Tuesday, June 19, 2007

High Fives in School: A Gateway to Other Similarly Dangerous Behavior, Like Handshakes

The insanity continues.

Instead of teaching children what is socially acceptable behavior and what is inappropriate, instead of preparing students for the big bad world where they don’t live in protective cocoons of bubble wrap, a Virginia school district thinks it’s a good idea to ban ALL PHYSICAL CONTACT between students. Everything from handshakes to high fives and hugs are now no-nos.

By these standards, I violated the rules more times than I can count at my daughter’s soccer game on Saturday when I high-fived the players multiple times, put my hand on their shoulder or atop their head when I leaned over to tell them something (most of the time it was an “atta-girl” sentiment). In my kindergartener’s Sunday school, we teachers violated the Virginia standards by (*gasp*) holding hands at the end of a prayer.

The next thing you know, the girls on my daughter’s soccer team and the kindergarteners from the Sunday school class will be moving on to more dangerous behavior . . . like extending a hand of friendship to someone. Then where will we be?

(I found this gem of a horror story via Parent Dish.)

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