June 20, 2007

NO TOUCHING!

Reader GyroJim sent me this article this morning:

MSN: School penalizes students for hugs, high-fives

VIENNA, Va. - A rule against physical contact at a Fairfax County middle school is so strict that students can be sent to the principal's office for hugging, holding hands or even high-fiving.

[...]

But at a school of 1,100 students that was meant to accommodate 850, school officials think some touching can turn into a big deal. They've seen pokes lead to fights, gang signs in the form of handshakes or girls who are uncomfortable being hugged but embarrassed to say anything.

How does any rational person agree with this policy? Let's talk about the reasons they give for instituting this draconian policy.

Pokes that lead to fights.
Fighting is against the rules. Touching anyone who doesn't wish to be touched is against the rules.

If someone pokes you and you don't like it, you say, "Excuse me, please don't poke me like that. It makes me uncomfortable." Or you find some other way to tell them not to do it. If they do it again, you alert the authorities because they persist in assaulting you.

You do not start a fight about it.

It doesn't follow that because neither the pokers or the pokees can conduct themselves as civilized people that policies should be made to stop friendly, welcome/accepted, consensual... um... poking.

Gang signs in the form of handshakes
So? I understand that they want to dissuade children from joining gangs and prevent their proliferation, but I am certain that the cornerstone of the gang-mentality is not handshaking or even the gang signs themselves.

Outlawing touching to prevent gangs is like installing a window to keep out the sun.

Girls who are uncomfortable being hugged but embarrassed to say anything
These ladies need to grow up.

Unfortunately, what this shows isn't that some people are fools, because that isn't a revelation. Instead, this is yet another reason why public schools do not work and should be dissolved.

Keep the government out of education!

Posted by Flibbertigibbet at June 20, 2007 11:08 AM | TrackBack
Comments

You know, my office instituted the same "no touching" rule after I beat a Verizon tech to death with his own phone.

Posted by: Matt Chancellor at June 20, 2007 12:20 PM

But the school instituted the rule, not the government. I mean I guess the school is a public school so is run by the government, but still. It's not a law or anything. I think it's reasonably silly simply because if I want to hug someone and they are okay with it, where's the harm? And if I want to give a hand job to my World History professor in the bathroom to secure myself an "A", I don't see anything wrong with that either.

Posted by: Britton at June 21, 2007 09:33 AM

But the school instituted the rule, not the government. I mean I guess the school is a public school so is run by the government, but still. It's not a law or anything.

It's not a law, but it carries with it the weight of the political system. The school board may expel students for violating the rules, thereby denying the student the value that they are entitled by virtue of the taxes paid to fund the school.

Unlike a commercial system where use determines payment, parents, non-parents, and children are all pretty equally screwed by the public school system.

Posted by: Flibbert at June 21, 2007 09:39 AM
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