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!!!!!’ School officials say the rule helps keep crowded hallways and lunchrooms safe and orderly, and ensures that all students are comfortable. But Hal, 13, and his parents think the school’s hands-off approach goes too far, and they are lobbying for a change. ‘I think hugging is a good thing,’ said Hal, a seventh-grader, a few days before the end of the school year. ‘I put my arm around her. It was like for 15 seconds. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.’ 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’ […]
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
Va. School’s No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject
Author: MARIA GLOD
Source: The Washington Post
Publication Date: Monday, June 18, 2007; B01
Link: Va. School’s No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject
Source: The Washington Post
Publication Date: Monday, June 18, 2007; B01
Link: Va. School’s No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject
Stephan: You see story after story like this. Not the same thing, but other rules which seem to have no commonsense tangency with the reality of human life. Like the 54 million dollar pants this story, and a hundred like it, seem to describe a culture in shock.