High School Rule Going Viral for Turning away Parents

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High School Rule Going Viral for Turning away Parents
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A Little Rock high school posted a sign on Facebook six days ago, and it has now been shared more than 110,000 times.
The message tells parents to turn around at the front door if they’re bringing something for their son.
It’s the second day of school, and senior Patrick Wingfield is already hard at work in class.
He knows just what is expected of him in his final year at Catholic High School for Boys.
But as a freshman he wasn’t sure.
“I had ideas, and then during the opening pep rally Mr. Straessle addressed the whole student body and let us know the rules,” said Wingfield.
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While they may be strict, Wingfield said he’s gotten used to them.
“I was kinda shocked, but after a couple years here I understood why it was a rule.”
It’s one rule that has gone viral on social media.
“We put a sign up on the front door to not only alert new parents to the policy, but to remind people why we do it,” said Principal Steve Straessle.
Straessle had a picture posted on the Catholic High School for Boys Facebook page last Wednesday.
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“If you are dropping off your son’s forgotten lunch, books, homework, equipment, etc., please turn around and exit the building. Your son will learn to problem-solve.”
That post shared more than 110,000 times as of Tuesday evening.
Straessle said, "It’s simply to help boys avoid the default switch of calling mom and
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dad when things don’t go right to bail them out."
Parents sounded off on Facebook, “Give kids a break!”
While others wrote, “You learn by taking responsibility, not by escaping it.”
And that’s what Straessle said is the whole goal of the school. Which Wingfield agreed with,
“It makes me think for myself and not rely on other people to do things for me. And if I make a mistake, I need to learn from it and try to fix it,” said Wingfield.
The most common theme surfacing on Facebook is concern kids who forget their lunch are going to starve at school, but the principal said that won’t happen. No one will starve because they know how to problem solve.
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Sounds good to me.
 
didymus said:
Sounds good to me.
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Yes, but the lunch thing can be bad. It’s not a matter of “problem solving.”

As a youth (personal experiences), you cannot simply ask for lunch if you have no money. Somebody might give you something small, but it is fearsome for a kid to go into debt with the school over the matter, even if it is small. If you forget to give money, you’re even more fearful as a mere kid (again, personal experiences).
 
High school boys can survive if they forget lunch one day. And the next day they will look for it.

I think this is a very good idea.
 
gilliam said:
High school boys can survive if they forget lunch one day. And the next day they will look for it.

I think this is a very good idea.
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True enough. It will also enforce experiences so that they will instinctively remember through them.
 
Hatikvah said:
Yes, but the lunch thing can be bad. It’s not a matter of “problem solving.”

As a youth (personal experiences), you cannot simply ask for lunch if you have no money. Somebody might give you something small, but it is fearsome for a kid to go into debt with the school over the matter, even if it is small. If you forget to give money, you’re even more fearful as a mere kid (again, personal experiences).
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I used to spend my lunch money on cigarettes which meant that my lunch money for the week was gone by around Tuesday. I asked others for their leftovers and mooched quarters for chips or simply go without lunch. I was a bit of a class clown and hippie so I was able to get away with it without losing face. My mom didn’t drive when I was growing up so I was out of luck anyway if I forgot something.

I don’t think missing lunch for one day will kill anyone and if it will the school would be able to accommodate them.
 
I do not recall stepping foot in the high school cafeteria… if you forget your lunch money, you will survive missing lunch in high school.

I also cannot imagine asking a parent to bring something to school I forgot ( not that I ever learned to remember!). I mean, how would that work? In my day, I would have had to get permission to leave the classroom, go to the main office, get permission to use the phone, and then ask my mother to bring me something? Not a single adult involved would have gone along with that! Clearly cell phones are destroying civilization!
 
I also cannot imagine asking a parent to bring something to school I forgot ( not that I ever learned to remember!). I mean, how would that work? In my day, I would have had to get permission to leave the classroom, go to the main office, get permission to use the phone, and then ask my mother to bring me something? Not a single adult involved would have gone along with that! Clearly cell phones are destroying civilization!
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👍

Exactly. We didn’t have cell phones when I was in high school. If we needed to use the phone we had to go to the main office and ask to use the phone or use the pay phone just outside the office. I never used either and never had to call a parent for anything. I’m sure there were a few times I forgot or needed something but I would be too embarrassed to call a parent to bring it to me. Besides, both my parents were working while I was in school. Even if they weren’t working their responses would have been something like, “Deal with it, I’m sure you will survive”. 🙂

Our lunch time was basically spent eating something small from the cafeteria or buying some chips and a drink from the vending machine. A few people brought food from home and sometimes everyone at the table would share.

I can honestly say we never ate well at lunch…never any fruits or vegetables…mostly chips, pretzels, candy bars and soft drinks.
 
Hopefully they make exceptions for things like, oh, I don’t know, EpiPens…
 
“The most common theme surfacing on Facebook is concern kids who forget their lunch are going to starve at school,”

This is idiotic. Nobody starves from skipping one meal.
 
I imagine the schools will have to do something like this to deal with all the overly sheltered kids today. I dont think there has ever been a generation that has been so sheltered growing up. This will likely cause them big problems later on down the road.
 
I work as a sub at a Catholic school and I can tell you that the kids won’t go hungry. If any adult (teacher, sub, admin) hears about a kid without lunch, especially if it’s too late or the parents are working, the child WILL get something to eat, even if one of us goes hungry. And it rarely happens again. Even if the child is too shy to speak up until it’s too late, they do have a tendency to let their parents know loud and clear when they get home, lol!
 
vz71 said:
Playing to the extreme?
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No, just hoping that this doesn’t work out like some “zero-tolerance” or other mantras, where officialdom cannot see past “policy” and allow for no exceptions.

Like schools with “no guns” policies suspending kids for making finger guns, or prohibiting a deaf child from signing his name, “Hunter”.

Like schools with “no drugs” policies suspending a girl for eating a lemon drop; or forcing kids who need medication to have said meds with the school nurse – including things like insulin or epipens.

Basically, I am hoping that, should an emergency arise, that the school officials know how to properly problem-solve, even if it means working around a policy.
 
John_Lazarus said:
No, just hoping that this doesn’t work out like some “zero-tolerance” or other mantras, where officialdom cannot see past “policy” and allow for no exceptions.

Like schools with “no guns” policies suspending kids for making finger guns, or prohibiting a deaf child from signing his name, “Hunter”.

Like schools with “no drugs” policies suspending a girl for eating a lemon drop; or forcing kids who need medication to have said meds with the school nurse – including things like insulin or epipens.

Basically, I am hoping that, should an emergency arise, that the school officials know how to properly problem-solve, even if it means working around a policy.
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Generally speaking, zero tolerance has been unique to public schools.
Since the school in question is Catholic, I doubt that will be an issue.
 
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