There is a wide range of opinions when it comes to the topic of how old a child should be before they are allowed to date. Most of the time, the decision is left up to the parents and it may depend on the maturity level of the child. Some say that 13 is old enough. Some say 16 years old. Others say that you should only be dating if you are considering marriage.
But whatever your opinion, there is always going to be controversy. And it really gets stirred up when an elementary (that’s right: ELEMENTARY) school is enforcing a “no dating” policy for their fifth-grade students.
Students in the fifth grade were having trouble dealing with broken hearts.
Fifth-grade students at the Riverside Elementary School in Jefferson, Indiana were dealing with a lot of drama. The students were bouncing in and out of relationships which typically ended in broken hearts. With some of the relationships only lasting a few days, the student’s hearts were being tossed around and they found it difficult to concentrate in class.
A group of elementary school teachers implemented a “zero dating” policy.
The teachers were becoming concerned as they were seeing more and more heartbreak between the students in their classes. The students were distracted, and the teachers were noticing that every couple of days, the students would have a new crush and begin another relationship.
The emotional toll on the students was interfering with schoolwork. So, they sent home a letter to the parents enforcing a new rule: no dating allowed.
A portion of the letter states, “…many of the fifth-grade students are dating each other. This is the age that students become interested and develop crushes, but this is also the age that hearts can get broken quickly…to combat [this] we have implemented a zero dating policy…We are truly just attempting to lessen the amount of broken hearts.”
The school is receiving some negative feedback but just wanted to combat “broken hearts”.
Unfortunately, the letter was sent out by a group of teachers and was not passed through school officials before being sent home with the children. The wording of the letter caused concern as the teachers insisted that the children cease and desist.
“All three classes have been spoken to about the importance of this matter. They were given Tuesday and Wednesday to make sure that relationships have ended,” read the letter.
Of course, this sparked some controversy with the concerned parents, especially when the letter was sent home after the action had already been taken by the teachers. Some are saying that instead of a “no dating” policy, they should have given the students resources to learn how to deal with relationship and emotional problems.
Enforcing a hard ban and telling children that they aren’t allowed to feel something may be taking it a step too far.
What do you think? Should a school be allowed to put restrictions on the children if their behavior and performance in the classroom is inhibited?
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