ABCNews.com reports today that a Rhode Island School district is the first in the nation to teach about dating. No, BoardBuzzers, not HOW to date well, kinda sorta. Better yet how NOT to date.
According to the article, a “new law in Rhode Island called the Lindsay Ann Burke Act requires all public middle and high schools to teach students about dating violence in their health classes.” It’s all about teaching kids to recognize and avoid patterns of abuse in relationships. It seems Rhode Island’s law isn’t anything new. “One other state, Texas, mandates unspecified awareness education on dating violence for students and parents, while several other states encourage it.”
And the classes also teach students how to foster positive relationships. And, there’s even a segment on how to communicate, including such sage advice as calming down before you confront someone for spreading a rumor about you.
BoardBuzz thinks this is all a good thing. Keeping kids safe is never a bad idea, and judging by the popularity of social networking sites, kids these days are ALL about, well, networking. Learning how to interact with each other appropriately is good training ground for adult life. BoardBuzz might even be due for a refresher course itself!!! Say it isn’t so. Part of the mission of schools is to socialize youngsters afterall. Even so, BoardBuzz can’t help but wonder where are the parents? Where, for that matter, is the family? The community? Teaching students about avoiding dangers is a good idea, but let’s not forget that the first school for navigating society is the home.
Unfortunately, students who don’t recognize abuse while dating see that behavior only as mirroring what they already see at home. Kudos to these states for recognizing that need and not waiting for another community agency to address the problems. Today’s parents need assistance in parenting skills. As educators, we need to continue to recognize that life-long learning requires healthy relationships as well as rigor in content.