Cost for Ignoring the Principal? No More School Dances ...
by Jim Brown
January 26, 2005
(AgapePress) - A California high school principal has cancelled the rest of this year's school dances after students ignored his prohibition against dirty dancing.It is known in street jargon as "freak dancing" -- a form of suggestive dancing that involves grinding the hips and pelvic area. One California educator last year described it as "like pornography," explaining that "there are instances when a girl will be on the floor and there will be guys on top of her,'' gyrating in sync to the song. That Palo Alto principal banned such "dancing" at her school -- and now another school in the state, Lemoore Union High School, has taken it a step further, canceling any more dances until the students come up with a solution.
Lemoore Principal Jim Bennett says the problem came to a head at last month's winter dance. He explains that his warnings before and during the dance went unheeded.
Bennett says he told the students: "I'm not going to go around and tap you on the shoulder and kick you out and do that. There's way more of you than I [sic]. You just have to stop it, or we will stop dances until we can get this thing taken care of."
The principal says he was "pretty much ignored" and even heard some booing after his warning. But evidently the principal followed through. "I do believe in doing what I say I'm going to do, so we stopped the dances until the kids can come up with a solution," he says.
According to Bennett, the problem of dirty dancing started small on the 2,000-student campus, but grew as students became bolder and the dances became larger.
"The problem we've had in our school -- and it's not unique to our school at all -- is that many, many kids are influenced by what they see on television and in the media," the educator says. "And too many kids in our culture today get their instruction about culture [from sources] other than their parents."
And the influence of pop culture, he says, has affected more than just dancing styles at Lemoore Union High School. Bennett says students' academic performance, as well as their respect for teachers and for dress standards, have also suffered. As far as "freak dancing" is concerned, though, he says if students come up with a solution that he can agree on, Lemoore High will be "back in the dance business in an appropriate, wholesome, educational fashion."
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
