Hugging and Other Crimes Against Humanity
Justin Bathon on Friday, November 4, 2011 at 2:38PM This story got a lot of play today where a middle school student was suspended for a mutual hug of his best friend, a female classmate. Here was the rationale:
“We cannot make an opinion or judgment call on whether a hug is appropriate or not. It’s very difficult to police that on campus,” Christine Davis, the public information officer for Brevard County Public Schools, told ABC News.
Davis said the school puts policies and procedures in place to help keep the students focused on learning.
Really? If you can't make a call between an appropriate hug and an inappropriate hug you should be fired. It tells me that you don't know kids and that you don't know their lives. Is it harder to make all those judgment calls? Sure. But, that's what you get paid to do, so stop shirking your responsiblity through made-up policies (no law requires anything like this).
Want to know why our school systems can't produce the passionate, dedicated, emotionally committed leaders of the next century ... it's because we feel we have to sanitize our schools and students away from such crimes against humanity as hugs between friends.
When (it's probably not an if) these questionable school leaders lose their jobs ... "no hug for you."
