Banned on campus: Boys talking to girls

WorldNetDaily ^ | 4-30-03 | Unknown

[Houmatt]

Virtually every student who has ever attended school has heard the phrase, "No talking in class."

Now, an elementary school in southern Oregon has taken that proscription a step further, by banning all conversation between boys and girls.

The silent fury began last week when 6th-grade teacher Mary Bond at Peterson Elementary School noticed students showing public signs of affection during lunch recess, reports the Klamath Falls Herald and News.

So, to prevent nature from running its course, she banned all discourse between boys and girls, at least temporarily.

"It was not a disciplinary measure," principal Jim Smith told the paper. "It was a preventative measure."

But two 12-year-old students didn't see it that way. Sarah Manes and Hannah Guerrero viewed the ban as an assault on their freedom of speech, especially when they were outside of class at recess.

"Hannah called Sarah and said, 'We gotta do something,''' Sarah's mother Esther Manes said.

So, the girls did what many Americans do when they feel they're rights are being trampled on – they organized a protest.

A total of nine classmates gathered outside the school this week, picket signs in hand, to let school officials know they weren't about to pipe down.

"The girls got a big response," said Esther Manes. "Parents were asking questions. I am so proud of my daughter. The hardest part was to walk into that school after protesting like that. She stood up for herself. I think she learned something important."

Once students and faculty arrived on campus Monday, the picketers handed a letter of complaint to the principal.

Smith says no disciplinary action would be taken against the protesters, and he's willing to hear any complaints from students and parents.

"They have every right to protest," he said.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Way back in 1815, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided an important case, here are excerpts from that case:

I would go way, way back, and see some excerpts from another Supreme Court judgement on the subject. Execution is not the prescribed penalty, and the author of the decision isn't a sin tolerating liberal either.

[Jeff Chandler]

>>Good lord, I attended a Catholic school from grades one through senior high. It was co-educational. Apparently the Pope isn't as hung up about sex as you are.<<

Actually, teaching children seperately when they reach puberty is a very good idea, if your purpose is to have them study and learn, and it really has nothing to do with being hungup. Children that age become terribly distracted by members of the opposite sex and have trouble concentrating. I've seen it many times. The group chemistry is entirely different with mixed sex classes.

Socializing with the opposite sex can take place before and after school, and on the weekends, so nobody is missing out on anything except wasted class time.

Mature adults once understood this concept, but our society has become so "enlightened" that we now know that there is no difference between boys and girls, and you can just lump them all together with no undesirable consequences. </sarcasm>

[ChemistCat]

This is the Taliban approach to human sexuality.

Values education is the real solution.

And yes, even without pop culture, horniness starts about this age. Please note: there are many 11 year old girls out there who could pass for 15 (and who will pass for 18 or even 21 at 15.) You need some clear standards to get through *all* stages of life. "Don't talk to them" is a useless stopgap.

[WOSG]

we are so enlightened that any good idea will be 'protested' by the idiots proud to display their moronic viewpoint.

Im aghast that parents are proud of the act of a 12 year old engaginging a public tantrum to get their way. "LOOK our kid is a loudmaouth brat!"

[SendShaqtoIraq]

Schools keep moving the cutoff date for kids to start school, so many are now a year older than we were in the same grade. when i started school, kids had to be five before december 31st, so i was 4 when i started kindergarten. where i live now, the kids have to be 5 BEFORE JUNE 1st!!!!

[MineralMan]

"The real problem that needs to be addressed is that 12 year olds are showing public affection towards other 12 year olds. "

That's silly. 12-year-olds have always "liked" each other. It's the beginning of a process that ensures our survival as a species.

I had my first real kiss when I was 12 years old and in the 6th grade. My good friend, all through grammar school, Janet W., and I were both clarinet players in the school band. We were practising at her house after school, like we often had done for a couple of years. Suddenly, this 12-year-old girl leaned over and kissed me, smack on the mouth.

I was embarassed, but got over that. I think we kissed each other three times. That's as far as it went. We're still friends, some 46 years later.

Don't be silly.

[Bigg Red]

Apparently the Pope isn't as hung up about sex as you are.
--
My recommendation has more to do with the lack of concentration on scholastics that occurs at this age. In coed classes, both boys and girls become distracted and often worry so much about what the opposite sex thinks about how they look or act that learning falls by the wayside and class participation becomes limited to only those kids who are not so distracted.

[Bigg Red]

With all due respect, Bigg Red, doesn't this seem a bit extreme?
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Agreed, HRAWH. And pretty dumb, too. I suspect, however, that the teacher was embarrassed and felt powerless to stop some of these "displays of affection", so she tried a desperate and impossible measure.