This issue has been rumbling on for a while but most schools back down when the matter is explained to them. This one didn't.
"Two middle schoolers are suing a school district in Easton, Pennsylvania, after they were suspended for wearing the popular "I (heart) boobies!" bracelets. A non-profit sells the $4 rubber bracelets to raise money and awareness for breast cancer organisations.
Thirteen-year-old Brianna Hawk and 12-year-old Kayla Martinez say the Easton Area School District ban violates their First Amendment rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the district on the girls' behalf today. School districts across the country have faced similar disputes, but the ACLU calls the lawsuit a first.
Miss Hawk and Miss Martinez received in-school suspensions for violating the ban. Easton school officials call the bracelets distracting and demeaning.
Source
8 comments:
"Easton school officials call the bracelets distracting and demeaning."
Breast cancer is far too serious and far too common not to be taken seriously. It affects women of all ages, races, creeds, and sexual orientation. For a school to say that the bracelets are distracting and demeaning really indicates their unwillingness to educate. While I personally believe that sexual education is being taught far too early, anatomy and health issues can certainly be taught if done properly.
-sig
I agree, breast cancer, along with all other types of cancer, should be taken seriously, which is why I am against these bracelets. What is wrong with the pink ribbon, or a pink shirt? I had a flight recently where they offered a special pink lemonade with the money going to breast cancer research. These are fine, and have no juvenile references.
If you were to poll the teenagers about the bracelets, how many do you think would say the first thing that they think about is cancer? How many are wearing them just because it says boobies?
We have already removed most disciplinary resources from teachers, why add to the distractions?
wah wah wah, just because you don't agree with something doesn't make it immoral, illegal, or wrong.
who cares what you think should be taken seriously. who cares what you think people's "appropriate response" to anything should be.
the idea is to inform and educate. if this is what it takes I'm all for it. and for those who are not, please just kill yourself.
"Today’s youth are the infantilized, pampered, bicycle-helmeted children of the Worst Generation. They foisted this jug-eared, European socialist on us and now they must be punished. Voters aged 18 to 29 years old comprised nearly a fifth of the voting population in 2008 and they voted overwhelmingly for Obama, 66 percent to 31 percent. And it only took 12 to 14 years of North Korean-style brainwashing to make them do it!" -- Ann Coulter
Anon 3:13, the teachers should take the time and effort to actually educate the students about what the bracelets actually represent.
Get some students to talk about their moms or their aunts who have dealt with breast cancer. Get some teachers to talk about their experiences or their friends' experiences with breast cancer. Educate the students with really personal experience, and the charm of "boobies" will wane really quickly. The point is to raise awareness and to show that it's much closer than most understand.
"the teachers should take the time and effort to actually educate the students about what the bracelets actually represent. "
Why should a math teacher be talking about breast cancer? Why should an english teacher have to teach about bracelets? We already have a lack of basic instruction in the public education system, and I would not have wanted my math teacher to be talking about bracelets, and why even some teens bought them because they are funny, they are really representing a very serious cause.
Would all the cancer experience stories in the world change the meaning of the word to a 14 year old?
I remember singing songs about suffocation as a child, and thought they were funny, even though suffocation is a serious issue. I remember friends in high school making themselves pass out for fun. There are pictures around the internet of men willing to give women free breast exams, and we expect teen agers to take a bracelet seriously?
Teachers have already lost much of their authority in the classroom. Students need less distractions, not more. Let the teachers teach what they are trained to teach, not social issues.
Anon 10:57
I see no arguments anywhere to were the bracelets should be illegal, immoral, or even wrong. Innapropriate in school, maybe.
Suicide is a very serious issue. You should never suggest anyone kill themselves, even in jest, as they may already be inclined to do so. Maybe we should get you a I Heart Life bracelet.
Who runs the place? The inmates or the ----
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