To protect “young, impressionable” school children from danger, violence and other unpleasant things in society, some public schools have resorted to well-intentioned, but half-baked policies.
One example is the schools that restrict shoelace color.
In an attempt to curb potential gang violence, some school officials have said only white, brown, gray or black shoelaces can be worn. The problem is that some shoes come with colored laces.
As Americans preach “love thy neighbor,” public schools have become increasingly intolerant of PDA or public display of affection, which is intended to keep groping and inappropriate sexual behavior to a minimum.
In some cases, however, stupidity is prevailing over common sense.
A recent example is the case of Megan Coulter, 13, of Mascoutah, Ill., who was given two days of detention for hugging her female friends on a Friday afternoon as they were leaving school.
Coulter was punished for violating the district’s no PDA policy; her choices were either detention or suspension. She took the two-day detention.
Sam McGowen, district superintendent, defended the policy, saying the penalty is fair and the teacher was following district policy.
The district policy states “displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment and brings discredit to the school and persons involved.”
Locally, the Keller ISD has joined the act. Fossil Hill Middle School has banned hand holding and hugging.
Dave Hadley, Fossil Hill Middle School principal, said, “We [the school] just feel that if we have a policy that says we don’t hug, we don’t hold hands, we don’t kiss here at school that everybody knows and understands, then they can focus on their education and not hugging.”
Hugging need not be disruptive. More important things than hugging need to be controlled.
Excessive embracing in the hall is one thing, but a friendly hug is no cause for alarm.
Whatever happened to hugs not drugs?
People have become so scared of discussing any sex-related matter, they cannot differentiate between sexual and non-sexual behavior.
Someone needs to lower the level of dumbness and raise the level of intelligence in this country.
What are children supposed to think these days? Do we want emotionless robots with no concern for others?
We punish children for showing affection toward one another. We act surprised when they fight and bully each other, and we want to medicate and send them to therapy.
So what are we asking of them?
Apparently, the under-18 crowd is not allowed to show anger or affection.
The simple solution to this problem is the parents. If parents would teach their children how to behave in public, the school officials would not have to resort to these half-baked policies.
