School District purse ban draws parents' ire

[The Straight Story]

School District purse ban draws parents' ire

Students already forced to stash book bags in lockers now can't bring purses into class.

Administrators say girls use them to bring inappropriate items into class, to conceal texting and to carry makeup they apply during lessons.

The Saucon Valley School District opted this school year to extend its book-bag restriction to purses, and parents are upset.

“I am very outraged by it,” said Terri Simpson, a Lower Saucon Township resident with two teenage daughters. “It is not an inner city school where they have to worry about guns being toted around by girls.”

But Superintendent Sandra Fellin says purses carried inappropriate items into school.

“Purses became a distraction and at times concealed items or activities that should not take place during a school day,” Fellin wrote in an e-mail.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2011/09/saucon_valley_purse_ban_draws.html

[Brickbat]

1. Because yeah, high-school girls will be thrilled to carry tampons and pads in their folders.

[seabeyond]

2. the purse sits in the locker. if they need, they can get. nt

[MerryBlooms]

8. For me, at any given time, my locker was clear across campus -

Man, without my handbag, I'd have been in a total panic at a certain time of the month. :O

[laundry_queen]

17. Same.

There was a point in time where I didn't have a purse and I was normally late for most of my classes at that time of the month. We only had 5 min between classes so I HAD to start carrying a purse - there just wasn't enough time to get to my locker AND go to the bathroom. Plenty of my friends had 'accidents'. More than once I had to lend someone my gym clothes. School schedules certainly don't keep teenage girls in mind. My university has 10 minutes between classes -much more humane, IMO.

[seabeyond]

20. circumstances would be considered. deal with it and get a note. nt

[Posteritatis]

48. Can't really say I trust schools, in the zero tolerance age, to ever consider circumstances. (nt)

[laundry_queen]

75. Then every girl in my school would have needed a note.

A tad ridiculous IMO.

[conflictgirl]

79. Making girls get a note every time is a little too much like the Handmaid's Tale for me.

Talk about a total invasion of privacy. If my school had imposed that, I would have been so humiliated to have to actually tell anyone at the school what I was experiencing.

Maybe, to make it fair, schools should also take away the right of boys to carry a textbook to cover an embarrassingly timed erection? If teen girls shouldn't be allowed any dignity or privacy, the boys shouldn't have it either.

[readmoreoften]

80. Get a note for 1/4 of your classes?

Women menstruate a little less than a quarter of the month on average. One quarter of the girls will be carrying this note at any given time. Bleeding through your clothes in high school is not a fun accident to have.

[mentalsolstice]

90. So you have to get permission from the principal/nurse to have your period?

My (public) school was six or seven buildings built across many acres. We had 5 minutes between classes with one 15 minute break in the morning and 30 minutes for lunch. I can tell you if I did not have a purse I would've been going home mid-morning for at least two days a month. I was one that flowed a full seven days, and two of those days pretty much required hourly attention if I wanted to avoid an accident. Plus I was irregular in that I sometimes got my period early. Now you can imagine with getting a note, and believe me the student body is going to figure it out, the whole frickin' school would've known something that should be private.

And what happens when the school administration finds out that some girls are taking advantage of the "menstruation" excuse just to be able to carry their purses around for fiddling? Then when a girl wants a note is there going to be a bloody tampon check? Is the school going to have to keep a monthly calendar recording each female student's cycle?

[seabeyond]

19. deal with issue then get a note from office nt

[MerryBlooms]

26. I think we can afford young females a little dignity during their cycle

Those who text, apply make-up or fiddle with their bags during class, teachers can take the handbag and the student can pick it up after school. There's no need to blanket punish every girl in the school.

My sons' high school didn't even have lockers. They attended a math/science magnate that had been converted from an old district warehouse. They shared their campus with the 'high-risk' student, school. There was a daycare on campus - but again, no lockers. The faculty found ways to deal with inappropriate fiddling around in class, they didn't punish an entire segment of students.

[Liberal_in_LA]

55. girls & women don't want to "get a note" during their cycle. No one's damn business

You do understand that "getting a note" means informing someone that you are one your cycle ever time? NO ONE's DAMN BUSINESS

[laundry_queen]

76. I didn't even THINK of that

God, you're right it's no one's freakin' business and that the school would require notes from menstruating females is blatant discrimination.

[demwing]

85. I'm curious why? You act like its some kind of ooga booga curse

instead of a biological issue that all females deal with during a major portion of their life.

[Liberal_in_LA]

86. not a 'curse' but personal. no one's business.

[mentalsolstice]

91. see post #90

It's not a curse. However, I would not have wanted the whole student body in on my irregular cycles. Would you want everyone at work to know you had to wear supplies for adult incontinence?

[NYC Liberal]

58. Maybe the SCHOOL should "deal with the issue" and only restrict purses for students

who "use them to bring inappropriate items into class." If a student isn't doing that, they can carry their purse.

[LWolf]

42. And for my students, at any given class time,

their lockers are immediately outside of the classroom, and the bathrooms are 12 feet away, on the other side of our hall.

[MerryBlooms]

44. That's wonderful and I wish it were that way for all students -

good on your school. :)

[LWolf]

47. I wish it were that way for all students, too.

I see some large schools trying to implement smaller "schools within the school;" an interesting concept that helps to create the small school "feel," and group students' classes and activities into a smaller area.

Better than nothing.

I like teaching at a small school. Everyone knows everyone else, more adults know more of the students, it's a closer-knit community, many of the headaches happening at big institutions don't exist or are minimized, and it's a hell of a lot harder for any student to "slip through the cracks." At my school, for a student to fail, he or she has to work much harder at it, with support from parents, than it would have been to succeed.

If I had to teach at a big school, I'd find a way to make sure students had access to what they needed, one way or another. There's probably a common-sense solution to this one, for those willing to find it and make it work.

[MerryBlooms]

56. My sons' middle school was huge and divided into three different houses-

Which was fine, but for those who didn't participate in extra curricular activities, high school was like moving into a whole new district and very tough.

You're very fortunate to be in a close-knit small community. We started out that way, but a job offer took us north to a metro area. I think parents play a key roll. Get involved - volunteer, know your school, know your teachers and know your kids' friends and their parents. It can be tough to find the time, but man, is it so worth the effort.

Have a great school year and much thanks to you and all teachers and staff for your hard work and commitment to our kids.

I bet you get lots of coffee mugs this holiday season. :)

[LWolf]

63. I have more coffee mugs than I can use in a lifetime, lol.

I still like it when they arrive. ;)

My grandson started middle school last week; it's considered a large middle school, about 750 students, for his area.

It's fairly new construction, and was constructed into self-contained pods: each has 4 classrooms, one for each academic subject, it's own lockers, and it's own restrooms. The students in each pod all share the same team of 4 teachers. Students move outside their pod for electives and PE; the library, office, computer lab, gym and elective rooms are located centrally, with the pods radiating out.

[kickysnana]

45. ditto

[Quantess]

9. That'll make her late to class.

Not enough time between classes to open the locker, visit the bathroom, and get to the next class on time.

[seabeyond]

21. solution 101.... deal with it and get a late note nt

[Quantess]

23. I don't get it. A late note from whom?

[seabeyond]

27. if there is a legitimate issue that makes you late for class, you go into the office and get a pass

to class

[Quantess]

29. Well, wouldn't that just open up opportunities to abuse getting a late note?

Some teen girls might be embarrassed to have to tell the office secretary, or whoever, that she's on her period. Some girls don't care, and might use it as an excuse every day if they can get away with it. I remember quite clearly being a teenager.

[WinkyDink]

32. Bwah! And how many do you think until in-school suspension?

[laundry_queen]

77. Hmm, lessee. A teenage girl...

in order to get her late pass, has to explain, to an adult, that the reason she's late is because she's menstruating and she needed some time to change her pad and clean up a bit so could she please have a pass? OMG for real? LOL!

[mentalsolstice]

92. see post #90

On at least 2 days a month I would've been getting a note between every class. I'm surprised that some females are not sympathetic to another female's individual needs.

Ah, but I forget, you have your perfect family of males...so maybe it's been a few years since you've been aware that not every woman flows the same way as all the others. If I had grown up 2000 years ago I would've been in the "red tent" more days and more often than the other women. Do you really think a modern day female tween/teenager wants to advertise such personal information to the school administration and all of her peers?

[LeftyMom]

52. That's going to eat up MORE time. Time that could be spent learning.

So instead some girl has to go crying to some administrator "hi, I'm on my period, and I had to go to my locker during passing period..." and hope they'll give her a note? That's an enormous waste of everybody's time, for something that's going to be happening to 1/8 of students at any given time (assuming half the students are girls and the girls get their periods one week out of four.)

Better to treat girls with respect and dignity.

[Exultant Democracy]

24. You teach a lesson well you teach it young and you never have to teach it again. This very bad

It is this type of authoritarian anti-individualist bullshit that is turning america into a country of passive consumer sheep.

The battle for the soul of America is between the authoritarian world view on the right and the nurturing world view of the left. Anytime authoritarianism wins the right wins and vice versa, and this is especially true when we are dealing with our youth. The right understands this, why do you think they attack sesames street so much?

Whenever a school makes a move to increase its authority and power over the children and reduce their rights and individuality we lose a little bit of ground. Sometimes when lives are on the line with inner city violence and metal detectors then it is worth it, but often as in this case it it clearly is not.

Not having purses doesn't help prepare young women for the adult world in any way (where they will always have a purse if they choose. If we consider the graduation rates it looks like students with purses overall tend to graduate high school and attend college at higher rather then the rest of the population, that alone shows how silly and pointless this overreach is.

[seabeyond]

28. you have both parties demand that our children receive a better education, blaming teachers

and adm to the extent of destroying the very system that has been created. absolutely no blame or responsibility is put on the child or the parent. the purses are such a distraction taking away from their education and obviously the student nor the parent are addressing the issue leaving it to the school to solve with no support

the kids have EARNED this new rule. and when they can accept responsibility for their behavior and ownership for this measure being taken, maybe they can EARN the privilege of carry a purse into class. keeping in mind their responsibility to not play with their toys, put on make up ect... when they are their to learn.

THAT is a lesson for when they get older, much more so than holding onto a damn purse.

as i said in an initial post...

i dont care either way. be it the purse in the locker (which is what happens in many adult scenarios) or purse in class and discipline when a child breaks class rules.... i dont see this as an issue nor would i be outraged.

[Exultant Democracy]

60. You seem to have missed the entire point of my argument, its about the big picture.

But even still taking away an individuals right to choose for themselves is the the opposite of putting responsibility on the children.

None the less the most important thing remains that authoritarianism = bad.

[seabeyond]

74. or, your big picture is different than my big picture. rule and responsibility will serve them well

as they progress to college and then into the job market, raise children, become adults. not to mention an educattion and success to make it to college.

[StarsInHerHair]

70. yet weren't you one of those who had the lenient view of kids running around in restaraunts?

tough on teens, that is the majority view.

I think it's pathetic & the girls should have the right to keep their purses; if they're paying attention, or not, it will show up in tests. It's part of growing up-having no one dictating to you what you can or should be doing.

[seabeyond]

73. firstly, no, i dont advocate kids running around restaurant.

further, i dont see all the out of control kids so many continuously bitch about.

if they are paying attention or not? so disuprting the class for all the other students isnt an issue? and you are suggesting that growing up, they should not have rules to follow? lol. good luck on that

[StarsInHerHair]

89. why cant you understand what I said-adults internally rule themselves to a

LARGE degree, & it's the teen years that are the time for them to learn this fact of life. Yes each nation has its' own laws.....& each has its' own amount of law-breakers.

I dont see how texting or applying make-up can "disrupt" any class; the girls are either paying attention or not & it will show up in tests They should get the dignity of keeping their purses with them.

[Quantess]

40. Thank you. (n / t)

[Brickbat]

12. Wouldn't have been an option at my school. Running from math class to my locker to a bathroom to my

locker to math class would have taken 15 minutes. Boom, 1/3 of my classtime, gone.

[seabeyond]

22. i can't believe people are making this an end of the world. i have yet to find schools outrageously

unreasonable. IF there is an issue, get a note from the office. none of this is unsolvable or an issue

[MerryBlooms]

36. You're correct, it's not unsolvable -

Punish the offending students and leave the rest alone.

[Lyric]

59. Ordinarily you're a pretty reliable advocate for women. I don't understand why you support

forcing young girls to reveal their menstrual status to adult strangers in order to get a "late note". It's private, and it's nobody's business. Any policy that forces girls to disclose that kind of information in order to avoid negative consequences is BAD policy, and sexist to boot.

[Occulus]

87. Now you know why I have that one on ignore- it's an authoritarian

ALL authoritarians immediately go to ignore. I don't tolerate their views in my life and I don't tolerate reading them here.

And no, that's not being close-minded- it's because I know how incredibly toxic authoritarians really are and I don't want to poison my mind with their despicable fucking disease.

[readmoreoften]

81. If there's an issue. There WILL be an issue. Why should a girl get a note for having her period?

How long will the "period line" be at the beginning of the day? This group punishment is ridiculous. Take the purses away from students who misuse them and leave everyone else alone.

[midnight]

3. K&R

[seabeyond]

4. i don't care one way or another. dont need the purse in class and

if purse is in class and kid is messin with stuff, punish as they did in the past. would nto be something for me to be "outraged" about

[LiberalFighter]

5. At first I was wondering then figured it shouldn't be an issue.

There shouldn't be anything in a purse that the student needs to carry on their person all the time. If they need something it is in their locker. No different at home where items are in their bedroom or bathroom.

[ejpoeta]

7. like a pad when you have your period? because you are always right by your locker so it's easy to

get to. i remember school. i had to trek all over the place and had to carry a lot of books around because i didn't have time to get to my locker between my classes. now imagine i need to go to the bathroom to change a pad. i have a 12 year old in middle school i had to pick up last year because she didn't go change her pad because she didn't want to be late for class. there are reasons to have something with you to carry something like that. if kids are texting in class, take their damned phone. they shouldn't have them in class. i have told my kid if she takes her phone it is to stay in her bag in her locker and if she has it taken away she deserves it and will get no sympathy from me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Completely agree.

I can't stand rules created to solve a problem that a small group of people are causing. I don't run my classroom that way either.

In this situation, a metal detector would solve both the gun and the cell phone issues. But of course you know parents will object to that. But as a teacher who works in a district that uses metal detectors in our high schools, I can report that we don't have kids bringing guns to school. I don't even remember the last time it happened. We've had metal detectors for at least 10 years now.

[ejpoeta]

88. there are no metal detectors at our schools but there was an incident a fews years ago i think

of a kid bringing a gun to school. my oldest was in preschool when i heard about it. she is 12 and in 7th grade now. this school does not have a lot of issues with that. have never heard of kids not being allowed to bring purses or backpacks to class. i only know that there are reasons for kids to need to bring a bag to class. and while i appreciate the desire to get rid of a problem, I can think of another way to get rid of that problem. If kids see their cell phone will be taken away, I am betting they will not risk bringing it to class or at the very least taking it out during class. The problem is too many chances. I find giving kids chances gives them an excuse to walk all over me. If I give them one warning and then zero tolerance after that, then they tend to comply.

But i am not a teacher and am only dealing with my kids. And nieces and nephews or any kids that come over. LOL! The problem is when parents undermine the teachers. Like if the kid gets their phone taken away then the parent goes in and complains because but my kid needs that phone and I'm paying this bill and I want that phone!! Well, talk to the kid. Why put that on the teacher? or the school? put the blame where it belongs. the one who got it taken away.

And if the kid has a gun in school.... well there are other issues to think about there. or a knife. Where did they get a gun or knife? If it is the parent's, then why are you not properly storing this so your kids can't access it and take it to school? If you don't care about your kids safety or that of anyone around them, how about the fact that you will be held responsible since it is your gun? or your knife?

I don't mean to be a jerk, but I am sick of parents who refuse to expect their kids to be responsible and take responsibility and learn about consequences and then act all surprised when their kid gets in trouble or does something that gets them in a lot of trouble. Or they get their phone taken away or something. Sure I'd be mad if my kid got her phone taken away, but not at the school. They have rules!! You break the rules, I guess you don't have a phone.

Sorry I just keep going on and on. I just get tired of seeing kids with their attitudes and parents with their attitudes and schools getting caught in the middle. Then schools doing stuff like banning purses and bags or other stuff which makes it harder for kids who weren't doing anything wrong in the first place. I'll stop now.

[Turbineguy]

6. Fewer distractions

make the course material more interesting.

That's the idea?

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. There have been more guns brought into the suburban high school where I live

than into the urban core high schools where I teach.

And yes, by girls and boys.

What a stupid ignorant claim for this parent to make.

That being said, why not get metal detectors and let the girls carry purses? Dumb decision by this school.

[Blue_Tires]

13. yeah, I caught her little classist dig as well...

and fwiw bags were banned in classrooms at my high school as well -- you were only allowed to carry books, paper, etc into class, and this was an upper-crust catholic school...It was also a relatively small school, so it was able to be implemented better...

The reasoning was not what you'd expect -- This was the early 90s when students started carrying everything in those monster (at the time) backbreaking backpacks...The school thought it was a fire hazard to have everyone tripping over those in the aisles, and teachers were complaining about not being able to move around the class freely during tests, etc....

[my2sense]

35. +1 on the ignorant comment

made by the parent. Undecided about the ban on purses. Back in the day - schools could easily take away items if students didn't follow the rules. Now you have parents that think their loin fruit can do no wrong and raise hell about any and everything - constantly finding fault with teachers and admins. There seems to be an unending amount of distractions taking place in classrooms today.

[blueamy66]

37. I caught it as well....not an inner city school

I went to Catholic school since pre-school.

If the boys didn't shave, they were dry shaven.

If your socks were not in line with the uniform specs, you were sent home.

No off campus lunch. Hell, if you weren't a Senior, you weren't even allowed to have a car on the lot.

Lawsuits? Attorneys? What a joke. I didn't even THINK of going home and complaining about a teacher at school or a punishment....I'd get punished again at home.

Gotta love kids these days....get driven to their school that is 1/2 mile down the road....have to have a $250 mobile phone...jeeezzzz

[my2sense]

39. I sometimes wonder

how my generation survived not having electronic tethers? :sarcasm:

[blueamy66]

41. :-)

and no bike helmets

and we swam in irrigation ditches

and we jumped from the roof of the house into the pool

and we didn't have to plan play dates

and we walked to the store ALONE

OH MY

[Posteritatis]

49. "Loin fruit?" Nice. (nt)

[area51]

11. Purses

Ignoring the issue of girls needing tampons & having to put them in their pocket, doesn't storing purses in lockers make it much more likely someone will break into their locker looking for cash? This is the same reason why you don't want to leave your purse in a car. Why not have a table at the front of the classroom where purses will be stored, if they don't want the girls to carry them?

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Our kids are required to give their cell phones to their teacher

If they are caught with a cell phone, it goes to the office and a parent has to come pick it up.

It works.

So would your purse suggestion.

[Quantess]

16. I would be so extremely irritated if I were a high school student.

All these stupid draconian rules that just are meant to break your spirit and condition you to get used to having individual freedoms taken away. In school where you're trained to behave like a sheep, so you get used to being bossed around by society. Don't step out of line! Big Brother is watching you.

Seriously, you can't carry a handbag to class? And DUers are siding with the school for some reason. Don't misunderstand me, I know that teachers need to keep distractions to a minimum and keep out cell phones, electronic gadgets, etc. But a purse? It's none of the school's business!

[exboyfil]

30. I agree. Reinforces the idea of Homeschool

If you keep bringing these rules with unrealistic expectations, you will reap what you sow. I asked for a simple schedule change for my daughter who was having to go back and forth two flights of stairs four times in the first four periods (switch two classes). I was summarily dismissed even though my daughter has problems with her feet and ankles. I took a stopwatch and even with no kids in the hallways it takes approximately four minutes between each of these classes. This is walking directly from one class to the next. She gets five minutes between classes. She is supposed to be entitled to a bus to get home, but she has to walk two levels again and all away across the school to her main locker, then back to her music locker for her violin, and then out the door. The bus drivers give no more than 10 minutes after last bell before they leave. I timed it again without students in the way, and I could not walk it in less than 10 minutes (not even doing the combinations on the two locks).

Look at colleges. They basically want four or more years of five core subjects (Math, Science, English, Social Studies, and Foreign Language). Our High School has recently doubled the Physical Education requirements from what it was before. If you want to do Music and one other thing like Art, Journalism, or Nursing Assistance, then you are taking 8 classes. We are expecting too much of our kids.

[Quantess]

38. We ask a lot from teenagers,

and really, micromanaging them is not helpful. Most of them are responsible enough to carry a purse without getting into trouble. I was always a serious student even though I had quite a rebellious streak. Knowing myself, I would have carried around a purse anyway, armed with my best eye-roll and indignant look with head held high, if anyone bothered me about it.

A purse is so trivial. When I was in high school some kids wore backpacks. I would assume backbacks and bookbags are banned as well? Such nonsense!

Yes, sometimes, there just isn't enough time between classes to get from one class to the next. There needs to be a little bit that is left to the student's own discretion.

[blueamy66]

46. You really took the time to use a stopwatch?

Holy crap.

Unbelievable.

Why don't you encase her in bubblewrap?

[Quantess]

50. She's advocating for her daughter.

Apparently her daughter can't walk very fast and the school isn't very flexible about a schedule change. It appears that both mother and daughter are very frustrated about the situation.

[exboyfil]

54. So it is better to go off half cocked without any facts

She is my daughter, and my two daughters are the most important things in my life. If she is complaining about the situation, instead of going to the administration without any facts, I either ignored her complaints or went to the administration without facts - then this is better? I was interested in seeing her building and her classrooms. Now I know a person moving at a reasonable rate without any obstructions (think crowded hallways) takes all but one minute allowed to them to go from door to door). This is with no locker stops, restroom stops, chatting with friends, etc.

This was thirty minutes out of my day at the most. A small amount of time for my daughter. She had to determine where her classrooms were anyway. My wife who went to the school knew all the tricks for the fastest paths, and it still took four minutes.

[blueamy66]

64. Sorry. Still think that it's overkill.

But whatever.

[WinkyDink]

34. As a former h.s. teacher, I 100% AGREE with you. Draconian AND asinine. FEAR! FEAR!

Buncha a**holes.

[spartan61]

18. Oh please. This is a hardship???

I went to a large university with a huge campus. Sometimes I would have a class on one side of campus and another on the other side of campus with only 10 minutes to get to the next class. We NEVER carried purses and put what we needed in a small plastic folder with holes so it would fit in our binder. Not once did we ever think we didn't have what we needed when we needed it. Try subbing in a classroom today and you will be surprised what the students try to get away with in class. Cell phones are the biggest culprits in a classroom. I whole heartedly agree with the Saucon Valley School District's policy.

[etherealtruth]

53. My hat is off to anyone that can make it from Hubbard to Emmons in ...

... only 10 minutes.

The kids today certainly can't ... even on their bikes.

You are right ... not many purses ... unless they're tucked into their backpacks ... everyone has one (an overstuffed back pack) with them "all the time."

Cell phones need to be turned off while in class (and a multitude of other places).

[spartan61]

61. I was in the best shape of my life when I was a student

at MSU. I would pedal my bike as fast as I could pedal from the Brody Group to the Education Bldg. (Not where it is now but where it used to be. The bldg with the Kiva) Those were the days!!

[saras]

78. What the hell kind of university tells you what you can carry anyways? WTF is with THAT?

And, for that matter, what classes did you take so that everything you used would fit in a binder? I've brought bike trailers to school to carry stuff. No way it's going into even a military backpack.

It's funny - what people object to about this policy is that it makes the kids into adults who tolerate this kind of policy (or at least some of them). Apparently some people really don't find that kind of external micromanagement offensive. I think of those people like they are colorblind or have Aspergers' or something - they just don't perceive something that many people find profoundly important.

I agree in principle and in detail with the posters who point out the inappropriateness of punishing people for something done by others that they have no control over. It is, in and of itself, harmful - or the restrictions wouldn't be considered restrictions, rational or not - and does nothing to address the problem of those who will continually try to subvert the rules, whatever they are.

[readmoreoften]

82. Women at a UNIVERSITY are at a different level of maturity than a 10 year old girl with her period.

If kids are trying to "get away with" using a cell phone, take the cell phone, not the purse.

Total analogy fail. You cannot compare adults at a university with children in terms of self-care and emotional stability. And I'm a university professor, so I know very well the problem of disruptions in class.

[fortyfeetunder]

25. Not an inner city school...

“It is not an inner city school where they have to worry about guns being toted around by girls.”
Once again I hear a suburbanite American smear all inner city students for the action of a few? Where in the he!! does she get her data from?

[WinkyDink]

31. "most high school lockers are close to classes and restrooms, Fellin said."

Fellin obfuscates, like any good martinet, when she adds "restrooms" to "classes."

OF COURSE, "CLASSES" ARE EVERYWHERE! DUH!!!!!!!!!!
OMG. I guess it's time to carry hollowed-out books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Saucon Valley School Board reviewed potential changes to the student handbook at Tuesday night's meeting but didn't vote on adopting the suggestions. Proposed changes from the administration include requiring high school students to leave their purses in their lockers and limiting hall passes to 5 minutes.

Apparently, it isn't the purses as much as what students carry in them that causes problems. Assistant Principal Lorie Gamble said many of the school's technology infractions came from students pulling banned items out of their purse.

"There's so many girls carrying so many purses," Gamble said. "It's out of hand."
http://articles.mcall.com/2011-05-14/news/mc-politics-as-usual-051511-20110514_1_senator-ensign-senator-santorum-junior-drivers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a complete moron.

[WinkyDink]

33. WOMEN CARRY PURSES, OKAY?? Football games, classrooms, what's next? Stores? Theatres? MALLS? GMA*B

[The Straight Story]

57. Purses already banned at MSU games (nt)

[WinkyDink]

68. I know; that's my allusion! :-)

[LWolf]

43. Standard policy at my school.

Personal items stay in lockers. Bring to class what you need for class, and nothing else.

My students are allowed to bring water, always, and healthy snacks, providing they don't make a mess or provide a distraction. They are allowed to get up and sign themselves out to go to the restroom once each period if needed.

Space and time are at a premium. Anything taking up either stays in the locker.

It's not a hardship. The lockers are right outside the door, and so are the bathrooms.

[WinkyDink]

69. Well, h.s. students move around the building.

[LWolf]

71. They do.

The bigger the school, the farther they have to go.

There are solutions for that kind of inefficient use of space and time.

They are in use in some schools.

[tblue37]

51. If parents would raise their kids to be respectful in class, this wouldn't even come up.

And by "respectful," I mean to the mission of the class, the other students' right to learn without distraction, and the teachers' atttempts to teach.

[WolverineDG]

62. OMG, girls carrying MAKE UP in their purses

OH THE HUMANITY!!!!

Sure, let's have the girls leave their purses in their lockers. Their wallets will be safe, right? right?????????

dg

[Manifestor_of_Light]

65. I was threatened with suspension for being late to class for going to the bathroom.

I went to a huge high school with 3700 students. We had SIX MINUTES between classes.

No way in hell I could get to class AND go to the bathroom. We had orchestra from 12 to 1, and lunch from 1 to 1:30.

I was late to orchestra because I had to go to the bathroom and change my pad during my period.

We walked in the band hall, threw our books on the shelf and went in the instrument room and got our instruments out, and walked about 40 feet into the main part of the band hall.

I was late and the orchestra director threatened me with suspension. He said "Can't you go some other time?" and I said "No I have to go in the middle of the day."

I told him to call my mother and talk to her about it. He was married and had a wife and a daughter who presumably menstruated.

I guess I should have thrown a dirty Kotex on his desk instead.

I am still shaking with rage forty years later over this asshole and his humiliation. There was no way in hell I would tell him it was about my period. I can't believe these assholes who are married to women who presumably menstruate and have babies, and the men are clueless.


:banghead:

[readmoreoften]

83. Exactly. Schools have become inhuman cattle calls.

I always let my students out at least 5 minutes early so they can tend to their business if their classes are stacked.

[kelly1mm]

66. Add one more item to the very long list of reasons to home school. NT

[eppur_se_muova]

67. What's next -- a ban on pockets? nt

[readmoreoften]

84. +1

[RB TexLa]

72. Terri Simpson is an idiot. The animals in the suburban schools will kill teachers and other

children as fast as anyone.