Okay, where was I when the human race, particularly that part of the human race that is in charge of our public schools, lost all touch with reality and a sense of proportion? I remember a school world where rules were laid down for good, sound reasons, (in most cases) and the punishments were more often than not tempered with mercy and designed to fit the crimes. (For example, one day when I was teaching high school, a girl showed up in class wearing a tight, pink tee shirt with lime-green lettering that said, “I am a f**king boy toy!” Rather than make a big deal about it, she was sent to office and made to call her mother to bring her a change of clothing. The girl had to sit in a closed office until her mother showed up, and her mother was inconvenienced by having to leave her work and bring in the alternate clothing. Trust me, the girl never wore “inappropriate” attire to school again!)
I guess it’s a good thing that I am no longer in the teaching profession, because, not only do I not understand the severity of the punishments being handed down today, but I don’t even understand the infractions!!!!
It’s a sin to hug? Really? I remember kids getting suspended for fighting, but for showing concern for fellow students or engaging in outward signs of friendship?? I don’t understand what the concern is.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with policing the halls and prowling around school dances breaking up kids who are involved in serious lip-lock or performing anatomical examinations on each other in public. However, there is a distinct and highly recognizable difference, at least among rational, thinking adults (Ah! There’s the rub!), between public fornication and a sweet and sincere sign of caring.
Yet, school boards across the country are passing anti-hugging rules that carry punishments of suspensions and, in chronic and incorrigible cases, (incorrigible HUGGING?), expulsions!
Now, in a democracy such as ours, laws and rules are made mainly for the protection of the people, correct? All right then, for whose benefit are these anti-hugging ordinances being enacted? And from what are these rules protecting people?
Psychologists tell us that hugging and “the human touch” is a not only a good thing, but an essential thing for emotional and psychological wellness. Denial of this basic need leads to sociopathic behaviors and mentality.
Proponents of these hugging bans have visions of mass copulations and lecherous gropings in school classrooms and corridors if the bans are not put into use. Let me ask you a question: can you tell the difference between those two activities? I can! And, I contend that, if you can’t tell the difference between somebody showing sincere affection and somebody lustfully groping around, then you should not be in such a position of power in the first place!
Who are these rules protecting? Students are against them. Many parents and faculty members are also against them. In fact, “Hug-ins” are being staged in schools across the country now, and they are being attended by students, parents and faculty members in direct defiance to the administration-sanctioned hugging bans!
Perhaps it’s time for school administrators to stop throwing the baby out with the bath water. I know it’s easier to do things that way, but we do not live in a black and white world. A zero tolerance policy for hugging is not a good thing, and it will not work. To me, such rules are just affirmations of the paranoid society in which we live.
Why is it okay for high school athletes to slap each other on the butt to show approval, but it’s not okay for one friend to comfort another friend with a hug? I really just don’t know what kind of air some decision-makers are breathing.
What’s wrong with being human and showing it?