A child from Milford Connecticut's middle school had to be hospitalized after being struck in the groin by a classmate. The school authorities took quick action and instituted a policy to prevent this from ever happening again.
Did they strengthen the school's rules regarding fighting? No. Did they add a "horseplay" clause to those regulations? Nope. Rather, they instituted a "No Touching" rule. This rule states that touching of any kind could result in "parent conferences, detention, suspension and/or a request for expulsion from school!"
Come on, they can't mean no touching at all!? Can they?
YES! No touching. No pushing. No hugging. No high-fives. No holding hands. No Patty-Cake. No Touching Period.
Let's extend this out logically. This rule means: No tag. No football (Well, maybe flag football, but no blocking). No baseball (Or if you do play, once you are on base steal steal steal! If they can't touch you, they can't tag you out!). Theater would be difficult (Imagine Romeo and Juliet unable to come in contact with each other!).
How indicative is this of our culture?! Something happens that's bad, so we over-react! The "Shoe bomber" happens and every traveler in or going to America has to remove their shoes at the gate (Because when something fails, terrorists often try that exact same thing again.). A few people believe that immunization shots cause autism, so we cause a hysteria regarding them. (This action in no way saves our children from autism, but it does open the door for "extinct" diseases such as small pox, polio, mumps and measles.) A few people are offended by Christmas, so it's illegal to have a tree on the town green and companies won't wish you "Merry Christmas." (Let's remember that without the commercialism of Christmas most stores would be out of business! And Santa still makes money so we'll charge people to have their picture taken with him in the mall.) What's next? Some people are dying in car accidents: NO MORE DRIVING! (But when it comes to teens and sex, well, they are going to do it anyway...)
And what's next for this middle school in Connecticut? Are children having their feelings hurt from name-calling? No talking! Is that student making you nervous because he's staring at you menacingly? Don't look at each other! Whoever suggested this rule should be fired and whoever agreed to it should be demoted!
Kudos to the students, however, who protested the new ruling by coming to school wrapped in blue duct tape. My high school principle was wrong when he said that the school was there for the administrators and the faculty. Peacefully voice your dissension, students! Don't let them usurp your school!
That's my opinion. What's yours?
3 comments:
In the genre of crazy school rules and their wacky implementations. We got a call today from, get this -- the Sheriff's Dept! I am going to need to go to before court for a truancy petition against Kara! Kara!! Like she's been skipping school or something! She's there every day, though occassionally late. And she's made honor roll every quarter since the second quarter. Did I get a call from the school asking questions about her absences? Nope. Did I get a call from the school board? Nope. The Sheriff's OFFICE!!! Evidently T. must have dropped her off after her teacherhad sent the attendance sheet to the office on enough occassions that they filed a petition with the police department. No warning. Just a petition to the police. She's in 3rd Grade, loves her teacher and made honor roll and now they're acting like she's a delinquent.
Ugh!!! Maybe the craziness of this is just my opinion!
In a related story, a 4th grader in CT was disciplined because he told two of his Muslim friends that Jesus loves them. The teacher overheard it and told him he can't say those things.
While I'm petitioning the parents of this child to have that teacher re-educated for trampling on this child's right to free speech, it makes me wonder, what if it had been the other way around?
My Muslim friends told me that Mohammad was the true prophet. Would the be disciplined? Somehow, I doubt it.
The teachers are not allowed to make religions or political statements (but they can wear Obama buttons and harass their colleagues who wore McCain buttons... that's another story) but they can NOT infringe upon the rights of the students. They are free to express their religious and political viewpoints in a peaceful lawful manner.
Your principal actaully said that school was there for them? He should have been fired immediatly. That is very sad.
I also do not understand why we over react. Is there a school anywhere that condones kicking another student in the groin? I do not see why this needed any additional rule. It had to be against the rulse in the first place. The child does need to be punished, but like you stated, it is even feesible to inforce a no touching rule. Opps I bumped into you in the crowded hallway between classes, I now have to go to detention. This is why I will be all over my childs school. By no means do I think that I have all of the answers, but I also do not go overboard either. I can bring a sense of reason!
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