LEXUS
OF
LANSING
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
Power Rangers Set
By School To Go-Go
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
ichaelangelo, Raphael,
Donatello and the rest
of their vigilante reptile
friends will no longer be
allowed at Workmen's Circle Ear-
ly Childhood Center. Neither will
Billy, Aisha, Kimberly and their
dinosaur-morphing pals.
That's because the secular
Jewish nursery school in Oak
Park has banned the images of
the Mighty Morphin' Power
Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles and any other cartoon
characters that administrators
believe provoke children to vio-
lent acts.
Starting Jan. 23, the 40 chil-
dren who attend the school will
not be allowed to wear any piece
of clothing or carry lunch boxes
or backpacks adorned with the
immensely popular characters.
The reason? The kids are kick-
M
leaping kicks in their play. The
change in behavior may lead to
more violence, said Donna Klein,
a parent of a student at the
school.
"If you look around you and
you see guns in classrooms and
driveby shootings and so many
children are solving their prob-
lems with fighting, you have to
wonder where it begins," said Ms.
Klein. "Then you see a 2 year old
wearing a Power Rangers T-shirt
and there it is."
Ms. Klein brought Ms. Amit an
article which described how a
school in New York removed the
images from the school and ex-
perienced a decrease in violent
play.
Ms. Amit decided to try it. She
sent parents a letter after
Chanukah describing the violent
play and asking that parents re-
ing each other while emulating
their superheroes.
"This goes beyond children's
normal behavior," said Rena
Amit, director of the nursery
school. "(Watching the shows)
stimulates their aggression."
According to Ms. Amit, the
trouble began seven years ago
with the rise in popularity of
Thundercats, an after-school car-
toon. After the debut of that pro-
gram and Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, teachers at the school
noted that play time took an in-
creasingly violent turn.
"I noticed a distinct change in
their behavior. Each show is more
violent than the last," Ms. Amit
said.
Unlike "Bugs Bunny" where
Wyle E. Coyote attempts several
stunts to kill the Road Runner,
the characters on the newer
shows employ roundhouse kicks
and other martial arts moves to
defeat evil forces.
But instead of just watching
anvils drop from Mr. Coyote, the
children at the nursery school are
imitating their new heroes, using
strict what their child brings to
the school. All of the parents but
one agreed.
"One parent felt that it didn't
mean anything to have a T-shirt
with violence on it," she said.
"But when parents give their
children this present, they are
sending a child a silent message
that supports violence," Ms. Amit
said.
Children who carry lunch box-
es with the superheroes' pictures
on them have glued their own art
work over the images. Others
have made pictures to pin over
the banned pictures on their T-
shirts.
Barry Stagg, vice-president of
publicity for Saban Entertain-
ment which produces the Power
Rangers program, said the ban
was the wrong move.
"We think there are so many
positive aspects to the Power
Rangers," he said.
He said that while parents and
teachers have a responsibility to
keep children from fighting in
school, banning the merchandise
is the wrong solution. ❑
LEXUS
OF
LANSING
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
For a personal showing:
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