my mother would not tolerate a toy gun), and managed to come out of it without a thrill for inflicting violence, a love of guns, or a hatred of Germans. On the other hand, I did exercise my imagination, had an an interest in learning about things military sparked, and grew up to not abhor plastic army men.
Which, I suppose, proves their point.
(Via Best of the Web Today)