I am not a hugger, I never have been very comfortable with hugging and I really don’t see the big deal about doing it. But, I also have never really considered it an inappropriate action except in the work place between male and female co-workers or between unrelated adults and children of the opposite sex. Apparently several school districts disagree with me and find hugging of any kind inappropriate and have forbidden it as an inappropriate public display of affection on school grounds.
According to Alabama’s Autauga County School System's code of conduct, "inappropriate public displays of affection, including but not limited to embracing and kissing" are not allowed. And a girl who attends school in that system received two days detention for consoling a male friend who had just lost a parent with a hug at school.
Congratulations Alabama, you have just perpetuated the country’s opinion of your state as an uptight, bible-thumping backwater state that would rather stunt the emotional and sociological growth of its children than teach them that warmth and human empathy is a very good thing.
I can understand that school district wanting to keep a lid on PDA’s. I don’t have a problem with them limiting necking and groping, but hugging? Come on!
Hugging between girls has long been a staple of female bonding. Girls hug each other to say hello, goodbye, I’m sorry, and “OMG, that outfit is SO you!” Cheerleaders practically have the market cornered on hugging when a nail-biter game swings in favor of their team. For that matter, what would a football game be without the ability to hug the person next to you after your team makes a touchdown? Would a student who is the recipient of a hug from a parent after receiving an award at a school function be guilty of violating this policy?
School systems these days are becoming more akin to penitentiaries than educational institutions. They seem to be aiming to make our children mindless, emotionless drones that have absolutely no capacity for compassion or caring. Human interaction demands some contact, we need it, we crave it. When government indoctrination in public schools prohibits the most innocuous human contact, the best we can hope for is a group of young Americans who soullessly enter society with little idea of how to interact.
Is this the worst thing a school district has ever done? No, far from. But it is indicative of the overly reactionary mindset present in the nation’s school system. How about focusing on socialization and academic skills rather than creating and mindlessly enforcing overly restrictive, anti-social policies that just make school systems look foolish and totalitarinistic?
According to Alabama’s Autauga County School System's code of conduct, "inappropriate public displays of affection, including but not limited to embracing and kissing" are not allowed. And a girl who attends school in that system received two days detention for consoling a male friend who had just lost a parent with a hug at school.
Congratulations Alabama, you have just perpetuated the country’s opinion of your state as an uptight, bible-thumping backwater state that would rather stunt the emotional and sociological growth of its children than teach them that warmth and human empathy is a very good thing.
I can understand that school district wanting to keep a lid on PDA’s. I don’t have a problem with them limiting necking and groping, but hugging? Come on!
Hugging between girls has long been a staple of female bonding. Girls hug each other to say hello, goodbye, I’m sorry, and “OMG, that outfit is SO you!” Cheerleaders practically have the market cornered on hugging when a nail-biter game swings in favor of their team. For that matter, what would a football game be without the ability to hug the person next to you after your team makes a touchdown? Would a student who is the recipient of a hug from a parent after receiving an award at a school function be guilty of violating this policy?
School systems these days are becoming more akin to penitentiaries than educational institutions. They seem to be aiming to make our children mindless, emotionless drones that have absolutely no capacity for compassion or caring. Human interaction demands some contact, we need it, we crave it. When government indoctrination in public schools prohibits the most innocuous human contact, the best we can hope for is a group of young Americans who soullessly enter society with little idea of how to interact.
Is this the worst thing a school district has ever done? No, far from. But it is indicative of the overly reactionary mindset present in the nation’s school system. How about focusing on socialization and academic skills rather than creating and mindlessly enforcing overly restrictive, anti-social policies that just make school systems look foolish and totalitarinistic?
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