Has it ever occurred to anyone that there are some people who do not want to be friends with large groups? Being an introvert or not wanting to have a huge group of acquaintances is not a bad thing. Neither is being outgoing and overly social. Quit treating the people who don't want to be parts of big groups as freaks. Some of us feel the life getting sucked out of us if more than 10 people are in a room. I have good friends, I get along with everyone, but under the pain of being expelled, I would have told a teacher or school administrator to go to hell before giving up my best friend.
All of the rules change the minute high school ends anyway. All of those "acquaintances" that they want these kids to have? They'll be gone from their lives 2 months after graduation. I'm still in touch with my best friends from high school and most of the time, they're closer than my actual family.
British Schools Ban Best Friends: Are Best Friends Healthy?
SodaHead News
2012/04/27 13:00:00
|
|
|||||
|
685 votes
|
|
95% | |||
|
39 votes
|
|
5% | |||
A handful of primary (elementary) schools in south London are reportedly discouraging kids from having best friends and attempting to get them to interact in larger groups. Though The Sun, a major British tabloid, is calling the policy a "ban," it's unclear to what extent schools are taking it. Educational psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni says the schools are enforcing the policy to "save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend."
Obviously, the policy has been met with severe criticism. Campaign for Real Education spokesman Chris McGovern explained, "Children take things very seriously and if you tell them they can’t have a best friend it can be seriously damaging to them. They need to learn about relationships." A member of the National Association of Head Teachers added, "I don’t think it is widespread but it is clearly happening. It seems bizarre." Do you think having a best friend is a healthy part of growing up?
Obviously, the policy has been met with severe criticism. Campaign for Real Education spokesman Chris McGovern explained, "Children take things very seriously and if you tell them they can’t have a best friend it can be seriously damaging to them. They need to learn about relationships." A member of the National Association of Head Teachers added, "I don’t think it is widespread but it is clearly happening. It seems bizarre." Do you think having a best friend is a healthy part of growing up?
I don't buy the explanation of saving children "the pain of splitting up from their best friend," at all. School policy is never about such touchy-feely empathetic reasoning.
My suspicion is that they believe pair reinforcement is a factor in unwanted behavior, while groupthink suppresses it. They may even have some sort of evidence to that effect that they are acting on, though it may also just be false wisdom from previous generations popping up again:
Either way, I'd expect more contributions to society from the pair bonds that stray off track than the little herds of sheeple. All the great people have been a little outside the norm.
Mobs... and corporations... have limited liability. ;)
....socialism works best in groups ...and for those who don't fit into those groups Isolationism is another way break or brain wash them.
But 2 people can carry quietly their own ideas.
Because you don't have one now, you can't miss not having one.
I know... call me a jerk. Yes, I know what you mean.
I'm not trying to patronize you. I just think that it's more helpful when someone corrects mistakes for us rather than letting them slip by or we never learn.
Learning is good.
what year is it?
But relationships are inherently difficult. If a child doesn't learn the ins and outs of managing a relationship and dealing with the resulting difficulties in their developing years, how will she learn to manage an adult relationship when she's grown?
There's a reason their called best friends.
What the hell?
Some people would rather have (and only need) that ONE or TWO people they know that they can always trust and count on. I'm one of them. I've never done well with large groups of peers. Sure I've made several "friends" or rather acquaintances , but I can only ever allow myself to get REALLY close to one or two people that I'd consider true, intimate friends because that's just my nature :(. Even now, after highschool, I've only kept one of those intimate friends. She's my ONE best friend from highschool, what's wrong with that? I only need her to be happy. I only need her to be comforted and consoled whenever I run into a ditch on this road called life. Why do I (and people like me) have to try and exhaust ourselves to try and be part of a larger clique?
Best friends are healthy, I believe, as they give someone another someone to confide and depend on. Perhaps you have some things you need to get off your chest, but your large group of acquaintances probably won't understand and you don't feel like sharing your heart with such a large group of people? That's when that one, intimate friend comes in. And really it doesn't have to be one. I consider myself have two best friends: one from highschool, the other a childhood friend from my neighbourhood. I'm very, ve...
What the hell?
Some people would rather have (and only need) that ONE or TWO people they know that they can always trust and count on. I'm one of them. I've never done well with large groups of peers. Sure I've made several "friends" or rather acquaintances , but I can only ever allow myself to get REALLY close to one or two people that I'd consider true, intimate friends because that's just my nature :(. Even now, after highschool, I've only kept one of those intimate friends. She's my ONE best friend from highschool, what's wrong with that? I only need her to be happy. I only need her to be comforted and consoled whenever I run into a ditch on this road called life. Why do I (and people like me) have to try and exhaust ourselves to try and be part of a larger clique?
Best friends are healthy, I believe, as they give someone another someone to confide and depend on. Perhaps you have some things you need to get off your chest, but your large group of acquaintances probably won't understand and you don't feel like sharing your heart with such a large group of people? That's when that one, intimate friend comes in. And really it doesn't have to be one. I consider myself have two best friends: one from highschool, the other a childhood friend from my neighbourhood. I'm very, very close with both. :)
Sorry for this speech, I feel strongly about this! It's really just ridiculous. Let children have their best friend; I know I am EXTREMELY thankful for my own!