HUGGING AT SCHOOL SPREADS KINDNESS, REQUIRES CARE

#hugs #HugDay #schools #kids #students

??????????????? Wednesdays are hug days at Cedar Grove High School.

??????????????? So begins an article by Cassidy Alexander in the Feb. 25, 2023, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

??????????????? Each Wednesday, the article says, each student at the school in DeKalb County, Ga., is greeted by a hug from either a student or staff member.

??????????????? Most kids really like it, the article says, but if a student is uncomfortable with a hug, he or she gets a fist bump.

??????????????? The idea for a weekly hug day was conceived because students in the previous couple of years were cooped up at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.? No touching allowed. Safe distances from? others was not just encouraged, but required.

??????????????? With the pandemic mitigated to a good degree, the school believes students should be shown the love they’d gotten too little of during that time, the article says.

??????????????? In decades past, teachers might have lovingly touched students routinely. But, as allegations of child sexual abuse increased, teachers had to be careful about their interactions with students.

??????????????? Even if a teacher wanted to comfort a student in distress, or congratulate a student for a job well done, he or she often had to stop short of any physical contact.

??????????????? In fact, according to the article, a Maryland elementary school banned parents from hugging any child except their own. In 2018, a Carroll County, Ga., parent said her middle school daughter was reprimanded for hugging a classmate.

??????????????? But, Cedar Grove students said they are glad for the connections. In fact, a student organization called The Love Club was formed to not only set up the Wednesday hugs, but also perform other acts of kindness. Those include helping custodians empty trash and decorating teachers’ rooms, the article says.

??????????????? The pandemic caused much distress in all spectra of life. The pandemic-mitigation era is prompting people and organizations to rethink how they do things.

??????????????? More people are working from home. At the same time, more people are getting out to do things with others that they weren’t allowed to do as the pandemic raged.

??????????????? At Cedar Grove, before the Wednesday hugs, the atmosphere was “very dry.” Alexander quotes sophomore E.J. Colson. Now, the hugs mean a lot, he says. “It starts you off with a loving feeling. It makes you spread more love,” Alexander quotes E.J.

??????????????? Obviously, as the weekly hugs may be a good thing, the school, and others that may emulate the idea, have to be careful.

??????????????? One could easily take advantage of a kid at that level. One could easily spread a cold or other contagion. Good ideas and practices can have unintended consequences.

??????????????? The school has to be careful to make sure that one thing may not lead to something sinister, or unhealthy.

??????????????? Just as actor Ted Danson offers a hug to a frustrated cellphone customer in a Consumer Cellular commercial, the intention of the hug has to be noble and kind.

??????????????? When offering a kind touch to someone, know when it is appropriate and know whether the person being touched is comfortable with it.

??????????????? Apparently, the students at Cedar Grove, for the most part, welcome the hugs every week.

Peter

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