High school kids must smile or face detention.

[just Warren]

This is so creepy.

And I've got to think that it's unconstitutional. How can the government mandate your visage?

[makattak]

This is so creepy.

And I've got to think that it's unconstitutional. How can the government mandate your visage?

Unsurprisingly, the article makes it clear this isn't the biggest problem in that school.

I have to wonder if this principal is attempting her own version of the "PROMISE" program by ignoring attacks in her school. "If it's not written up, it didn't happen!"

[lee n. field]

At best, this will make for more libertarians.

[griz]

Students who don’t have a smile on their face while in the hallways between classes are told to either smile or go see a guidance counselor to discuss their problems.

I would (honestly) tell the guidance counselor that my problem was unrealistic school administrators.

[dogmush]

I feel like I need to provide these students with the Federal Government Sexual harassment training slides.

Among other things, a male in a leadership role telling a subordinate female to "smile" has been held to be sexual harassment in the past.

 

[Hawkmoon]

I have to wonder if this principal is attempting her own version of the "PROMISE" program by ignoring attacks in her school. "If it's not written up, it didn't happen!"

Sounds like the high school in my town ... from which we had to withdraw my daughter because of bullying. The school says it never happened. A teacher I knew in the school said it definitely happened.

[HankB]

Every now and then in my high school, the admins tried to push the envelope of their authority far beyond its legitimate bounds. These attempts included things like ORDERING students not to call & talk to local radio shows about school policy, even from home. (It would have had to be from home or somewhere off campus, as this was before cell phones and the school had no public or pay phones.) Or ORDERING students to account for their time when away from school or any school sponsored event. Sometimes students (I was one) were ORDERED to show up on Saturday to try out for a sports team, whether we wanted to or not, even though many of us had weekend jobs.

When that happened, the student response was what I'd term "nonviolent noncompliance." We simply refused en masse to follow their dictates.

An order to "smile" like the one in the OP would have resulted in frowns and mass refusal to accept detention or any other punishment.

[zxcvbob]

I think the threat of detention is if they refuse to talk to the counselor.  It's still an overreach, but not as bad IMHO.

[Hawkmoon]

An order to "smile" like the one in the OP would have resulted in frowns and mass refusal to accept detention or any other punishment.

Or

 

[MechAg94]

Or

 

Now a whole bunch of kids wearing those in the hallways would be awesome.   

[just Warren]

Hey, who are those Guys?

[Angel Eyes]

Hey, who are those Guys?

Fawkes if I know.

[KD5NRH]

Or

 

"The last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions, a clear plan and the means to carry it out."

[grampster]

Way back in 1959 I was a sophomore in high school.  It was a public high school but there was a good deal of a very strict sect of Protestantism in the district.  The school board and the Superintendent went to one or the other of those several churches.  We were not allowed to have any dances after sporting events or even a prom or homecoming dance.  The local Catholic high school started charging tuition the year before and many parents couldn't afford it so a good deal of us went off to the public high school.  We organized our Protestant fellow class mates as they were upset about the no dance policy as well.  The entire high school student body 9-12 walked out of class one afternoon.  As a result the school board rescinded the no dance policy and we began to have a prom and a homecoming dance.  Apparently getting bad publicity was more important than enforcing draconian and religious rules in a public school.

[dogmush]

Way back in 1959 I was a sophomore in high school.  It was a public high school but there was a good deal of a very strict sect of Protestantism in the district.  The school board and the Superintendent went to one or the other of those several churches.  We were not allowed to have any dances after sporting events or even a prom or homecoming dance.  The local Catholic high school started charging tuition the year before and many parents couldn't afford it so a good deal of us went off to the public high school.  We organized our Protestant fellow class mates as they were upset about the no dance policy as well.  The entire high school student body 9-12 walked out of class one afternoon.  As a result the school board rescinded the no dance policy and we began to have a prom and a homecoming dance.  Apparently getting bad publicity was more important than enforcing draconian and religious rules in a public school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFWDGTVYqE8

 

[RoadKingLarry]

Way back in 1959 I was a sophomore in high school.  It was a public high school but there was a good deal of a very strict sect of Protestantism in the district.  The school board and the Superintendent went to one or the other of those several churches.  We were not allowed to have any dances after sporting events or even a prom or homecoming dance.  The local Catholic high school started charging tuition the year before and many parents couldn't afford it so a good deal of us went off to the public high school.  We organized our Protestant fellow class mates as they were upset about the no dance policy as well.  The entire high school student body 9-12 walked out of class one afternoon.  As a result the school board rescinded the no dance policy and we began to have a prom and a homecoming dance.  Apparently getting bad publicity was more important than enforcing draconian and religious rules in a public school.

Didn't they make a movie about that?