Children, As Opposed to People

22 January 2018

The above sign, posted in the large courtyard/play area (called a giardino) of my son's old elementary school just a stone's throw from the Church of San Zaccaria, displays the hazards of writing in a second language, even for those who might know the language pretty well. 

Significant nuances go unnoticed, and an innocent sign intended (I guess) to remind the parents who mill about the giardino twice daily to leave off or pick up their children from school that the basketball hoops and soccer net are not there for their use (not that I ever saw any parent acting as if they thought they were) seems to suggest a darkly comic distinction between people and the creatures known as children. 

At least I think this distinction was unintended...