PDA-What’s the limit?

A big concern of administrators and faculty on campus is public displays of affection, and how strong discipline should be for it. It would be almost impossible to eradicate the problem completely- there are teenagers, hormones and a sought after taste of companionship would bring a lot of kids to break the rules.  So we must ask, how much is too much?

For a lot of teachers, any and every contact between students is abhorred. A hug could lead to a detention. Playing with hair could be a referral, and don’t even think about kissing and holding hands. For those teachers, school is a place of learning, not of friendship or romance or any of the things humans would survive on in the real world.

On the other hand, some teachers pass off most of what they see. There are some couples that will be almost to the point of mating, and a teacher will just say “get a room,” and move on. They have an understanding of students’ physical and emotional needs, and don’t try to control the potential problem.

But is the first group too strict? Is the second too passive? Where do teachers need to draw the line, and create a uniform sense of what’s appropriate? How do we get these teachers to find that happy medium?

The questions may never be answered concretely.