Don't these educators have anything else to do except to teach our children that all adults are idiots!

I don't believe it is the fault of unions, but we have reached a sad state of affairs in education. Educational systems now have more administrators and "specialists" than actual classroom teachers. Adm inistrators make more money than classroom teachers by far. And a person who only wants to teach is considered to be without the necessary skills or motivation to be an administrator. It has become a two-track system where the people who teach out kids about arithmetic are paid much less that the people who teach our schools about cubcakes.

These are people who have too many agendas and no clue of what they are doing... unless their agenda is to turn children into ice cubes. What do any of their new rules have to do with student safety? Nothing!

In our school district, kid's aren't even allowed to hug each other...they get a note sent home if they enter another child's personal space...so NO hugging. Teachers are AFRAID to touch the kids, so no hugs there either. It really is getting ridiculous.

The "no homemade goodies" ban has been in effect for the last 10 years, and I always made my kids invite EVERYONE in their class to their birthday parties in elementary school. I think we can safe the rejection for middle school or later.

All school volunteers, including parents, must have a local background check and a statewide background check. Fingerprints are taken and sent to local and state law enforcement for check. FBI too.

This tickles me...

"Parents who visit the 17 elementary schools in St. Mary’s County are still allowed to hug their own children, just not other kids."

How many parents out there are teaching their children to hug random grown ups? If someone hugs my child against their will, its called assault. We already have laws for this.

"The guidelines come from a committee of parents and school administrators that started meeting last fall. They were put in place after the massacre last December in Newtown, Conn. District officials stress that they are not final, and say they want feedback from parents."

Because we all know that the shooter killed 20 children by spraying them with cupcakes, birthday invitations and hugs...

"Among the new rules: It’s fine to send a homemade cupcake to school for your own child, but not for the rest of the class. District officials are concerned about food allergies and want parents to send only store-bought treats that have the ingredients listed."

Because we all know that store bought products are safe! How about just as a courtesy, sending along an ingredient list if you make food for a class. Also, if you don't want your child getting a cupcake at school, tell the child not to accept cupcakes at school! I never had any qualms about turning down free food, its not like the teacher is going to force feed the food to anyone!

As for party invitations, the district suggests that PTA groups develop phone and email lists for parents.

“If there are 20 individuals in the class and someone brings in seven birthday invitations, it was creating an academic disruption,” Hall said. “People were getting their feelings hurt.”

Because no one EVER gets their feelings hurt over the phone or by facebook! If its a disruption, then ask the kids to do it AFTER class. If you don't want your child's feelings to ever be hurt, lobotomize them so they have no feelings!

Really people! :P

The participation ribbon generation is now in charge of the rules. These kids are so unprepared for the real world. No one EVER gets their feelings hurt in the real world.

Nanny state !

let kids be kids !

have we turned into Russia ?

our kids will grow up resenting all forms of authority ( parents, police and government)

for every action, there will be a reaction = civil unrest

Our country is divided hard left and hard right and the last time that happened was "civil war"

and the DHS is stocking up on ammunition !

In a time where high school graduates can't write a coherent grammatically correct paragraph or can't give the proper change for a $3.12 order and paid with $5.27 without the register telling them the change the WORST problem is a hug or a cupcake?

No wonder this country is screwed more and more each day..........

I am the aunt to one of these mid 20's married couples. Their perspective is toxic as will be their divorce. Great kids but parental and cultural abyss.

NoLiberty! TOO FUNNY LMAO... I love your post "Because we all know that the shooter killed 20 children by spraying them with cupcakes, birthday invitations and hugs..." Your post is as silly as those stupid ass rules only YOURS is funny as hell. The schools policy is no joke. Its sad, pathetic and way overreaching. You are 500% correct. My kids would never walk up and hug someone that they don't know. Here is what I posted on my Facebook when I shared the story:

My god what a sterile society we are becoming. Kids are raised (to me anyway) as a community effort in part. The parents are the primary but for example with us its always been a group effort. If my child spends the night at a friends house they only do so if we trust the other family. Trust is really a broad meaning here. That family is responsible for the discipline of my child while in their cu...stody as I am theirs when their child is with us. This does NOT exclude hugs. Close family friends which includes the parents of close friends to our kids are like extended family. We care about their children as I am equally certain that they care about ours. I guess I can understand this in part but it’s a real shame that it needs to be like this. Pretty soon we will all walk around in plastic bags.

I do not blame school administrators as much as I blame lawyers and sue happy parents looking for free money. If a teacher does anything that anyone might find even remotely questionable there is a parent out there ready to sue and a scumbag lawyer to egg them on and take the case. Teachers are afraid to even touch a student for fear of being accused of molesting them. If a little kids falls and scrapes their knee on the playground no one at the school will even think of giving the kid a hug to comfort them for fear of being accused of wrongdoing. The no homemade treats rule is because god forbid a kid accidentally eats something and has an allergic reaction and the school will end up paying out millions in damages to the parents, even if the kid has no lasting effects. The only item I would fault the school over is the no birthday party invitations. Kids need to be taught that disappointment and hurt feelings are part of life and learn to deal with it. But then again, there is probably some parent/lawyer combination that would try and sue the school for allowing their poor little baby to have his feeling hurt and damaging his self image. This is what our world has come to from a combination of sue happy parents, scumbag lawyers, and over the top political correctness. God forbid a teacher do anything for there students above and beyond teaching them the proscribed curriculum and there will be someone finding some way to take offense and object to it.

ProBusiness Hey watch it buddy..> Those cupcakes man those are dangerous little balls of joy errr... weapons. LOL I know what you mean. We always seem to be focused on stupid @!$%# usually disruptive rather than correcting issues that actually exist. I mean if your kid can't tell who to hug and who not to hug I would say LEARN TO PARENT YOUR CHILDREN! And as far as food yeah maybe an ingredient list just for extra measure I guess I am ok with that. But I would much prefer that my children eat something made by another parent (by and large) than made in some factory or the local grocery store. This is just silly and annoying.

Widgetsx3 God forbid that your childs feelings get hurt and he/she needs to slowly learning what the real world is about. We would not want them to be prepared adults would we? I would much rather we see the next generation as a bunch of 30 year old sheltered spoiled brats; yeah that will turn this @!$%# around. Great idea!

I'm an American who has been living outside the US for over two years now, in a culture where people show a great deal of affection for those school mates, friends and colleagues.

The longer I'm outside of the US 'Looking In", the more I think the US is loosing it's mind and going flat out insane.

Every day it's weird stuff like this, or the New York mayor wants to micro manage everyone's life with God-like, dictatorial control.

I live in a 'communist' country, but I swear, these people in the US put the Chinese Communist Party to shame!! These people are more Socialist/Communist than the Chinese government.

SERIOUSLY, do you want to know how absolutely BIZARRE you all sound (who implement this stuff)? Just go live outside of the US for two years among what I would call emotionally healthy people and then return to the US...or just read about it from abroad.

I feel more personal liberty OUTSIDE of the US than inside. All I can say about the strange people making these rules: You F*&@ers are WEIRD!

Just another example of the liberal mindset bent on micromanaging our lives for us in stinkingly politically correct fashion.

Sieg Heil!!

This is gettin' ridiculous!!! We are teaching our kids it is not right to show emotion, it is wrong to hug anyone unless it is YOUR mom/dad forget other kids or a teacher!! The Libs have ruined our kids! This is all knee jerk reaction crap. I couldn't even hold a little 6 year old girl who fell and got hurt a few years ago when I was a teacher's aid. Why? Cause the teacher said her mommy wouldn't like that and it would be considered a "sexual assault"!! Unreal! Libs would rather our kids socialize on Facebbok, not even play with each other, no parties or recess, anything where a kid MIGHT even slightly get hurt! So they get a skinned knee or lose a game!! LET THEM LOSE once in a while! Yeah, they will cry for a bit, but they learn to do better! It helps them become well rounded and mentally stable adults (for the most part). I say Libs cause this is the mentality the "new rules" of schools are coming out with. Sad, sad sad!! It has to change! Schools are being run like a dictatatorship.

Kids are supposed to get their feelings hurt, it's called growing up. There were many a birthday party I was not invited too. Just because you were in my class, did not mean you were my friend and I wanted you to be at my party. I can understand about the allergy thing with foods. So give me a list of what people are allergic to, and I'll bring them something that isn't full of nuts, gluten...

No wonder kids are shooting at schools. You @ssholes took all the fun out of it and made kids as wound up as their anal retentive parents.

Aside from the hugs, they already do this at my daughter's school here with the cupcakes and invitations. Kids here in my daughter's elementary school in Nebraska cannot bring cupcakes except for special holidays, and then they MUST be prepackaged and not home made. With the invitations, they have to be handed outside of school. They are never to be given out at school. I have not heard much about the hugs, but I know teachers are cautious about those, too. I never see hugs given except maybe a quick shoulder hug.

Sounds like this school has been infiltrated by Seventh Day Adventists. That's their M.O.

This sounds like the lunacy is squarely on the parents. A complete lack of common sense. Complete.

PATHETIC!!!

WOW, the parents need too all see shrinks. They sound like the ones with the issues not the kids.

It is a sad state our world is in. You can't hug a child without being accused of sexual assault. Kids can't have homemade cup cakes, but they can eat the nutritionless garbage made and packaged in China. You can't push a child on a swing without being sued if the child falls. I understand that not getting an invite upsets the kids who don't get one, but they have to learn to deal with the realities of life when they are children so they don't melt down when they are adults and can do real harm to others. If the third grader learns he or she will survive if he/she doesn't get invited to a particular party, they'll do better in dealing with adult stress.

Greed and the liberal bent toward creating a "perfect" world are tearing apart our society. There is no perfect world on earth.

“It is sad that this needs to be done for the safety of our children,” she told the newspapers.

Uh, no. Actually, it is sad that you are so dumb as to 'think' that you are doing this for 'safety'.

The guidelines come from a committee of parents and school administrators that started meeting last fall. They were put in place after the massacre last December in Newtown, Conn.

I'm sure the massacre in Newtown, CT all started with hugs from other kid's parents.

"If there are 20 individuals in the class and someone brings in seven birthday invitations, it was creating an academic disruption," Hall said. "People were getting their feelings hurt."

And we get to the bottom of it. This has nothing to do with smart rules, this is all about liberals being idiots...again.

God forbid not everyone get invited to a b-day party, hey lib idiots, not everyone will be friends with everyone.

The hugs, well what about family and close friends? Am I going to be kicked out for hugging, or god-forbid pushing on a swing, my best friends daughter who calls me Uncle?

Liberals are getting so god damn out of hand in this country, I think we need to start using euthanasia as a control for liberalism.

I understand that not getting an invite upsets the kids who don't get one, but they have to learn to deal with the realities of life when they are children so they don't melt down when they are adults and can do real harm to others.

Dude you nailed it on the head, the issues children are developing lately that liberals are pretending to protect them from, are direct results of liberal ideology.

Let's just "safety" the fun of life out of our kids, that'll be good for the future.

In a time where high school graduates can't write a coherent grammatically correct paragraph or can't give the proper change for a $3.12 order and paid with $5.27 without the register telling them the change the WORST problem is a hug or a cupcake?

Is the problem the cupcake, or is the problem that all kids have to be "cupcake." Pussification dude, it's the progressive way.

This is absolutely silly to me. I don't send cupcakes because my children's birthdays are in August, no school. But I only invite the classmates they like. And when the girls in my son's class run up to me to give me a hug and say hello, what am I supposed to do? Run in the other direction?

This is rediculous. I am a mom of three children with one in public school. I am also a teacher turned stay at home mom.

First of all my son only invited children in his class that were nice to him and that were boys. There are children in his class he either does not hang out with or are just plain mean to him and/or other children. So he is supposed to invite the bullies to his party? I don't think so. This has been a part of schools for years. So when the child gets home and tells his/her parents that he/she was not invited to a party, first of all the parent can have a conversation with the child about not always getting invited to everything and about what to do when they are not included in something. Also, is there a reason for not being invited? Are you a bully to the kids in class? Maybe you should try to be more friendly.

About the homemade food. Many "store bought" treats are very bad for children. Many include ingredients that are harmful to people in general, GMO's, cancer causing ingredients, and more. So lets not give any treats to anyone. Hey, lets put all kids in a bubble. I agree that the children and the teacher needs to be aware of any allergies they or the class has and when the parent discusses with the teacher what to bring in for a child's birthday, the teacher can then discuss with the parent on a case by case basis.

Hugging- We are not teaching our children anymore about safe and unsafe touching? This is the parents job to teach the children what is ok and not ok. A friendly hug is a warm and caring way to show the child that you care about them. A lot of our children don't get hugged enough and come to school and want to hug the teacher. As a teacher, I cared a lot for the children in my class and they always initiated the hug and I tried to just put one arm around them for fear of "getting in trouble". Children need to know when to say no to a hug or other touching. Children need hugs.

Ok, done my ranting.

I agree with you 100% Michelle... Our schools have similar "rules" when it comes to sending food for the class. There are just too many allergies out there to risk getting a child sick. Our school has a PTA member directory with contact information of those families who choose to participate, along with a class roster for each class. It makes the invitation thing much easier to deal with. It's a bit different in middle school and eventually, kids are going to learn to deal with not being invited to parties and handling that graciously! Our district also has the same background clearances, and I think that's a fantastic idea! Not being able to push another child on a swing - - That's taking it a bit too far.

Our parochial school allows you to send birthday party invitations to school if you are inviting the entire class, or if you are inviting all the boys or all the girls. We receive a school directory with addresses and phone numbers, so it's no big deal to send invitations out other ways. We also have to have background checks and go through safety training before volunteering at school, chaperoning field trips, or in any other way interacting with the kids. The hugging though? I'd have a really hard time with that. I volunteered an hour a week in my daughter's class when she was in kindergarten and early elementary school. I often found myself hugging kids, either to celebrate an achievement or to make boo-boos better. The hugs always occurred in a room with other kids and at least one other adult. That kind of physical contact can be really important to a young child. Not pushing other kids on swings? That just seems mean. Sorry, I'll push my kid but you're on your own?

@Michelle & Emma3, Are you an idiot its not awkward if you are only friends with one of those children and the other does nothing but make your life at school a living hell, that's right up there with everyone should get a medal just for participating ...... there's inclusiveness but, there is also something that's called common sense Todays kids need to learn...you don't always get your way...you're not special, or privledged, and you are not entitled !!!!. Not everyone is going to like you,just as you don't or won't like everyone one else.

I want to know why everyone in previous generations did not die off and not have any children. Used to be the only way to get treats to take to class was to make them yourself, couldn't go to the grocery store and order cupcakes.

I think there are those with sever allergies but I also suspect we have lots of people who like to play the oh poor me I need special considerations because I'm so special.

I think what has happened to our food in the last 40 years is all the GMO's, pesticides and altering the cells in foods to grow more or be larger has started to show up as food allergies in kids. I can't believe how many kids are now allergic to peanuts!! Crazy! Or have celiac disease! Something is going on.

It's death by a thousand cuts. Sure, each little new rule by itself seems logical and inconsequential, but when you look at how all of them together transform the classroom into an unrealistically sterile and politically correct prison where education comes second...

I attended a pre-school open house with my granddaughter just a few weeks ago. I had other children jumping on my back and hugging me while I was reading her a book. The other parents, just standing off to the side. In other cases, I've had kids beg me to push them on a swing while I was there with my own kids. Kids don't understand these issues sometimes, and it's completely innocent.

Like others here, I would prefer my kids have the homemade desserts instead of store bought. If my child were allergic, I would consider it my responsibility to make sure the teacher was aware. If the rationale is that store bought items have the ingredients listed, the school has to have a list of students with allergies, right? And the kids themselves must have some self-awareness, or what's to prevent them from trading desserts at lunch with another student?

We don't live in an antiseptic, safe world, and we'll never make it that way.

tig5, I'm just interested in how you believe that kids are magically going to learn to deal with rejection if we protect them from every sort of rejection until they are nearly adults?

This is way overboard.We never had volunteers at our schools.There is no need for them.We had room mothers who once a month brought in homemade treats and nobody got ill or died.If somebody brought in invitations and you weren't included then tough.I was not included most of the time because we moved a lot and I became the new kid.I learned at an early age that life is not a popularity contest but that it was all about integrity,responsibility, consideration,good manners, respect and self respect.That's what parents should be worrying about instead of hurt feelings.I am glad not to be in school and not to have kids in the public school system which is being run by a bunch of ignorant people.

Gross - who would want to take 25 kids to Chuck E Cheese???? Every time my kids go there they end up with some sort of rash or virus. The one near our house is revolting. I cringe every time we get an invite. No one is saying you have to invite all 25 kids but simply if you don't - send the invites through the mail so that you aren't flaunting it in the other children's faces. Save the teacher the headache of having to deal with that aftermath!

Emma. So what, tell your employees to grow up, or hit the street.

Oh please! Kids need to learn that not everyone is going to like you, and you're not going to like everyone either...and that's ok! This is the problem with kids today. They expect too much and think mommy and daddy's job is to pitch a fit at the school so they can do whatever they want there as well. You are not doing your children any favors by behaving this way. We grew up having to tryout for teams, not getting invited to every little social event, and doing chores for money. Now children simply hold their hand and wait for their weekly reward for just being here, or wait for mommy to act a fool because their child didnt get their way or the famous" my child wouldnt do that!" News flash folks...YES, YOUR KIDS WOULD DO THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE KIDS AND THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TAUGHT THEM!! Get off your high horses and worry more about teaching your kids how to be good, productive citizens instead of spoiled lil monsters.

I would not mention a party in front of people I don't intend to invite to it. Not because I am overly concerned with their feelings, but because I fancy myself well-mannered and purposefully alienating people, even those you aren't close to, demonstrates a lack of social grace.

Ah, the bullies have arrived. We know who really wasn't invited to the birthday parties, now don't we?

Agree Robbie! It's nice to know some people have manners.

Not to mention alienating your co-workers can cause a lack of cohesion in an office.

That's ridiculous. If I have people to my house I get to invite whomever I want not the entire office. No one in their right mind invites coworkers and their boss to a party (if the reasons aren't obvious I'll sell you a clue).

Emma3,You must supervise a bunch of immature people.I have been excluded a lot even as an adult in an office and never got my feelings hurt.The people that you supervise were not taught how to handle rejection at an early age.I actually felt relieved not to be invited because then I didn't have to feel obligated to attend a function that I'd rather not go to.I also didn't have to make up an excuse to get out of the invite.

I think those parents all need a hug.

I think everybody has the general idea of what is right and what is wrong. But, You are missing the larger issue. The School District and School Board are covering their @sses from law suits. They don't give a damn about you or your child's self esteem. They just happen to like their jobs really well and they intend on keeping them regardless of the emotionally sterile future shooters they are creating.

It's time for schools to stand up to irrational, hysterical parents who expect everyone to fall down and worship their children. A simple way for schools to stop a flury of lawsuits from these egomaniacs is to tell them that if they file a lawsuit, the school will cross-file against them and for twice the amount of money. If some parents insist that, for example, no food be allowed because they have an "allergic child who shouldn't be made to feel left out" by not enjoying the treat and will sue because of it, then the school cross-files against them in the name of the other 20 kids in the class who will be left out of having that treat.

I disagree. Mayor Bloomberg is on exactly the right track. We need a major cultural change in this country to improve our diet. The majority of school children today have neither strong minds nor strong bodies.

Education should incorporate teaching children how to improve their minds AND their bodies. I took Health class for an entire year growing up in Iowa. It was probably the most important class I've ever taken - and I've taken A LOT of classes!

It is not Bloomberg's place or your place or anyone's place to put dietary restrictions on anyone. Only a certified, licensed doctor should be allowed that. I have no issue with cholesterol, why should someone ban me from eating bacon. I exercise on a daily basis, who has the right to tell me I can't have a coke? If you want to restrict something, work on alcohol, prescription drugs and stupidity. The PC community and others have gotten out of hand and you people are bordering ridiculous. It has nothing to do with allergies, it has to do with cleanliness and cooking. If a kid has an allergy, then the teacher and school should be made aware of it and the teacher monitor's what is brought in.
Just home school your kid and keep them in a bubble.

IntelligentandIndependent: I bet you believe in purple pens for grading school work, and oh and let's not give out letter grades any more, let's give out "at least you made an effort grade", lol. When I got a low grade in a subject back in the 60's it made me want to work harder!!! This world is a BIGGGGGGGGGGGGG mess!!!!!!!!!!

Ego, a size limit on soda is not a dietary restriction. You want more than 16oz, you can go back and buy another. I think its a good idea. Also, as far as I know, no where in the constitution does it say we have a right to super sized sodas.

Limit the soda, but keeps the hugs!

Also, as far as I know, no where in the constitution does it say we have a right to super sized sodas.

no where in the US constitution does it give any government entity any power to legislate drink size for any reason. the constitution is a limit on government power, not the citizen. the very core of liberty is control over ones own life, once someone else tells you what you can and cant do with that life, you are no longer free -you are enslaved.

Intelligent & Independent

I disagree. Mayor Bloomberg is on exactly the right track. We need a major cultural change in this country to improve our diet.

I agree. People who have a diet of only nibbling on raw vegetables and avoiding all sugar and fat because they think it's "healthy" are certifiably koo-koo. I've never met a "health"-obsessed person who wasn't nuttier than a can of macadamias. To protect the safety of society from these loo-loo's we must pass laws forcing them to chow down on a super-sized meal of a bacon cheeseburger, fries and soda. Then maybe they'll get the stalk of broccoli out of their butts and learn to enjoy life rather than trying to make everyone else as miserable as they are.

We had an epidemic of cooties back in the 60's, lol!!!!!!!!!

Are things really worse today than 20 years ago, or just more publicized? I remember fighting on the playground, dodge ball in gym class, having to do "punishment laps" around the track, getting yelled at by countless teachers (and then getting in trouble with my folks for making my teacher yell at me). If I did the same stuff in elementary school today, I'd be arrested for assault and sexual assault (kissed a girl in 2nd grade), suspended for disrupting class, and hated for suing the gym teacher for harassment. People need to lighten up and let kids be kids.

I made it through 13 years of primary education without meeting a single kid with a peanut allergy....

Hi Todd thanks for responding. This is true, in '65-70 when I was in elementary school if someone bullied another kid the person in charge would put the kid up against a wall and everyone would get to throw a snowball at him in the winter or a dodge ball in the fall and spring. That is if you didn't get thrown against a locker. All I am saying is I hate what we have become. Have a great day. Ooops, I agree with you on the publicized mania we are subjected to.

You are whaacked.

wild-P: please explain how this equates to "manphobia".

After reading this article I can't figure out how the heck the human race made it this far without these "safety" rules in school. It's even scarier to think somewhere, out there, another group of parents and school staff think these rules are a good idea. Sorry to the folks who agree with this approach, I just can't get on-board the crazy train.

That's called Texas

That's already being done with parents not wanting evolution taught in science class.

I think the goal of the invitation policy is to ensure there are fewer 'losers' with low self esteem, in a way that doesn't punish the 'winners'. Are you honestly saying that kids suffer when they're not allowed to give out their own invitations to only half the class? "Oh no, Sally didn't learn how to ostracize in school, the poor thing!"

The hugging thing is overreach, and the cupcake thing is excessively cautious avoidance of litigation, but there's nothing wrong with an invitation policy that allows kids to invite who they want without making other kids feel bad about it.

When you reward a loser for doing nothing or object failure, that in itself takes away from the hard working winner.

Sadly, it's happening daily in our society...

Rick,I agree with you.Schools are for educating the children.Parents are for raising them.Lazy parents let the schools raise their children and these kids quite frankly will have a rough road ahead of them in their adult lives.

You got it, misskitty. I'm wondering how they will enforce the rule on parents giving/getting hugs - ban them from school grounds or have them arrested? The hug some kids get a school is the only show of kindness they get from anyone and now we tell them it's for their safety.

I work in a private school and I have a policy of not hugging, patting a child on the back because parents are so paranoid now days, and it is sad but true that they have a reason to be with so many child molesters runing around, and getting out on so called good behavior you cant blame the parent for being that way. But what is sad is that the child has picked up that same attitude from these paranoid parents and think that every man is a child molester.

Schools don't need volunteers.They need more teachers with less kids per class room.The teachers need to rotate supervising at recess and lunch.That's how it was when I went to school and we all thrived.