Mom Shares The List Of 4 Rules Her Daughter's Elementary School Will Be Enforcing For The New School Year — ‘They Took Away Recess’
While they might be controversial to some, this mom admits she agrees with most.
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock.com A stay-at-home mom named Kylie took to TikTok to share the new rules her daughter's elementary school is enforcing this year, and while some parents are raging, she has no problems with them.
“Some of you have heard me talking about the ‘no Stanley’ and ‘no phones’ rules, and you’ve had questions,” Kylie started, “So, let’s talk about it.”
Kylie shared the 4 rules her 6th-grade daughter has to follow this school year:
1. Students can only have clear water bottles, with clear flavor packets
Instead of allowing students to bring large Stanley cups and metal water bottles into the classroom, this school has decided to enact a “clear water” bottle rule instead.
“Apparently, a child brought alcohol to school,” Kylie said. “So, clear water bottles now. You can have flavoring packets, but they also have to be clear… which is a really hard task.”
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Stanley cups and water bottles with straws are often left behind or spilled, so in addition to only allowing clear bottles, these styles are banned as well.
“No big deal,” Kylie said. “So be it. We got a clear water bottle and are good to go. Great.”
2. No cell phones or smart watches
Unsurprisingly, the elementary school also banned smart watches and cell phones in accordance with a new state-wide Indiana law.
“If you’re caught with one, it’s taken to the office, and your parents or guardian has to pick it up at the end of the day,” Kylie explained. “No questions. Apparently… they’re very much enforcing it going forward.”
Knowing how problematic phones and social media have become in classrooms, it’s not surprising that many schools are taking measures to ban them.
“I feel like they’re getting way more strict,” one person wrote under the post. “However, I get it…Times have changed, I guess.”
3. They’re replacing recess with a study hall once a week
Instead of having recess every single day, these 6th graders will instead have a study hall on Thursday instead of getting the chance to go outside — which many parents are upset about.
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“I personally don’t have a problem with it. I think it’s a great idea,” Kylie said. “I do agree, though, that kids should get to go outside, but I know some teachers will take them outside if they have any downtime.”
Of course, students shouldn’t have to sacrifice their limited free time, which is why many parents are angry about the new regulation.
However, as they go into high school and beyond, the unfortunate reality is that they’ll have less and less time outside — despite the incredible mental, emotional, and physical benefits.
4. There’s a new ‘three day’ late assignment rule
“On the day that an assignment is due, if the student does not have [it] done, they will need to turn in a missing work paper,” Kylie read from the rules. “The paper will ask the student to fill out… why the assignment is late.”
In addition to being asked to fill out the missing assignment form and have their parents sign it once completed, they’ve also enacted a “three-day” rule for late assignments. After the third day, students receive a zero.
“I’m totally fine with this,” Kylie confirmed. “They want to put some responsibility on the student.”
While most of the rules seem reasonable, some parents in the comments questioned the motives “I get there’s distractions in the classroom, but getting rid of phones? What if there’s an emergency… which is too common today?”
At the end of the day, teachers need support so they can focus on school work and lessons instead of behavioral issues. If that means setting clear boundaries and expectations, that needs to happen.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories