| Have you touched someone today? |
| Written by Christopher Mills |
| Thursday, 16 April 2009 18:13 |
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If you have, then you have been granted a privilege that students of the Kilmer Middle School in Virginia, USA have been denied. In 2007, a lot of controversy was caused when the school banned all touching between its students, no matter what the context. At the time, Kilmer Middle School was built to accommodate approximately 850 students, but had about 1100. It was a rule that was created to ensure the safety of students in crowded corridors and classrooms. School officials cited examples of escalation from one form of touching into another, as a reason for the creation of the rule. One student, 13 year old Hal Beaulieu was reprimanded after giving his girlfriend a hug during lunch break. "I put my arm around her. It was like for 15 seconds. I didn't think it would be a big deal." Hal's parents, who agreed with his thoughts, wrote a letter to the county school board asking for the rule to be reviewed. Henri Beaulieu, Hal's father, stated this: “They are all smart kids, and they can draw lines. If they cross them, they can get in trouble.” Consider what a lunchtime would have been reduced to in your school, had physical contact been disallowed. Our national sport of Rugby without touch, would be reduced to throwing an egg-shaped ball around. Tag would be just simply running around aimlessly, and Bullrush would become the worst lunchtime game ever. There is a line that needs to be drawn between what is acceptable behaviour for a school and what is not. But it is ridiculous for young people between the ages of 12 and 14 to be punished for harmless contact. At Kilmer Middle School, a simple handshake, a form of greeting that has been practiced since the 2nd century B.C., can land you in detention. It is a strange day to be writing about a subject such as this. We live in a world where these students are denied even a reassuring pat on the back from another student. They are being denied the freedom of human contact on today of all days. Thursday April 16 2009. National High Five day. Please everyone, make the most of your freedom, and give your friends, colleagues, parents, cats and dogs a celebratory high five, because these kids aren't allowed to. |
