LETTER: Fun in school with photos of principals not good for pupils

To Ozaukee Press:

As a retired educator and teacher trainer, I am puzzled and somewhat alarmed by the practice of elementary or middle school students “taping their principal to a wall.”

Teachers and principals study child development in preparation for one of a community’s most important jobs. They learn that students’ ability to completely distinguish between acts of violence that harm and what some consider fun or light-hearted antics is limited. Taping a likeness of a person, in the manner pictured in news coverage at two area schools, is commonly used by violent criminals in human trafficking, robbery and other acts that children and youth may view in a context very different from school.

     Why not limit light-hearted fun to pie-eating contests or quiz games where the principal pretends to get stumped?

Alex Campbell

Port Washington