A friend tells me that at his son’s school, it would be a violation of school policy for a student to give valentines only to other students of his or her choice. If any are given, they must be given to the entire class.
So much for the First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. For that right to exist, we must have the right not only to choose with whom we wish to associate, but also with whom we wish NOT to associate.
I think it is reasonable to ask children to give valentines to all their classmates, but I don’t think it’s right to force them to do so. I wonder whether it would violate the school’s policy to include a personal message on a valentine for a particular student.
i received this email from a friend last night…she teaches school now…i thought it very interesting…and quite sad…
*And I remember those as fun mostly but I remember when I was in third
> grade and we had made boxes for others to put the valentines in.
> After school, a boy who would now be described as a loser, came up to
> me and thanked me for giving him a valentine because he didn’t get any
> others. I was horrified. It never occurred to me not to give
> everyone in the class a valentine. It was never quite the same for me
> after that.*
When I was in third or fourth grade, there was a boy in my class that always had it in for me. Whenever he got a chance and was sure that the teacher wasn’t looking, he would punch me in the stomach. I tried to stay away from him, but wasn’t very successful at it. When I complained to the teacher, I was the one that got punished.
On Valentine’s day, he told the teacher that I hadn’t given him a valentine, which was true. She made me give him one. When I went to his desk and handed him a valentine, he whispered to me that he’d deal with me later, which he did after school.
Kids can be treat each other terribly, but I don’t think forcing them to give valentines to everyone is the answer.
What’s the value of a valentine, if someone is forced to give it to you whether they want to or not? What do kids learn from that?
Wow,
I had never considered your position Eric. Thats a good point. I had always been in favor of the giving every student a valentine. We have been homeschooling for the last six years, so I havn’t thought about this for a while.