TEACHERS are banning schoolkids from having best pals — so they don’t get upset by fall-outs.
Instead, the primary pupils are being encouraged to play in large groups.
Educational psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni said the policy has been used at schools in Kingston, South West London, and Surrey.
She added: “I have noticed that teachers tell children they shouldn’t have a best friend and that everyone should play together.
“They are doing it because they want to save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend. But it is natural for some children to want a best friend. If they break up, they have to feel the pain because they’re learning to deal with it.”
Russell Hobby, of the National Association of Head Teachers, confirmed some schools were adopting best-friend bans.
The fact that there’s no real supporting evidence that any schools actually hold this policy in that article, not to mention that the only sources carrying the story are right-wing “news” sites like Fox and RushLimbaugh.com and The Sun, makes me think this is more than likely blown way out of proportion by hyperventilating conservatives and anti-state education types.
My wife is a school teacher, she says it’s a load of old bollocks but it’s no surprise the American’s would believe it because they would believe any old crap ;)
It’s just that it’s a nothing story based on a single quote from some psychologist. It’s classic yellow journalism. Truncate a couple of juicy quotes from obscure sources and then gin up a conspiracy. If they were interested in actual journalism we’d get details. You know, where are these schools? Who’s directing this ban? Is it just a single teacher or is this administration policy? Is this an official ban that’s printed up somewhere? If so, why didn’t they get hold of it?
Of course, The Sun isn’t interested in of those details. They’re mostly interested in getting credulous people on forums to link to their stories so they can sell more advertising.
I’m just amazed it wasn’t the Daily Mail because this is exactly their flavor of codswollop. I thought The Sun was usually more interested in examining celebrity vagina contents than scaring Tories.
I very much agree. Maybe after all the News of the World ruckus, news corp is trying to make the Sun more intellectual and reach out to the Daily Mail demographic? Still at least the two good things these types of papers contribute to society, the warming of the homeless when stuffed under clothing and being a good aid for starting a fire, will never change.
