Physical contact

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Physical contact
By Jen C.

I recently graduated and was warned over and over, "Don't touch the kids, ever!" This is what schools of education are advocating because of our crazy law suit happy society.
I feel that in order to be a good teacher
and have repoir with your kids, they need to feel loved. It is a sad reality that MANY students do not feel loved at home. Either the parent is gone and the student basically raises his/herself or the parent is so caught up in survival that they forget that they are a parent and kids need love and time.
I taught 8th grade last year in a place where most kids only had one parent, many

raised themselves, had parents in prison, raised siblings, etc. There were many times when a child wanted to hug me and I would never refuse. Can you imagine telling a child who needs to know that someone cares about them "I can't let you hug me, I might get fired or sued." Ridiculous!! Some of my kids were so needy that they told me things like "I love you" and "Your the first teacher that has actually cared about what happens to me." Kids also sometimes slipped and called me mom, and some of these kids needed a surrogate parent. To deny children of any age much needed affection is cruel. Sometimes school is the only place they can get it.
Obviously there are some teachers that really do inappropriate things to children, and they need to be fired and punished. However, hugging is not inappropriate. It is a sign of affection and caring. I never initiated physical contact with a student, but it they tried to hug me then obviously they needed a hug. BIG DEAL!