As educators, the efforts of the teachers to ensure that the children’s emotional well-being is also managed is indeed commendable. Clearly, emotional well-being and maturity are key concerns of teachers for children who will one day become adults and contribute to society, when they need to take care of others. Graduating students in high school may even benefit from considering a short exposure or stint in health care industries and jobs such as Certified Nursing Assistants which do not require much extensive training. This exposure develops in students core skills in emotional management, as well as useful professional medical skills.

Regards,
Claire Hodges

http://www.schoolstickers.co.uk/

Although now I know that holidays like Valentine’s Day are more of a marketing opportunity rather than a tradition, I remember that I really used to like handing out gift baskets to girls on this holiday. Banning Valentine’s in schools to save the rejected children the emotional trauma sounds like smothering and spoiling them. How will they be prepared for all the emotional ups and downs of life if they have not known them in the years that shape them for the rest of their lives?

Kids give each other presents all the time - sweets, flowers, drawings etc. They’ll just exchange their valentines gifts after school instead.

Goy Toy, I wasn’t really guessing what your name stands for, I was being sarcastic…Don’t you worry I never tried to “Use My Noggin” on the word Goy Toy…Hate to burst your bubble, did you want me to seriously try to guess I would maybe stab at the word Goy has been used in reference to non Jew…I use to live on the east coast, where there were tons of Jews…Up to the age of 9 I thought that the Jews were an extinct bible people, maybe still lost looking for the promise land with Moses…But I was a kid, and what do you know at 9, raised Presbyterian in the 1960’s in Eastern Oregon?  Really I don’t care if you do not celebrate anything, including Pass Over…The reference to me being a “Good Friend” must be your brand of sarcasm? I guess, but regardless, that’s not a issue either, don’t care…Since we are such Good Friends, I wish you great daily celebrations of your mother, although with such love and devotion shown daily, there would be nothing to break up the monotony of same old same old…May I suggest creating a mother hate day for yourself, to make the rest of the year appreciated? Tons and tons of non Christians, even Jews celebrate Christmas, because it is not only suppose to be a Christian holiday but it is also non Christian…Ya know Santa Claus and all that kind of stuff…St Patrick’s day is celebrated by not only the Irish, but the 1/2, 1/4th, 1/3rd, 1/16th, 1/100, down to zero Irish blood in the USA…You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate…We partially celebrate Chinese New Years around here, and each year the Cinco de Mayo celebrations gets larger and larger mostly by the Irish!!!!!Culture, traditions, fun diversity, celebrations of life, are nice, they make living a little nicer…Everyone should try it once in awhile, it’s like smiling or group participation of happiness…

Volma, dear/pal, GoyToy has nothing to do with Boy Toy. So keep using your noggin and take a few more bad guesses.

To go down your list of “special” days: Nope, don’t celebrate Xmas (I’m not a Christan), New Years (for most, a good excuse to get smashed), St Patrick’s Day, (not Irish), Fourth of July (too much jingoism around that one), Birthdays (too old for that), mother’s day (every day of the year!).

Caio, have no more time to waste. But by all means spend on Valentine’s if you feel so inclined.

Goytoy, is that like Boy Toy, a take off of a cultural label?...Could it be El Guapo is being a little cranky because he doesn’t have a Valentine? Regardless, fine don’t celebrate, Christmas, New Years, St Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, Birthdays, mother’s day, father’s day or valentine’s day, or any-day, the point is not to only pay attention or love on those days, that’s ludicrous!...Don’t celebrate anything, it’s your right, just don’t legislate it, make it law or a rule, especially using a lie, because of the children, BS…Jehovah’s Witnesses are against all holidays except their wedding anniversaries..Saves a lot of time and money…So far it’s a free country, I enjoyed Valentine’s day when i was a kid, and enjoyed helping my kids with Valentines day! It just made school a little fun…What the UK is doing is fascism, not anything good or caring…it’s a psych-op…

I don’t need a Valetine’s, father’s or mother’s day to tell the people I love that I love them. Following the Saudi example might not be such a bad idea…

This really isn’t about the school’s concern for the emotional well being of the children…It’s about control, and I see that in the UK there is a pattern going on in the past year or two (among others..) This is almost a social test, of how far the state can go before the people put a stop to it..This is state control over children and parenting, just a little thing, but all these little things add up…I can’t believe that the people in the UK won’t take control over their local school districts and politics…I know that our federal and state government for the most part will not listen to the people who pay their wages, but if there is enough of a roar someone will listen…I don’t know what it’s going to take to actually allow humans their rights to be happy, to live without oppression, without enforced wars and policing of out own society…It just keeps getting worse and worse in these little little areas, that add up…Doesn’t anyone see the pattern the deliberate intentional set ups? Honestly it seems like people are living in a trance, unable to look at the big picture…Unwilling to look at what is happening right before their very eyes…This is important because it’s another negative chunk taken from all of us of freedom and happiness…Seriously don’t underestimate or deny the power of little bits and pieces of oppression and evil…

Tolerance is great.  However, as I understand it, we are talking about kids.  Kids
who, sometimes are insensitive, or, malicious without intention.  Because kids
don’t always think about what they are doing banning Valentines from schooltime
traditions and activities is really not a bad idea.  Adults can do as they choose. 
They are held to a standard of care that indicates they have measured their
actions and considerations with more wisdom and depth.

Hitler said: “GIVE ME THE YOUTH & I’LL RULE THE
WORLD”
I found the following article in the N.Y.DAILY NEWS
worth sharing.

No red hearts or chocolate: Saudi Arabia bans
Valentine’s Day, but lovebirds find ways to celebrate

BY Oren Yaniv  
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, February 11th 2010, 3:22 PM
In Saudi Arabia, this Sunday is Valen-ban Day.

The Islamic theocracy is cracking down on stores
selling red roses, heart-shaped products or red gift
wraps.

Valntine’s Day merchandise is considered contraband
because observing Western holidays is prohibited in
Saudi Arabia.

“As Muslims, we shouldn’t celebrate a non-Muslim
celebration, especially this one that encourages
immoral relations between unmarried men and women,”
Sheikh Khaled Al-Dossari, a scholar in Islamic
studies, told the Saudi Gazette.

Religious cops from the Commission for the Promotion
of Virtue and Prevention of Vice patrol shops,
confiscate symbols of love, and destroy them.

“Those who don’t comply will be punished,” they
warned in ads placed in newspapers.

Many Saudis work to get around the party poopers.
Since the crackdown only goes into full swing the
week of Valentine’s Day, they buy their red-themed
gifts in advance or stealthily get flowers from the
black market.

“I think what they are doing is ridiculous,” said the
writer of a local blog called Saudi Jeans. “What the
conservatives in this country need to learn is
something called ‘tolerance.’”

That’s unlikely.

All but the two most important Muslim holidays are
banned in the birthplace of Islam, where women can’t
drive or mingle in public with unrelated men.

Valentine’s day is named after a Christian saint
martyred by the Romans in the 3rd Century.

I think that is an excellent idea.  We should do the same in the States.