IYKMM: Monkey Bar Madness

[00:00:00] In Park Day's lower school, the monkey bars are a popular place to hang out. Get it? Hang out. Every day kids meet up there to play. Here's what some of our classmates have to say about it. If you really knew me. If you really knew me. If you really knew me. If you really knew me, you would know. Hey, who are you? Who, me? Yeah, you. It's Monday. [00:00:31] Hello and welcome to if you knew me Mondays, a student powered Park Day inspired podcast that builds belonging by sharing stories and perspectives from the margins of our school community. Say what? [00:00:46] My name is Magnus. And if you really knew me, you'd know that my favorite thing to do during recess is flip on the monkey bars. Because it's really fun when you're up or down in the middle of a flip. [00:00:57] And I'm Eli. If you really knew me, you know that I've always loved skateboarding. And one of my favorite things to do on a skateboard is drop in on a mini ramp. Cause it's fast, a little dangerous and super exciting. [00:01:13] And my name is Isley. And if you really knew me, you'd know that during recess, one of my favorite things to do is play tag with my friends. [00:01:21] We're Park Day third graders and we're gonna be your host on today's episode. As you just heard, we love danger. So get ready for some danger in today's episode. Thanks for tuning in. Now let's get started. [00:01:36] On today's episode, we're focusing on one of the most well known and well loved parts of every school playground. We're talking about something that you swing on but is not a swing. Something that you can hang from but that's not a tree. Something. Something that has to do with jungle animals but not found in the jungle. Have you guessed what we're talking about yet? [00:01:59] The monkey bars. [00:02:03] In Park Day's lower school, the monkey bars are a popular place to hang out. Get it? Hang out. [00:02:10] Every day kids meet up there to play. Here's what some of our classmates have to say about it. [00:02:19] So what do you love about the monkey bars? [00:02:24] Well, I've been doing monkey bars since I came to this school and it's really fun because you get to experiment with your body and do stuff like that. It's really fun to play with your friends and just go do flips. It's also fun to hang upside down and do fun handshakes and stuff. It's fun because you can go upside down and that way you can hang upside down. Hang upside down with one foot that way you can jump off of them, uh, to do flips and hang upside down. I feel like monkey bars are really fun for me personally because I really like doing flips with my friends and it's just something you can like teach each other flips and it's really cool to do with your friends. But monkey bars can divide people's opinions and, and some of those daring moves, and especially the infamous no handed flips, have caused Park Day adults to ban these incredible feats of schoolyard skill. [00:03:28] We've been thinking a lot about this topic and decided to bring our community together to learn about what people think of the monkey bars, no handed flips, or whether or not they should be allowed at school. [00:03:41] Today, with the help of our third grade classmates, we're going to be connecting with students, teachers and administration and even some parents to help us better understand if there's a safe way to do these no handed flips at school. [00:04:00] To get us started, let's hear what people have to say about monkey bars in general. [00:04:06] We, we have a team of field reporters. Hi, I'm Helena. I'm Avi. And they've been talking to people all over campus here. They are now talking to students about their relationship with the monkey bars. [00:04:22] So we're asking people like, what do you love about the monkey bars or what did you love about them? I mean, I used to play the monkey bars in like first grade, but like now, I mean, occasionally, but I used to like doing flips on the silver monkey bars, but now I'm too big for them. [00:04:44] I was in kindergarten and I liked the monkey bars. And then I was in first grade and I liked the monkey bars. And then second and third grade, I kind of not like I stopped liking them. And then the other day we just started hanging out here. [00:05:00] It's pretty fun. Yeah. What's your relationship with the monkey bars? [00:05:04] I'm Evie from seventh grade and I made my first friend on the monkey bars. [00:05:12] So that's kind of special. [00:05:16] And I've enjoyed like flipping and stuff for a while. I think I stopped in like fifth grade and then haven't been on them since today. So yeah, it's kind of like a complicated relationship. We didn't just talk to the students. Park Day dolls had a lot to say. Well, it's been a long time since I've been on the monkey bars. I actually have a question for you. [00:05:43] What did you used to love about monkey bars? Oh, as a kid I loved the monkey bars. I used to get so many. What are they called? [00:05:51] BLISTERS calluses on my hands. But then as I started growing up, I started less being by the monkey bars. And now, now I can't do that. [00:06:02] I loved the monkey bars. I got hurt on them and I kept on going. I also loved the monkey bars and I used to put a sweatshirt on a monkey bar and wrap my leg around it and spin around. [00:06:14] Okay. So I actually have a long relationship with monkey bars. [00:06:18] My family has a tradition every year of setting goals on New Year's Eve. So we get together, we talk about our highlights of the year, we set goals for the next year. And when I was finally old enough to start setting my own goals, the first goal that I set was to make it across the monkey bars at my preschool. And so then over the course of that year, I like really worked at it and got all the way across. [00:06:40] So right now I haven't been on monkey bars in a while, but I do really like them and remember them fondly. I started around the monkey bars when I was really young too. Same. I do miss the monkey bars. Sometimes I try it, but I can't get as far as I could before. [00:06:55] My name is Yesi and I am the first grade ta. You know, come to think of it, I've never seen one of my teachers on the monkey bars. That's cool to hear about their own story. I agree. [00:07:07] So what did you hear that you connected with? Do you have any similar experiences? [00:07:12] Okay, let's pause for a minute to explain. Here's a list of some of the gazillion monkey bar tricks. There was like the doom flip and then the death flip. And there was also like the tornado flip and the hurricane flip. And there was like the lipstick flip and the pizza flip. [00:07:29] Oh, and the popping Boba flip. Cheese Bobo flip, Flashlight flip, Koala flip, the boaty flip, the one handed flashlight flip, Banana flip and lipstick flip. The koala flip and banana death pizza flip, Keychain flip, Doom death, the OOO flip, the Boaty Flip and the Mega Boaty Flip. The ultra boom flip. [00:07:56] The death lip is called the death flip because when you're going off the monkey bars, you kind of let yourself go like midway before landing. So it's like a no hand flip. [00:08:08] What did you say? A hand over, no hand over flip. Can you. [00:08:13] So that means you're flipping with your legs, not your hands. [00:08:18] You're flipping with your hands and no hands. Do you think it should be allowed or not allowed? [00:08:25] So help me to understand this. So you get on the monkey bars. Yeah. [00:08:29] And then you're hanging from your legs, your knees on top of the monkey bars and you start your foot back. So we'll open. [00:08:37] No hands. No hands. [00:08:41] And are you flipping off? [00:08:43] Yes. You're flipping off with just the legs, do you think, versus your hands? [00:08:49] You know, I would prefer, as someone in the front office dealing with injuries all the time, I would prefer hands. [00:08:58] Aren't those banned? They are, but do they still do them whenever we're not looking? [00:09:05] Some of those no handed flips you just heard about have led to some scary moments and even some injuries. Thankfully, there haven't been any serious monkey bar injuries at school. [00:09:22] But these fearless flips make many of the adults uneasy and that's led to them being banned. Attention all park day students. From this day forward, no students under any circumstances shall participate in the dangerous art of no handed monkey bar flips. We're wondering your opinion on no handed flips on the monkey bars. No handed flips. You are talking to a mom and I support no no handed flips on the monkey bars. That is my official position. [00:09:57] I would say that one of my children broke their arm doing two handed monkey bars. [00:10:05] So it's pretty dangerous. And I think no handed monkey bars is a little too risky for my taste. You know, if there was maybe a trampoline under there or it was designed for that purpose, or a foam pit, that would be kind of interesting. [00:10:24] But just on the sand and the ground, it's not okay for me. Thanks for your time. [00:10:30] Thanks so much for asking me. [00:10:32] Have a great day. [00:10:34] Do you have a moment, Colette? [00:10:37] Oh my gosh. I do have a moment. What's up? [00:10:40] What is your opinion on no handed flips on the monkey bars? Oh my gosh. Where do I begin? Personally, I think it is very terrifying watching it happen. Yes, it is fascinating and very cool. But as a supervisor of children, I find it very scary and very unsafe. And I think that you can do it at home. [00:11:00] You can do it at home, but not at school. [00:11:04] The thing that's happening is that no handed monkey bars, no handed flips on the monkey bars have been banned and some children are trying to get them back. Wait, no handed flips are banned? Because I never knew that. Do you think no handed flips should be banned or not banned? Can you tell me a little bit more about what a no hand flip is? [00:11:25] So it's basically a flip on the monkey bar just with no hands. Just with no hands. Kind of like a backflip or a front flip. Wow. Okay, so first of all, it's the band question. [00:11:38] I'm pro safety more than anything else. So if people can do things safely on the monkey bars, then I think they should be allowed to do them. But if it's a question of being right on that edge, then I think it's something where teachers or staff or adults should have the capacity to say, we're not going to do that right now, but let's work up to it later under supervision. You shouldn't be allowed to do no handed flips because you could break and any of your bones because if you fall, you could like die. You could like break your neck or something. Well, I've never done them at park day, but I think no handed flips should be allowed because it sounds cool and it sounds fun. I would allow no handed flips because it would probably make my little brother Diego happy. I think maybe they should be banned because they're kind of dangerous, but like they're fun but still they should be banned. [00:12:27] I do think that they should be banned because if you're doing it without like adult supervision, I guess it could be really dangerous. [00:12:35] Somebody did a flip with that hand and his shoulder got dislocated. [00:12:40] They shouldn't be allowed because you can dislocate your neck. [00:12:45] I feel like no hand flips could definitely be dangerous. Maybe they can have like an adult on lookout or something. But I think kids should be allowed to do it because it's like expressing their creativity and stuff. So. So yeah, I think it shouldn't be banned, but I also think it's really dangerous. We're walking up to the monkey bars, interviewing a person who has some experience and literally does flips on the monkey bars. Hello, I'm Silas. I'm in first grade and I'm gonna hang upside down right now. [00:13:21] Nice. That sounds really cool. [00:13:23] What is your opinion about no handed flips on the monkey bars? [00:13:28] I mean, I know it's not in the rules, but it's really fun to do flips without hands. [00:13:39] I'm thinking like they shouldn't be banned. [00:13:43] What's your opinion on no handed flips on the monkey bars? [00:13:47] I understand why they're trying to be cautious with your precious body and it does feel like something that has the potential to get you injured. But it's kind of like no guts, no glory, man. [00:14:03] Sometimes you gotta try something out to know if you are capable of doing it. So that one's tricky. [00:14:12] We heard from our teachers, Julia and Denise earlier. [00:14:16] They have more to say on the subject. Hi, I'm Denise and I Teach third grade. I'm Julia and I also teach third grade. Well, we are conflicted, Julia and I, because we really like for kids to have an opportunity to explore their bodies and what they can do and take risks to kind of get to know their own bodies more and trust their bodies. [00:14:41] The monkey bars are kind of a tricky situation because of course we want them to be safe and we don't want them to get hurt. And they really enjoy the monkey bars and taking risks on the monkey bars. Without hands. Without hands. Some of them are really good at it and it brings them joy and it helps them focus in the classroom and they could really hurt themselves. [00:15:05] And I've seen them hurt themselves. [00:15:07] So there was one day where someone was doing a flip and they actually missed something and kind of hurt their back and hit their head a little, and it wasn't real serious, but the potential for serious harm is higher than a lot of other things. And so we have to take that seriously. And so that's why we checked in with Ajarae. [00:15:29] They raised some good points for and against no handed flips. It really seems like there's a lot to think about. [00:15:38] And wait, there's more. [00:15:45] Breaking news from 1923. Did you know that monkey bars weren't always called monkey bars? They were once the jungle gym, which sounds like a gym where lions lift weights. Right? And guess what? The guy who invented it, Sebastian Hinton, said it was all about helping kids climb like our ancient ancestors. Like, can you imagine kids swinging on vines like Tarzan? Ooh, I can. [00:16:11] Here's a little more history for you. The inventor Sebastian Hinton got his idea from the monkey bars from his dad, who was a mathematician at Princeton University. [00:16:21] His dad's original idea was made of bamboo and built to help young people explore the third dimension. That's crazy. Later on, Hinton reimagined it as a cubic metal playground frame built like a forest top for kids to play play in, similar to a troop of monkeys. [00:16:40] He got it patented in the year 1923, which makes monkey bars as we know them, over 100 years old. [00:16:51] Speaking of monkeys, a primatologist is a person who studies monkeys. You mean a professional monkey studier? Yes. Anyway, they discovered that play climbing is a universal behavior among young primates and a natural method of locomotion. They also found evidence of climbing and healed fractures from falling in fossilized primate bones. Even though scientists see risky play, like climbing, as an important part of developing basic motor skills and learning to regulate fears, a debate about children's safety on monkey Bars continues. [00:17:28] That's because monkey bars are responsible for more playground injuries at school than anything else. Half a million kids went to the hospital between 2009 and 2014 because of monkey bars. [00:17:40] Whoa, that's bananas. So the monkey bars are both super fun and super risky, which makes sense because monkeys are kind of wild, just like us at recess. Wow. Who knew monkey bars had so much history? Thanks, Mr. Hinton. [00:18:02] As you just heard, there are some real good signs behind monkey bars. And. And they can be dangerous too. Yeah, I guess both can be true. You know, I wonder if there's a way for us to flip on the monkey bars and stay safe at the same time. Hmm. Let's see what ideas people have. [00:18:23] I'm curious what an alternative would be like if there could potentially be a day where we have someone show us how to do it in a way that's safe. I don't know what the options are, but I do believe in keeping you guys safe. [00:18:38] What is your opinion? If there could be like a form of safety, as in a helmet or a mat underneath? [00:18:45] I think that does sound like a good idea. Realistically, I don't know how we would do that and like supervise it, but I like your thinking around it. [00:18:55] No handed flips should only be allowed for kids who know a lot of flips and who have their parents permission. But I don't really think for people who don't know like any flips, they should be trying a no handed flip for their first flip. [00:19:12] I think that the monkey bars people should only go like do no handed flips if like know them like really well and they already know like lots of flips. I think that you should be allowed to do a no handed flip if you have someone to spot you. [00:19:31] Maybe like a supervisor, like a adult person or a teacher. Yeah. Who can like supervise you while you do it just to make sure that you're okay. If there were mats underneath the monkey bars, then I think yes. So you wouldn't like hurt yourself really badly if you did fall? You should only be able to do it if you're confident that you can and nobody should be dared to do it. Those are some great ideas. I'm glad we asked. [00:19:58] That's what this podcast is all about. [00:20:01] Asking questions, sharing ideas, and building perspectives. [00:20:06] I agree, but we should still settle this the third grade way with an epic debate showdown. That's right. Get ready, folks. It's time for Monkey Bar Madness. [00:20:21] Welcome to today's episode of Monkey Bar Madness. Flip or flop. [00:20:27] In one corner we have Azaret Park Day's lower school head, representing the caring and concerned adults. They're saying no flips, no falls, no lawsuits. [00:20:39] That's right. Safety first. Monkey bars are meant for hanging, not flying like superheroes. And in the other corner, we've got Eli, an expert third grade flipper. Their argument let us flip. We've got grit. Heck yeah. Monkey bars are about courage, creativity, and just a tiny bit of danger. What's recess without a little risk? Ooh, that's a tough one. Let's hear rebuttals. Azaray, your turn. Well, first of all, what happens when someone falls? If you want to learn how to do monkey Bart death flips, you're going to want to learn from somebody more experienced than you. Like me or Magnus. [00:21:25] We've been doing death flips for years now and made up a bunch of new ones. Let's say the banana death. The first time I did it, I landed on my back. [00:21:37] And another time, I did a flip really hard. I landed on my back so hard I started shivering. Whoa. Eli, I respect your bravery, and it sounds like you do have great. I'm just worried that younger kids won't be as strong as you. And if they fall and they hurt their backs, then. How do I explain that to your parents? We could ask people, should it be like second grade and up death flips? Or you could, like, it has to be supervision or a mat under you. Huh. I see you're thinking about safety too, Eli. At least we agree on that. I'm still feeling a little bit nervous, though. Cause what if kids do it during ASAP or like before school when you're not there or the regular teachers aren't there. [00:22:22] Well, you could probably only do it during the school day, where as you're raised here. Okay, so I hear you saying keeping it during regular school day. Cause I'm there. Teachers are there. Second graded up. Hmm. You're giving me something to think about, Eli. I just don't feel like this is a decision I could make by myself. [00:22:44] I gotta get the teacher's opinions too. Cause they're out there at recess every day. Fair point. But what about life skills? Monkey bars flips teach us balance, bravery, and how to dust ourselves off when we fail. [00:22:58] Life won't always be a safe journey, so you should prepare for the risks right now. Whoa. I kind of feel like things are backfiring on me. You guys are way too smart, you're way too thoughtful, and it seems like you're really good debaters. You're also really Cool flippers. [00:23:16] I'm kind of on the fence about this. [00:23:19] Then just flip off the fence. Duh. [00:23:23] Wow, that's a lot to think about. Who do you think made the better argument? Head over to our padlet to vote. Or maybe you've got a great solution or compromise for this. Well, that's it for today's game of Monkey Bar Madness. Flip or flop. Thanks for tuning in and catch you on the flip side. [00:23:41] There you have it folks. A super fun and informative face off between park day staff and students. [00:23:48] I really liked the strong points that both sides had to make. There really was a lot to think about. [00:23:53] Like what if a new student comes in second grade? Would they automatically be allowed to do no handed flips? [00:24:01] Yeah, both had some really convincing and interesting points to make. It would be hard to choose a winner. Well, good thing that's not our job. We wanted to learn about what our school community thinks about the no handed flips on the monkey bars and I think we did just that and a lot more. I now know how old monkey bars are and a lot of science and research that went into their design. I learned a lot and I hope our listeners did too. [00:24:32] Well, friends, I think that's it for today. [00:24:36] If you enjoyed today's episode, let us know on this episode's padlet and share this episode with one of your friends. By the way, we shared some really cool articles about the history of monkey bars on our padlet. To help you learn more about them, go check them out. We want to thank our whole third grade production team and everyone who helped make this episode. And thank you for listening. [00:25:02] It's been fun hanging out with you, but I think Reese's time's about over. [00:25:08] Once again, we're your hosts, Isley, Magnus and Eli. And that does it for today's episode of if you knew me Mondays.