Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Zoe Armstrong: Five Ways to Fake a Break and Avoid Parenting Burnout
Lianne Castelino and Andrea Howick: How Do You Deal With Nightmare…
Schools: Would You Grind On The Dance If Grandma Were Watching?
Filed under: In The News
It's difficult to grind to Burt Bacharach -- or at least one West Hollywood high school hopes so.
A recent threat by Pacific Hills School to turn up the lights and play Bacharach's music is just one indication that adults are fed up with suggestive dancing -- otherwise known as "grinding" or "freaking" -- at school dances, MSNBC reports.
Schools across the nation are canceling dances, requiring students to sign agreements that spell out acceptable dancing techniques and behavior and asking students to get their groove on as if "Grandma is watching" -- all thanks to a pervasive dancing style in which partners simulate sexual acts to the beat.
The dancing isn't the only issue, school administrators say. Short skirts, lingerie-style outfits and "inappropriate touching" are also on the radar. Seattle's Nathan Hale High School postponed its winter semi-formal after an incident at the school's homecoming celebration.Before students were allowed to have another dance, principal Jill Hudson asked students to propose a plan for appropriate dance conduct. Now, students who attend the school's semi-formal (scheduled for March) will have to sign a contract stating that they won't engage in "lewd contact." Those who do will get a warning after one offense and will be kicked out of the dance after the second.
Students at Aliso Niguel High School in Aliso Viejo, Calif., also need to sign a contract forbidding them to grind, wear garters, excessively short skirts or other visible lingerie. Also forbidden? Removing your shirt. Go figure.
"The sexual nature of the dancing just seemed to be increasing," principal Charles Salter tells MSNBC, adding that this kind of behavior isn't limited to his school. "One school found condoms on the floor."
Minnetonka High School in Minnesota ditched the contracts and instead engaged in tongue-in-cheek campaign it calls "Dance Like Grandma's Watchin'."
Principal David Adney tells MSNBC that invoking Grandma gets teens in their gut: Kids may not care about annoying their parents, but still want their grandmothers' respect. The school crafted a series of videos for the campaign, including one where a student is rejected from Harvard College because of a grinding incident.
Adney says the campaign works.
"It's about creating a culture of respect and inclusion," he tells the news station. Here's one video from the campaign:
Is grinding just good, clean fun or are schools doing the right thing by cracking down on suggestive dancing?
Related: Prom Dresses Not Fair: Lesbian Fights to Wear Pants
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
RelatedVideos
-
Woman's Infant Died At In-Home Daycare
In the United States, only 10 percent of children receive "high quality" day care, while the rest have to place their children somewhere affordable. When it comes to safety and regulations we aren't doing what should be done. Guest Elly Lafkin shares her story.
-
Explaining Feminine Products to Children
Moms: Has your child stumbled upon one of your tampons or pads? Learn how to talk to them about your feminine products.
-
An Office Full Of Kids
Full Segment: In past generations, children were left to wonder what their father did all day at work (and yes, it was mostly fathers back then). Today on Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day, boys and girls see firsthand what their moms and dads do each day.
-
Taking Your Child's Temperature
Parents can choose from a growing array of thermometers for their kids. Here's how to select the right one for your child and how to use it correctly
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 3 of 3)
2-19-2010 @ 7:01PM
doin the dog said...this is NOT new!!! FLASHBACK... 1966.... school dance... kids ejected for "doing the dog".... which looks exactly like the grinding the kids are doing today.... which, is bad enough in high school, but I'm talking elementary and middle school!!!
My husband and I made the HUGE mistake of volunteering to chaperone at my son's high school homecoming dance (and I have to say... my son was a prince to allow it... if I had it to do all over again, I would NOT have gone)... okayed by the principal... there were ZERO LIGHTS in the gym except for the DJ's lights (minimal) and ONE STRING OF WHITE LIGHTS DOWN one side of the gym... you could hardly see anything! There was a big circle of kids, guys on girls, girls on girls, guys on guys... and who knows what (we suspected actual sex) going on in the center of the circle) which none of the adults could approach. Marijuana smell wafted through the air and this was inside the gym.
I just thank GOD that my son (now 24) is in college, doesn't drink or do drugs (I can't believe it, myself)... and is past the "bad" girls, finally settling down with a lovely lady. Now if only they would get jobs!
honestly...
as for those of you blaming the parents??? GET A CLUE... read the previous paragragh... I want to believe what my son tells me (drugs/alcohol) and so do other parents. I can tell you, some of the kids from our church were at that same dance and very red faced when they saw that WE were there (cause they didn't notice us while they were grinding away)....
just tell the parents... that pricey lovely dress you bought your sweet thing??? it's hiked up to her crotch to make it easier to grind... just thought you'd like to know.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:08PM
luvswolfs said...Really this is ridiculous. Dancing, no matter the style, is a way of expressing yourself. They dance the way they do because its fun and they enjoy it. Grinding and any type of dance like it is not about sexing it up on the dance floor, some slutty kids might do that and ruin it for everyone else but not everyone. As long as they aren’t actually having sex or stripping on the dance floor, let them dance the way they want to dance.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:13PM
KATIE said...Ok I'm in high school right now and I have to say this article is a load of bull. I usually go to all the dances and I have yet to see anyone even CLOSE to having sex on the dance floor. I'll admit there IS grinding, I do it, everyone does it. To me it means nothing sexual, it's just well, dancing. I'm sure all of you geezers had your type of dancing in your days that was "scandalous". The truth is girls or guys who really get into it people make fun of. The next day all everyone anyone talks about is "who went too far", and that person is usually very embarassed, and now has that reputation that is very hard to shake off.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:16PM
Lanette said...Listen up kiddies. This is from Gramma. Way back in '65 in Hialeah Fl. people were getting kicked out of dances for trying to dance very similiar to this. It's not new but it is the same thing--simulated sex on the dance floor. Call it what you want, claim we are old fuddie duddies--it doesn't change what it is and it is very inappropriate behavior. Was in the 60's and still is nearly 50 years later.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:19PM
mark turner said...You can thank the Liberal "if it feels good, do it!" mindset. They feel it is better to apologize afterward than show responsibility in the present.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:20PM
Paulina said...seriously...I'm in 9th grade. At dances all you see is grinding. What's the big deal? It's practically exercise and most of the kids go have sex afterwards anyways. Telling us not to doesn't make a difference. We'll just do it somewhere else.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:29PM
melm27cat said...Am I the only one who cracked up when reading "One school found condoms on the floor."?
Teenagers are expressing their sexual nature. The grinding annoyed me too when I was in high school. The middle of the dance floor looked more like a group orgy then dancing. But it's not something to get worked up over. It was more amusing than anything else.
The more you suppress these kids, the more they are going to act out. If you make a big deal about it, kids are just going to laugh. There's no lesson to be learned. If they want to have sex, they're going to have sex. Just be proud that they are taking precautions with that condom.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 8:07PM
icejr1970 said...Bottom line there is a time and a place and a school dance ain't it. The problem is at home. These days parents don't teach kids right from wrong. They send them to school for their parenting and that just is not the schools job.
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 7:55PM
maryagingersmom said...All I can say is: It's about time!
Reply
2-19-2010 @ 8:18PM
Sammy said...I remember years ago, getting a picture in my email of a couple, looked to be in HS, dancing at the prom. The boy had the girl's dress pulled up past her waist and his hand in her panties. Hardly the kind of thing you want to see two minors doing in public, unless you are a pervert.
Reply
2-21-2010 @ 5:04PM
Scvaz7 said...I am a high school senior and I honestly think people need to get over it. Because it is sad how quickly the older generation (meaning teachers who graduated high school in 1992) forget that they invented dirty dancing. Think about, the movie "Dirty Dancing" starring Partick Swayze, may he rest in peace, and how it is over 20 years old! People confuse dancing like this, with wanting to have sex, which is completely false. It is all about about intentions. I personally don't want to have sex until I am married but I still dance like this! Why should I be refused the right to feel empowered when I dance just because other people, especially guys, assume I am being overly sexual? Why is it my fault what they think? Of course there are limits to everything, but people need to think about the whole story.
Reply