Do you remember those times as a child when you would find yourself hiding underneath the slide at recess in order to escape the imminent wedgies that awaited you if you were to show your face? Oh, was that only me? Regardless of how you fared on the playground growing up, it is exciting to see the youth of today taking these matters into their own hands in the constant struggle for underwear that has ensued seemingly since the dawn of time.

The “Rip Away 1000” has made headlines across the nation as well as earned a set of twin brothers an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” The boxers, fabricated by two 8-year-olds, Justin and Jared Serovich of Ohio, would have bullies rethinking their approach to the infamous playground torture and inventors everywhere scratching their heads thinking to themselves, “Why didn’t I come up with that?”

The prototype for the Rip Away 1000 features a pair of boxers that have essentially been pre-torn, but reattached with fasteners to hold the boxers together at the seams. The boxers won the twins a trip to the finals of a central Ohio invention competition earlier this year.

This innovation is a product of ingenuity on the part of two children, who have once again provided an example of how brains can overcome brawn. If only I had a pair growing up.

Now if only our politicians and school board members could take note of this. Because within the last decade, more and more schools and districts have begun to try to curtail bully activity, among other things, with the simple solution of eliminating games like dodgeball and tag. Some school districts have done away with recess altogether.

According to an article on www.familyeducation.com, schools are eliminating recess for reasons that sound legitimate, such as a concern for injury that would induce lawsuits, the threat of strangers from the outside and a lack of supervision that comes from a shortage of teachers and volunteers. All reasons that sound fair. But human beings need breaks, as Olga Jarrett, professor of child development at Georgia State University told Family Education.

She also pointed out that “if we told union workers that they had to go from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. without a break, they’d go on strike.” Lack of recess leads to less concentration, as Jarrett found in a study she conducted on how recess affects academic performance. According to Jarrett, the amount of time fidgeting in class amounts to more than the time recess takes up.

So rather than trying to reduce bullying by eliminating such games or recess, maybe they should leave it to the kids to sort things out. God forbid if children are exposed to their social surroundings. School is just as much for these skills as it is for taking tests and getting good grades. By eliminating recess, the kids are exposed to limited social interaction and are essentially being home-schooled with dozens of other kids.

It’s amazing the lessons we can learn from these two little boys from Ohio. Too often we expect someone else – government or the school board, for instance – to try to take care of our every need. But why do we need an overbearing authoritative power in a school government when we have ingenuity and innovation right in the heart of America? If two twin 8-year-old boys can partially undermine a core idea behind the growing trend of eliminating recess and “violent” playground games (which apparently eliminates bully activity) by taking matters into their own hands rather than relying on teachers to keep them out of a “harmful” situation, then it might be time for parents to re-evaluate their priorities and let their children learn some social skills – even if it means titty twisters, Indian burns, or being picked last for dodgeball. Besides, everyone needs a recess – just ask your friendly politicians.

– Andrew Gionnette is a senior in mechanical engineering from Chanhassen, Minn.