It sounded hard to believe for the mother of a sixth-grade daughter, until she confronted her daughter’s teacher who confirmed her daughter would not be allowed to say “no” when asked to dance at the Valentine’s Day ball. Local station Fox13Now interviewd Natalie Richard after she spoke with the teacher.
“He basically just said they’ve had this dance set up this way for a long time and they’ve never had any concern before,” she said of his response.
Lane Findlay with the Weber School District confirms it’s a rule, but he said it’s meant to teach students how to be inclusive.
Richard said she understands the concept, but there are other ways to get that message across. Forcing students not to say “no” teaches them the wrong lesson. She says it sends a bad message to girls—and to boys who hear “girls can’t say no.”
The school’s administration says the dance is voluntary and the children select five students they want to dance with. If one student has a problem with another—students should speak up.
That explanaton doesn’t fly with Natalie Richard who says:
“Psychologically, my daughter keeps coming to me and saying I can’t say 'no' to a boy," she said. "That’s the message kids are getting.”
Natalie Richard feels parents should be made aware of such policies and the school should send out permission slips explaining how it works. The principal agreed, but it’s unknown whether the rule was changed. The fact that it was in place is disturbing and begs to ask how many other schools have similar rules unbeknownst to parents whose children might be too afraid to question authority.
Smack in the middle of the MeToo movement—cheers to Natalie Richard and her daughter for speaking out.
If you have children in K-12, it may be a good thing to ccasionally ask them about rules they’re are expected to follow.
(Thank you, Martha Hannah for sharing.)