Australian school makes sunglasses compulsory for pupils

[Guaranteed]

Source: AFP

SYDNEY (AFP) - There was a time when wearing sunglasses would have been seen as too cool for school, but for pupils at a pioneering primary in Australia they are now a compulsory part of the uniform.

The move is aimed at protecting young eyes from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays, and education authorities say they are considering adopting the plan at all state schools.

The headmaster of Sydney's Arncliffe Public School, where sunglasses are now compulsory for children from kindergarten through Year 6, said they had no problems wearing the glasses in the playground.

The "sunnies" as they are called in Australia, would soon become "routine" for the pupils, Stephan Vrachas told commercial radio.

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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070731/hl_afp/australiaenvironmenthealthsunglassesoffbeat

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This is going a bit far, I really think.

Has anyone even studied the effects of wearing sunglasses for extended periods of time on children?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. "sunglasses for pupils" TELL ME YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE. PLEASE!

Or I throw nasty pun-nishing thoughts your way the rest of the day.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Corneas pun I ever saw nt

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. gotta focus. This one hit the nerve.

[Guaranteed]

8. Such punnery lense itself to major guffawing, though... nt

[Tesha]

9. Somebody ought to whack all you people with a rod!

This attempt at humour is awfully stiff!

Tesha

[Richard D]

10. Go sit in the corner

and put on that cone shaped hat.

[ohio2007]

16. Iris going to leave a comment ....but.....nt

[slackmaster]

18. All right, everyone put a lid on the pun thing

:argh:

[Xipe Totec]

24. wink, wink

put a 'lid' on it?

:rofl:

[LeftHander]

25. if these eye puns were on a boat....

it would be called aqueous humor....

:snort:

lkjaslajd

cracking myself up...

[Xipe Totec]

26. for that you get twenty eyelashes and a furrowed brow

:yoiks:

[David__77]

19. Ha! I love it.

"Corneas!" I laughed out loud.

[TechBear_Seattle]

21. It did make me stop and blink n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Of course; sunglasses are FOR pupils.

[Demit]

3. Have you ever spent any time in the sun in Australia?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. several times.

Went camping in the outback, with sunglasses, a case of beer, a small tent and a cute blond. Was woken up by a whole horde of Roos. Turns out we were sleeping on their trail.

[MrPrax]

11. LOL...

Well everything the same except she was brunette and they were kill crazy hordes of psycho deer in Canada.

But Hey!! Any school that will let kids wear their Ray-Bans so they can look more like a security detail than school children is good I guess....

...sunglasses are a good weapon against horses!

[PassingFair]

28. Why do men divide us into hair colors?

I GUARANTEE that these anecdotes, told by women would NOT
include hair color. We would say "a cute guy" or "a hot guy".
I can't imagine a woman writing "a cute blond" or "a cute brunette".

Ever.

Not trying to be picky, really.

Just curious.

[KiraBS]

4. Great Idea...

Australia is huge on teaching their children on how to protect themselves in the sun, the hole in the Ozone is supposed to over Australia.

[shanti]

14. and the aussies

skin cancer incidences have gone thru the roof too. :wow:

[KiraBS]

22. Yes...

My Aussie aunt is always telling me in England to wear factor 30 when the sun is out, she is a nurse and has seen people die of skin cancer.

[bikebloke]

29. I was burned on a cloudy day in New Zealand

Under the ozone hole. And I'm not fair skinned and like the rays. Bloody 'ell was I sore. After that, I kept a bottle of sun block handy in my handlebar bag.

[Odin2005]

12. LOL. Best. Pun Ever!!!

:rofl:

[1monster]

13. A lot of the damage which makes our eyes less able to function as we age

is done during our youthful years.

Sunglasses that provide UV protection should be worn on children from birth on when outdoors.

There is plenty of evidence out there on the dangers of UV rays to the eyes.

[rocktivity]

15. It's when you wear sunglasses IN CLASS that it's cool

Sounds like a good idea to me, since Austraila's UV rays are probably more intense than ours.

B-)
rocknation

[JerseygirlCT]

17. I think it's a great idea. nt

[David__77]

Sunglasses are always helpful for the eyes.

UV light is not good for the eyes in large or small quantities.

[David__77]

20. Sunglasses are always helpful for the eyes.

UV light is not good for the eyes in large or small quantities.

[momster]

23. Growing Up in AZ

I wish this had been a rule. Doing anything outside from April on meant squinting in scorching sunlight. But, of course, sunglasses were mostly decorative in those days and we had nothing that could compare to today's lotions/potions. Being rather deprived in the melanin production department (I never tan) I suffered from some severe sunburns that have left their mark on my skin to this day....30 yrs on. So good for the Aussies! I just hope someone invents soft-sunglasses so that if the littlest ones fall down, they don't get cut by broken plastic.

[Nihil]

27. OK ...

... obligatory dumbass post at 1am ...

If sunglasses cut down the glare from visible light, doesn't this make the
pupils (no puns) open wider to admit more light and thus make the retina
more vulnerable to damage from UVA/UVB/UVxyz? Or are they assuming that all
kiddies will have high-quality UVx-shielded shades rather than the cheap
and nasties from the local supermarket?

:shrug: