Zitat
No more tag or touch football for the students at Armatage Elementary in south Minneapolis.
The school now has an official "no touch" policy.
Originally the rule, circulated to parents Thursday, banned even casual touching such as hand-holding and hugging.
But Principal Joan Franks has now refined the policy to target aggressive and "unsafe" behavior such as play-fighting, pushing and shoving. And tag.
Some parents are not happy.
Nan Carlson, a mother of two children who attend Armatage Elementary, said it is "ridiculous" -- both overly politically correct and hard to enforce.
"I think [Franks] has the best interests of the children in mind," she said. "But this one came out of the blue, and it's just kind of weird."
While Minneapolis Public Schools do not have a "no touch" policy, Franks said she took action after receiving numerous complaints from students and parents about children being touched aggressively. She said she has received mostly positive feedback from parents.
Without a firm rule barring touching, it is difficult for staff to determine whether students' behavior is fun or threatening, said Franks, who has been principal at Armatage for 10 years.
"Since we cannot have different rules for different children, I have shared with many of the classrooms today [and the rest tomorrow] that touching in any form is no longer acceptable while in school," she wrote to parents on Thursday in an e-mail.
Explaining to parents
In a follow-up e-mail the same day, she said casual touching, such as hand-holding, would be allowed, and further explained her motivations:
"Unfortunately, we live in a time when actions although honorable can be misconstrued and before you know it, the situation gets out of hand. We want our students to learn how to get along with others as well as learn that there are boundaries that if encroached can feel offensive and even scary."
...
Kontrollzentrum
Zitieren