A Rule That Backfired in High School: The Bizarre No-Hugging Policy

Ever heard of a school rule so bizarre that it ended up causing more problems than it solved? In my first year of high school in 2021, we were hit with a series of mandates due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. The latest rule was particularly unusual: a two-class, alternating-week schedule combined with short outdoor walks to break the monotony. I'll take you through a day in the life of a high school student under this rule, and how it all spiraled out of control.

The Outrageous Rule

Every semester, students had to take part in a peculiar two-class schedule. There were four classes in total, but only two were scheduled each week. During the half-day, classes were longer, with a sixty-minute lunch break. Here's where it gets ridiculous: the school mandated a 15-minute outdoor walk for the students, supervised by the teacher.

It was a well-intentioned rule, but every class had its quirks. My Learning Strategies class, for instance, was a collection of unique individuals: a student with a physical disability, a guy who spent his life engaging in criminal activities, a provocateur, and a non-binary individual. This diverse group made any plan unpredictable!

The Tour Gone Wrong

One day, our class got a new teacher. To break things up a bit, our class decided to give her a tour of the school. What could possibly go wrong, right?

The idea seemed harmless, but quickly spiraled into chaos. Just as events started to go off the rails, multiple students went off to do their own thing. Our class' dynamic didn't improve things:

A fight broke out between the guy who dedicated his life to crime and a physically disabled student, with onlookers laughing as the physically disabled student was shoved into a locker. The new teacher was caught in the middle, trying to maintain order in such chaos.

The school's attempts to resolve this quickly soured, highlighting the flaws in their initial policy.

The Fall of the No-Hugging Policy

The bizarre no-hugging policy was another strange rule that backfired. There were instances where a student was kicked out of the school for hugging her mother at pick-up time. This case garnered significant attention, especially when twins, who were brother/sister, received similar treatment for hugging each other. The school's inconsistent enforcement only added fuel to the controversy.

However, the rule wasn't as strict when it came to affection between two eighth-grade students who were committed to each other. The school usually chose to look the other way, as these instances often bordered on more meaningful relationships.

By the spring of the school year, the uproar was too much. Students started voicing their complaints loud and clear, and the rule had finally seen its demise. It became apparent that if students couldn't even hug someone they loved, they would likely leave the school in droves.

Lessons Learned

This series of bizarre rules taught us valuable lessons about the importance of consistency and student well-being. When policies are too rigid or poorly understood, they can quickly cause more problems than they solve. This experience highlighted the need for schools to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of their students.

Keywords: no-hugging policy, school rules, backfired rule, inconsistent enforcement, student alienation