Reason 166 To Homeschool: Hugs Permitted

Drudge’s Headlines today features a story about my local school district and their insane rules on kids touching one another.  All students are now barred from having physical contact with one another.  Why?  Because the school is “multi-cultural” (code for Muslims) and some kids might be too uncomfortable to tell someone not to hug them.

From the WaPo here:

Fairfax County middle school student Hal Beaulieu hopped up from his lunch table one day a few months ago, sat next to his girlfriend and slipped his arm around her shoulder. That landed him a trip to the school office.

Among his crimes: hugging.

All touching — not only fighting or inappropriate touching — is against the rules at Kilmer Middle School in Vienna. Hand-holding, handshakes and high-fives? Banned. The rule has been conveyed to students this way: “NO PHYSICAL CONTACT!!!!!”

A Fairfax schools spokesman said there is no countywide ban like the one at Kilmer, but many middle schools and some elementary schools have similar “keep your hands to yourself” rules.

Deborah Hernandez, Kilmer’s principal, has seen a poke escalate into a fight and a handshake that is a gang sign. Some students — and these are friends — play “bloody knuckles,” which involves slamming their knuckles together as hard as they can. Counselors have heard from girls who are uncomfortable hugging boys but embarrassed to tell anyone. And in a culturally diverse school, officials say, families might have different views of what is appropriate.

I seem to remember lots of times that I wasn’t comfortable having other kids jostle and touch me when I was in school.  But I dealt with it.  Its part of what makes a public school a public school.  Don’t want other kids touching your kids?  Keep them at home.

Now if only teachers could get this memo across to other teachers who touch kids then school might be a happier place.