Yes, unfortunately the current trend of zero-tolerance for anything is raising a crop of people who will be afraid to make any type of gesture for fear of retribution. The days of treating others with respect are being replaced by doing all they can to stay clear and not possibly offend. Sad really as it will result in repressed feelings and internalization of self-incrimination.
The article says that this kid has kissed the girl before and was told not to. If the little girl doesn't want to be touched or kissed by little Hunter than she shouldn't have to go to school and then have to just brush it aside when this kid kisses her again when she doesn't want to be kissed and the boy has been told not to. It is harassment. He is old enough to know that when an adult tells you not to do something, don't do it.
Teach boys not to girls instead of teaching girls not to get .
Yeah I know that he didn't her but that kid knew that he wasn't supposed to kiss her. What does it teach this girl and boy if after being warned not to do something that makes someone uncomfortable sexually? That there are no repercussions?
The girl doesn't want to be kissed. He kisses her anyway and she sees nothing is done about it? Gee, she will think she's all alone and that she is wrong. She grows up and a kiss becomes a grope and a grope becomes penetration. But she has been taught to not say anything because she is overreacting.. It's just a kiss, it's just a grope. No one is going to help her anyway so why would she seek help to stop it? It would only embarrass her further.
The boy learns that okay, they told me not to kiss but I will anyway. So he does, nothing is done about it and he then learns, gee, it's okay to invade a girl's space and do whatever I want, big deal? As he gets older and his thoughts turn from kissing to other things, guess what he is going to do?
That is how culture is created.
Having just watched the video, I do think that calling it sexual harassment is far too strong and I don't think that it's right that the child should have "sexual harassment" on his record - how long will that stay there?
Surely at 6 years old, his motivation for doing this was not from a sexual standpoint, so it cannot really be defined as sexual harassment? Certainly from what his mother says, that doesn't seem to be the case, given that she says that he is now asking questions about sex.
To actually go as far as suspending the kid seems like a huge overreaction and I wonder what the effects of singling him out will have on him?
MF's comments, while also a bit strong (IMO) do raise serious points. I agree that the whole culture thing can only be changed by teaching from a young age what is and is not acceptable. Children, male and female, ought to be taught about boundaries, what is and is not okay, respect for other people's needs, wants and feelings etc etc.
The video said that the boy had been suspended before for kissing this same girl. Kids do shit like that, when I was young (yeah, back when the world was still in black and white, before technicolour hahah), they might have pulled your pigtails, or shoved you or something... That's just the way things were. School is one of the places where we can experiment, learn, be educated, form our opinions - that's the whole point of it - not just academic learning, but all the societal stuff too...
I don't know if the school tried any other measures to deal with the boy's behaviour, but in my mind, rather than have him in the "news" and vilified for sexually inappropriate behaviour (which I realise was more likely the mother, railing against this), they would have done better to have a class discussion about boundaries and respecting other people's feelings, about what things are and are not acceptable behaviour - that way the whole class could have learned together and benefited from this, rather than have one child singled out. Perhaps speaking to his mother and asking her to talk to her child? Maybe they did those things, the video didn't say. I feel they've taken an overly heavy handed approach. Surely the school could have dealt with it better? After all, it's also their responsibility to tech the kids in a positive way, rather than the sort of defensive behaviour we are seeing more and more in this "sue-culture" society.
It just seems to me that the whole situation could probably have been averted and dealt with in a positive way, rather than sensationalized like this... Sigh, it just seems to be the way of it these days, huh?
We need to educate not just our kids, but ourselves...
I agree with everything you say Mazza, the label of sexual harassment and the sensationalization of it is a bit much. But I also think about how the times are different than when you or me were this age.
The media can't really be trusted to put out facts in a real way. The mother of hunter is outraged but has she spoken to hunter about boundaries? Maybe so maybe not. Did the school try, try and try again to get hunter to keep his hands to himself? Maybe they did maybe they didn't. A good news story won't tell you, that would be boring. They want to say, Hunter kissed a girl ON THE HAND and now he's suspended. When hunter could have a long history of fighting, bullying, disrupting class, etc. We just don't know because the media will leave out those details to make a more sensational story.
Also, in the united states, Hunter's mom would have had to okay the use of hunter and herself's image. If Hunter's mom didn't want him vilified on the news then he wouldn't have been. Raises questions, know what I mean?
I don't think is too much, specially if we want different society, there must me heart breaking changes. I feel sorry for the Hunter that he has to deal with all the media exposure, but he is reminder and warning for other parents. Teach your child that no means no. It is the same way when we teach them, look before crossing the street, don't pull and take things way from your sibilings, dinner manners and so on; it should be on the same menue that a child cannot force his will on others, period. but if we teach children how to convince others to do something they want is another story with lots of different benefits.
I was in 2nd or 3rd grade when two boys got me alone in the changing room. I was terrified, they were touching me, grabbing me, laughing and trying to get hands into my pants. Yes they were 7 or 8, no big deal, right?
It is a big deal for the girl. Maybe she is shy, maybe she doesn't tolerate his hyperactive energy, but it is her absolute right not to be violated. And that was violation no matter how small it looks to us adoults.
Long story short, no one has the right to do something to you if you don't agree to it. They are the same age, it is not that he was kissing teachers hand. He needs to learn that no means no, apparently his parents failed to teach him that, so school will.
The boy kissed the girl once before, this is the second time. Not enough in my mind for the kid to be labelled for sexual harassment. But something needs to be done. His parents need to step in and really punish the boy. A long extended serious punishment that will get the point across to him. Instead of making a big deal and trying to get sympathy, they should have taken care of it privately. Take the steps to make sure he doesn't do it again.
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser. Socrates Chivalry isn't dead, but we're still trying to kill it.
Jeez. That's a bit ridiculous. I first grader has no mental, physical, emotional concept of what sex is, let along what sexual harassment is...or at least, back when I was a kid. He's a child for goodness sake!
Pretty soon, you won't be able to show basic human compassion because of the PC BS. Excuse my language, but fuck PC...let people be humans.
Yeah posted this on my facebook. Schools are getting dumber and dumber... They focus on asinine things like this rather than bettering the system or dealing with bullying. Let me link another article I went on a rant about on my YT channel.
Edit: Can't post links... Article it is then!
Student says she was suspended for acting as designated driver
A Massachusetts high school honor student says she was stripped of her role as captain of the volleyball team and suspended for five games for showing up at a party to drive her intoxicated friend home.
Two weeks ago, a friend of 17-year-old Erin Cox messaged her and said she was too drunk to drive home from a party she was attending in Boxford, CBS Boston reports.
Cox drove to the home and snaked through a crowd of teens to find her friend. But shortly afterward, police from Boxford, Georgetown, North Andover and Haverhill arrived to break up the party, arresting a dozen underage drinkers and handing out court summonses to 15 others, including Cox, the Boston Herald reports.
Cox claims she didn’t drink at the party and was cleared by police, who said she was not in any possession of alcohol, according to CBS Boston. But North Andover High School said the senior was in violation of the school’s zero tolerance alcohol and drug use policies.
“The school is really trying to take a very serious and principled stand regarding alcohol,” Geoffrey Bok, an attorney who represents the school, told the Boston Herald.
Cox’s mother, Eleanor, filed a lawsuit against North Andover High School to protest the suspension, but a judge said Friday that the court did not have jurisdiction over the case.
Cox maintains that she did the “right thing.”
“Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking,” she told the Boston Herald.
My child is in all probability older than you are, has won a national academic championship and now holds a supervisory position that she earned through hard work and merit. At every one of the few jobs she has held she has been well liked and well respected. Thanks for the advice.
I don't believe for one second that the little girl 'suffered' because a little boy of 6 years old kissed her on the cheek then on the hand. I agree it might be beneficial that his parents explain to him why he shouldn't touch her again, but the rest of it? It's overkill in my opinion. They are just six years old. It was a kiss on her cheek, then on her hand. I agree with Nikki though, at least in Australia, if a 6yo girl kissed a boy on the cheek, it would be looked upon as 'sweet and/or cute'
I think calling it sexual harassment is a bit much but that little boy needs to learn that no means no. At my age, if I don't want someone to kiss me I would be pissed if they did, why should it be different just because they're children. That little boy harassed that girl by kissing her when she didn't want him to, his parents need to teach him a thing or two about personal space.
