Oh, Dear: Another School District Gone Mad

Okay, so Halloween is supposed to be a time for kids to dress-up and have fun, right? Well, not in Paramus, NJ. Alex Woinski , a 13 year old student at West Brook Middle School, was sent home from school because his costume was deemed disruptive and defensive. What did he wear, you might ask? Alex was dressed as Jesus Christ. That's right, the sent Jesus home. Alex wasn't preaching, he just wore the costume. It was a rather well designed costume at that.

According to reports, the principal of West Brook Middle School, Joan Kelly Broe, said that the boy was sent home because the costume was disruptive to other students. "Children were asking, where is the boy who is Jesus Christ?" principal Broe told WCBS-TV. "It was disrupting the education process." Other students were ordered to alter their costumes if they were deemed inappropriate, but no one else was sent home. Now, I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state, but this is ridiculous.

Is this principal saying that students just stopped working, and were running around in packs in search of Jesus? Come on! I mean, how bad could it have been? Was his costume more offensive than those that had to be altered? Interestingly enough, if you go to Ms. Broe's West Brook page, she greets you with this quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." --William Butler Yeats. Seems like the fire was put out on this one. Hope Ms. Broe dusted off her witch's costume after putting a damper on something that is supposed to be fun.

I really am curious about this one, folks. Do you think Alex should have been sent home because of his Halloween costume? Just drop us a note.

Mascoutah School Policy: What a Price to Pay for a Hug

A few days ago, a 13 year old student from Mascoutah Middle School, in Mascoutah, Ill, was given two days in detention. Her crime -- giving her classmates a goodbye hug. As the children were being released for the weekend, the student gave two of her friends a goodbye hug . It appears that the Mascoutah School System came up with the bright idea to ban any display of public affection on school property...this includes something as innocent as a hug. The policy states: "Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved." How the system has managed to turn something as innocent as a goodbye hug into something so sinister and dirty is beyond me. What is even more amazing is that if the accused student chose not to spend two Saturdays in detention, she would have been suspended. A crime befitting a hug, right? Not!!


America, what are we becoming. This is an institution of learning. What is this school district teaching its children if it is run by paranoia? So, if two second graders decide to hold hands as they are skipping along, they are embarrassing themselves, as well as the school? I don't know about you America, but I need to know how a school district could possible come up with something this stupid.

To Mr. Sam McGowen, District Superintendent, who fully agrees with this policy, it is not the children who hug their friends that show poor taste or discredits the school. It is you and all of the old cronies that came up with this sick, ridiculous policy. Shame on you.