Are they serious? - Page 2

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

I had to do it when I was 12 in public school. Nothing new.

I was checked for scoliosis as a child as well (in the 70's and early 80's) but that doesn't make it any easier for a 12 yr old girl to accept the fact that she has to take off her shirt in front of strangers.

I'd let her stay home that day and take her to be screened by her family doctor IF they give you beef about it. There is no LAW that says being screened for scoliosis is a "required" part of the curriculum in a public school. Geez, Louise.

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

I'm sorry you're sister is upset. Wait for the mandatory showers after gym class.

That's different. Plus, when I was in school no one was ever forced to shower. That must be totally new.

[wifeandmom]

Surely to goodness they don't expect the entire 6th grade female population to take off their shirts in front of everyone else.

I love our kids' school, and I wouldn't want to cause a stink unless absolutely necessary because that sort of thing 'follows' you/your kids IME.

That said, my girls would not be stripping down in front of all of their female classmates if they didn't want to. Period. The end.

I wonder if the 2 piece bathing suit thing would make matters better or worse. I can hear teasing over 'She doesn't even have a bra', blah blah blah, or some other such non-sense. What about girls that are still completely flat chested? How embarassing for them. And what about the girls that are extremely overweight with fat rolls they'd rather not show to everyone in their class? What a nightmare!

I'd look into the actual legal requirements first. I wouldn't have a bit of a problem with sending a notarized letter stating whatever the hell it needed to say. I'd send in a doctor's note stating my child had been examined by a physician (which trumps an exam by the school nurse don't you think?).

Schools around here also make it seem like you 'have' to have vaccines too, but that's not true. You won't find THEM telling people that though. The forms say 'Four doses of XYZ vaccine are required.', so if you didn't know better, you'd think it was just that...required.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

I would also write out "I hereby swear that it is against my personal religious convictions to have my daughter publicly stripped down to her bra and examined. You do not have our permission to do this" and then take it to AAA and have it notarized. The notary is only there to make sure it's signed, not to examine the beliefs, you know?

I agree.

Plus, the OP said it was going to be conducted in the cafeteria? ewww. That sounds very unsanitary to me. I think I'd report them to the state. This is something that should be done in a more professional manner in a nurse's office or the girls or boys gym separately and just one child at a time to ensure their privacy.

What about the right to privacy for children? Does that not exist?

[MotherWillow]

I think the school knew there would be a big stink about this. At least about the mass public way it is being carried out.

They didn't send the letter home until the night BEFORE the screening. It is to take place today.

That way nobody had time to object or get sworn affidavits etc.

I also attended school in the district where my sister is a student. We had to do the same screening in high school. They did it in the library at our school and it was incredibly embarrassing.

For some reason I thought the school district might have changed its archaic way of doing this since then.

My biggest problem with this is the precedent it sets. That schools can perform "mandatory" health screenings/care on students and that parents cannot, or are not given time, to object.

I mean really what if they suddenly decide school immunization days are a good idea. :

ETA: The other thing that really bothers me about this is that I have a daughter of my own now. If she brought home a note like this I would be completely upset. Having BTDT and then thinking about my sister or own daughter having to go through it as well is infuriating.

[Kleine Hexe]

Originally Posted by wifeandmom

Surely to goodness they don't expect the entire 6th grade female population to take off their shirts in front of everyone else.

Geesh, am I the only one who did actually have to stand in a line without a shirt on along with all my femal classmates?

It seems others who went throught the screening had it done more descreetly than I did at the school I went to.

Oh and to mommy68....no need for the eyeroll. Just because I said that this type of screening and the way it is carried out is not new does not mean I endorse it or think it's ok. And, yes, I think that mandatory showers is in the same category as this screening. Either way you are being forced to take off clothes in front of others.

In my school it was mandatory or you flunked gym class. There were no curtains or separate shower stalls....even for when girls had their period. You could be excused from showers if you were on your period. In fact, the gym teacher kept a notebook keeping track of each of our cycles and if she thought that you were lieing about your period you had points dedeucted from your grade. Now, imagine having to stand in front of everyone else and say, "I'm on my period." because you didn't shower. Yes, we stood in a big group and the coach asked why you didn't shower in front of everyone else. Then she would write it down. I had very irregular cycles as a teen and I had to get a note from a Dr explaining that yes, I did in fact sometimes have a period twice a month. Oh, and these was in the 80s.


Motherwillow, how did it go today for your sister?

[Kleine Hexe]

Originally Posted by MotherWillow

I mean really what if they suddenly decide school immunization days are a good idea. :

They used to. When my dad went to school they gave immunizations at school. he remembers lining up with all the other kids for the shots and the oral polio on the sugar cube. He also remembers have his teeth checked at school.

Do they still do sight and hearing screening at school? I remember that.

[rmzbm]

The gym teacher kept a log book of all the girls' periods? I am truly aghast. I'd tell my DD to tell her to stuff it. Flunk gym then, I don't give a rip. Good Lord...

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

Do they still do sight and hearing screening at school? I remember that.

We had to do that, I remember. Also the lovely "flouride program."

[PumpkinSeeds]

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

Geesh, am I the only one who did actually have to stand in a line without a shirt on along with all my femal classmates?

No you are not.

[Jennifer Z]

We did these in 5th grade, in the girls locker room. We were already required to take showers with a female adult watching us, and it was a really small school so we had all seen eachother before, but they still had us wearing bras. It was sort of weird, but not all that traumatic for us, but I also think it is one of those things that is just different in a small school.

[Flor]

Our state law requires the schools to screen, but I don't know if requires that students participate. You should google "scoliosis screening public schools" and see if you can find info on your state. In mine the standards say the kids are screened privately and that is what our school does. I don't think our school madates showers (and I never had to when I was in school) but they do have to change clothes together.

[Baby Makes 4]

Originally Posted by MotherWillow

I mean really what if they suddenly decide school immunization days are a good idea. :

That's how all the immunizations are done in Canada from age 5 on up. I remember being immunized along with every other kid in my grade in the gym in grades 4, 7, 9 and 12.

[blsilva]

I'll tell you this- I had to do a scoliosis screening in school, and it did not bother me.

That said, if a girl is not comfortable disrobing in front of others, and having a stranger touching her body, then there is no way the school should be able to force it upon her. How can we truly teach our girls that they are in control of their own bodies if we start doing things like this to them at such a young age?:

The message this sends to a girl is that she has no control over what happens to her own body, and that is wrong.

There is no reason whatsoever that her personal physician, whom she knows and in a comfortable setting, cannot do the same exam. It would serve the same purpose- ensuring the health of the children in the school, and that is all the school should be concerned with.

This sounds like a power play to me, and, if nothing else, the one thing I would want to instill in any daughter of mine would be the idea that she has the ultimate power over herself. Period.

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by blsilva

I'll tell you this- I had to do a scoliosis screening in school, and it did not bother me.

That said, if a girl is not comfortable disrobing in front of others, and having a stranger touching her body, then there is no way the school should be able to force it upon her. How can we truly teach our girls that they are in control of their own bodies if we start doing things like this to them at such a young age?:

The message this sends to a girl is that she has no control over what happens to her own body, and that is wrong.

There is no reason whatsoever that her personal physician, whom she knows and in a comfortable setting, cannot do the same exam. It would serve the same purpose- ensuring the health of the children in the school, and that is all the school should be concerned with.

This sounds like a power play to me, and, if nothing else, the one thing I would want to instill in any daughter of mine would be the idea that she has the ultimate power over herself. Period.

[leighann79]

We did this in school also. 5th or 6th grade. I remember we all went down in the locker room (unused for anything else) and had to stand in a line with our shirts off. They did not send home a note telling you to wear a bra that day. Luckily I was already needing one. It was terribly embarrassing. I'm glad I home school since I won't have to worry about this. If I didn't (or if Fiona would go back to school soon) there is no way I would make her do this. They can change the procedure. No reason to put girls through such a thing. (and then we are trying to teach them to take control of their bodies. grrr)

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by blsilva

That said, if a girl is not comfortable disrobing in front of others, and having a stranger touching her body, then there is no way the school should be able to force it upon her. How can we truly teach our girls that they are in control of their own bodies if we start doing things like this to them at such a young age?:

The message this sends to a girl is that she has no control over what happens to her own body, and that is wrong.

I could not agree more!!

Maybe this would be a good time for all the parents to review with their twelve year olds what they should do if an adult touches them inappropriately or tries to remove their clothes. You know...yell, scream, kick, holler for the police. That should make their Cafeteria Checkup a memorable one.

[debbieh]

Originally Posted by blsilva

I'll tell you this- I had to do a scoliosis screening in school, and it did not bother me.

That said, if a girl is not comfortable disrobing in front of others, and having a stranger touching her body, then there is no way the school should be able to force it upon her. How can we truly teach our girls that they are in control of their own bodies if we start doing things like this to them at such a young age?:

The message this sends to a girl is that she has no control over what happens to her own body, and that is wrong.

There is no reason whatsoever that her personal physician, whom she knows and in a comfortable setting, cannot do the same exam. It would serve the same purpose- ensuring the health of the children in the school, and that is all the school should be concerned with.

This sounds like a power play to me, and, if nothing else, the one thing I would want to instill in any daughter of mine would be the idea that she has the ultimate power over herself. Period.

I completely agree with this. First of all, I don't remember when I was in school, if we had to do this or not. But I DO remember the mandatory showers. They were horrible! I was one of those very shy girls, who developed early and was much more developed than any other girl in my class. So of course I got stared at big time. Very very embarrassing. And I often got made fun of. No wonder I did so poorly in P.E. and came to absolutely HATE it.
Secondly, as the mother of two girls, there is no way that a daughter of mine, who was uncomfortable with this, would EVER be forced to submit to this kind of thing. I have tried, as I'm sure most other moms here have, to instill in my daughters that their body is their own. NO one looks at it, touches it, IN ANY WAY if they are uncomfortable. They have every right to say NO. So forcing a young girl to submit to this kind of scrutiny underlies all that I, as the parent, have been teaching her. IMO, the school system oversteps their boundaries. Not just in this, but in many other ways. They tend to forget that I am the parent, not them. And I do not understand how they can refuse to accept a statement from your sister's doctor. Just unbelievable!

[1growingsprout]

Totally OT but what happens if the family doesnt see a DR for anything? meaning they vax, dont go to well checks, dont use traditional medicine etc... Why would that family or child be forced to this 'medical' exam?

Optional screening ok, sent with a permission slip stating the child is allowed to take part in the program... that i can understand but this mandatory stuff is a PIA if you ask me.

I teach my kids from VERY early on NO ONE is to touch them, unless the child says its ok. No way is the school nurse or aide going to be touching my child. Now dont get me wrong, the nurse is a great tool, they can do basic first aid for an injury, etc but NO SCREENINGS.

Ok, again we homeschool

[~Nikki~]

Originally Posted by mamabadger

I could not agree more!!

Maybe this would be a good time for all the parents to review with their twelve year olds what they should do if an adult touches them inappropriately or tries to remove their clothes. You know...yell, scream, kick, holler for the police. That should make their Cafeteria Checkup a memorable one.

Yeah, be careful with that advice. The sad reality is that some schools would use that as an opportunity to bring out the taser. Haven't there been a few news stories of this?

[annettemarie]

I've been wondering all day how this all worked out.