Vermont High School Cancels Dance Over Dirty Dancing, Drug Use

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- There isn't going to be a homecoming dance at Vermont's Montpelier High School this year because of concerns about dirty dancing and student drug use.

Montpelier High School Principal Peter Evans says he made the decision to cancel Saturday's dance because of complaints that followed a Sept. 24 dance.

Evans tells the Barre Montpelier Times Argus he got calls after the last dance saying many of the students were under the influence of drugs. He also told the school board this week that officials had concerns about raunchy dancing.

Evans says there wasn't time to find a way to avoid the problems before the dance, so he canceled it.

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Comments

[StarWarsHippie]

09:33 PM on 10/11/2010

Man, my high school wouldn't have had any events if they were called off for fear of drug use.

[A Jay]

09:03 AM on 10/11/2010

These grown ups need to get over the "raunchy dancing" complaint. That's just the way it is nowadays. Back in the day, they thought Elvis was a raunchy dancer. *rolls eyes*

[cameron d]

06:31 PM on 10/10/2010

There will always be sex and drug use at high school. Always.

[ThomasPaine1776]

01:59 AM on 10/10/2010

Good. Schools should EDUCATE. PERIOD. I commented one time on a "Teacher Questionarre" "THIS IS A SCHOOL, not a NIGHTCLUB". I've NEVER understood ANY extra-cirrcicular activity. There is NO JUSTIFICATION for it, not if we're CUTTING TEACHERS and CLASS SIZES are WEL over 30. ALL my classes are 35+ this year, and we WASTE money on ASB. I can't get a COMPUTER MONITOR or a PRINTER that works, yet ASB or FOOTBALL NEVER runs out of money. I'm SICK of it.

[roguescr1be]

11:59 PM on 10/10/2010

I feel you. I teach H.S with 30+ over 6 periods.

This reflects more on society than our efforts. You can't get people to volunteer time or money under penalty of death when it comes to education.

But they will pawn their 1st born for playoff tickets.

When we as a society unlatch ourselves for the corporate entertainment teat and begin to value what is valuable, then kids won't even want to do all of this garbage.

[KCM7]

02:39 AM on 10/11/2010

I hope you don't teach English.

[genrel1248]

10:59 PM on 10/09/2010

I smell a Kevin Bacon movie coming on!

[HouseProletariat]

09:24 PM on 10/09/2010

Dance is a cultural expression and many of the most popular dances throughout history have been sexually provocative. Trying to deal with teen drug use is one thing, but lay off the way the kids dance. We can't have a society that wants to profit by selling them sexually charged media entertainment and then be upset when they display this sort of culture through their dance. Most of these kids are old enough to drive deadly vehicles and are almost old enough to live alone, vote in elections, and die in wars; they are old enough to grind if they so choose.

[rlugbill]

07:41 PM on 10/09/2010

We have a similar situation here in my community. The only way the kids really know how to dance is grinding (dirty dancing). It probably would have been ok, but the kids started taking it to new (low) levels. Out of control.

So, the principal stopped the dance and told the students to go home if they couldn't dance without grinding. So, almost all of them went home.

Ultimately, it is the adults who have created this situation. We could have made high school about learning and caring and helping. Instead, we have made it about proms and football and cheerleaders and social status and acting cool.

Other countries don't have all the anti-academic trappings that American high schools have. For some reason, American high schools are all about dances and homecoming queens and the cheerleaders and pep rallies and football teams. We have created an anti-intellectual atmosphere in high school. But the principal who tries to take away the fluff gets all kinds of complaints because the fluff is what people care about.

Instead, if teens were given some meaningful community service work along with courses that emphasized useful skills and deeper thinking, the atmosphere would be completely different. They could be learning and growing and helping. But, apparently, that's not what we value.

[Uproar]

10:28 AM on 10/10/2010

F&F! So true. The adults must take much of the blame here for the way the culture has gone. Even if you state "No dirty dancing," the students won't know any other way to dance, if this is all they do at parties and see on tv. Parents seem to care more about sports than academics, complaining that their kid has "too much homework" and letting their kids bully others without consequence. Kids equate goign to school with all-day playtime.

[Kay-B]

09:11 PM on 10/10/2010

The problems in American schools have NOTHING to do with dirty dancing or football. People aren't dirty dancing in the middle of a class nor are they playing football during class hours. The problems are structural, and a lot deeper than any of those things. Homecomings only happen once a year, that has nothing to do with performance in school either. There are Homecoming queens and kings with outstanding GPA's all the time. Heck, there's even "dirty dancers" that do very well in school. --I think that we need smaller schools, less students per classroom, and more engaging methods of teaching, and parents who encourage their kids to do their best in school. Those things would do a lot more for American schools.

[roguescr1be]

12:12 AM on 10/11/2010

I see your point...
However, these things not only suck away vital days from the stuffed schedule, they destroy the time around it.

Everything academic is made to accomodate all of the extra nonsense. I have kids (and parents) who beg for grades because they can't play without passing. .

Plus: grades ultimately mean very little in today's classroom. Some athletes do well academically because they are just that type of people' they are internally motivated. They would succeed in most things. Most kids that play sports are nowhere near as gifted.

[rlugbill]

08:03 AM on 10/11/2010

I agree with your points about school reform. I think structural reforms, smaller classes, smaller schools, more engaging methods and more involved parents would really turn things around.

The culture of high school has been contaminated. It's not about the amount of time allotted for dances, football games, etc. It's the fact that they are given top billing in the list of priorities.

The high school culture is anti-academic. It's a culture that emphasizes beauty over brains. It values popularity over character. It prioritizes athletic prowess over academic skills.

We have skewed values. The anti-academic atmosphere pervades high school. There is peer pressure to not be smart or hard-working. If you have interests that aren't popular (science, chess, etc.), you are called names (nerd, dweeb, etc.) and are socially ostracized.

This anti-intellectual atmosphere is not only cruel and damaging to students- it is directly opposed to what the mission of the school should be. It undermines the educational purposes that the school is supposed to further.

[SCboy]

12:55 PM on 10/09/2010

I think it must be hard being a high school principal today. Without knowing all the details, admittedly, I have to support the principal on this one. Students have a right to an education; there is no right to dances. If they work out okay, fine, have them. If they are trouble, get rid of them.

[ThomasPaine1776]

02:04 AM on 10/10/2010

Schools have NO BUSINESS arranging for "DANCES" of ANY kind. A "DANCE" is a MATING RITUAL that only causes DRAMA and DISTRACTS from the task at hand: EDUCATION. Also, "DANCES" are always a HETEROSEXUAL party. It is a celebration of HETEROsexuality, which FURTHER ALIENATES our GAY STUDENTS. What would happen, just how UNGLUED would the admin become if two BOYS started dancing? The whole thing is EMBARRASSING and OFF TOPIC to a SCHOOL.

[Mauri Helms]

04:46 PM on 10/08/2010

While I'm all for high school dances being age-appropriate in terms of dancing, I'm at a loss as to how cancelling the dance will solve that perceived problem...has no one ever heard of chaperones? More specifically, chaperones that actually do what their job entails? As for the drug use-- um, hello, this is high school, and unfortunately there will be a minority that will come to first period/prom/practice/etc high as a kite.
What the principal could have done was address the student body, explain the concerns arisen from the last dance, and handed out his desired stipulations concerning homecoming (ex: no raunchy dancing, dress code, zero-tolerance drug policy). Have the students and parents sign this in the form of a permission slip so that everyone is aware of the potenial consequences (not being allowed in to the dance, being asked to leave the dance, being suspended for drug use, etc).
How does someone in an authoritative position not recognize this as a better solution?

[Uproar]

10:30 AM on 10/10/2010

I'm not sure. Seems students don't pay much attention to adults anymore. They probably don't take the chaperones seriously either.

[cameron d]

06:33 PM on 10/10/2010

When adults are stopping kids from things like "Dirty Dancing" it's pretty hard to take them seriously.

Think about your high school experience. Were drugs and sex involved? They sure were in mine.

[klinzboy]

01:19 PM on 10/08/2010

What a tragedy! During the 47 years I spent in the classroom as both teacher and student, nothing really changed much, not the teachers, not the administrators, curriculum, pedagogical techniques, etc. Oh, we recycled much of the way we did things, gave it different names and framed it all in different jargon but nothing has really changed in education over the last 50 years but the way the general public perceives the roll of education in the United States. In spite of all the conservative rhetoric about the failure of education in the United States, schools have not failed, it’s just that the main roll of schools, as far as much of the American public is concerned, has become “school is day care.”

The biggest change in students that I observed, from the time I was a student through the time I taught students, was the change of the students’ perception from “school is a place to come and learn” to the perception that “school is a social club.” This change in student perception is directly related to the change in the perception of their parents to “school is day care.” Or maybe it’s the video games.

[portinari232]

06:12 PM on 10/09/2010

very interesting. Ive always sort of thought this to be the case. I am thirty years old and I do not remember a time after the sixth grade that school was considered anything but a social club by the vast majority of the students... myself included. I wish i would have taken it more seriously. Not for any financial or career gain but for the sake of knowledge. I was 21 and not in college when i discovered a love of learning that i had never known before. When i look back on my days in high school i dont think of the curriculum as uninteresting, i just think it was far less interesting than friends and girls and whatever else i did back then. It is very unfortunate that this is the case but i think most of my peers would agree with me. I often fantasize about living in an era where learning was cool... where kids were more curious about chemistry than, i dont know, the kardashians.
Unfortunately, I am from a time when raising your hand is cause enough for shunning.

[klinzboy]

09:52 PM on 10/09/2010

Thanks for the good comment. I noticed, as I grew older, that my parents and the adults I knew as a kid all got much smarter while I, on the other hand, seemed know less and less. The nature of maturing no doubt and the benefit of experience.

[ThomasPaine1776]

02:06 AM on 10/10/2010

That's it. I'm giving you a REFERRAL!

[Uproar]

10:35 AM on 10/10/2010

That is the biggest thing that concerns me about my own baby-to-be. Will they take school seriously? We both value education, and want her to be smart and educated, and get a good job. But Everything I see on tv and read in the news, portrays school as a place to goof off and nto pay any consequences. Bully other kids? No problem - the school will deny it. Detention or suspension? No problem - mommy and daddy will get a lawyer and fight it, (under the assumption that the kid, who is spoiled enough to misbehave, will not not get into the Ivy Leagues). Don't do homework? No problem - blame the teachers for not motivating the students enough, while mom and dad watch tv all day, and don't make sure homework is actually done. What used to be a good balance of school and fun, seems to be only fun now. Our students are turning into adults who don't qualify for college or know how to behave in jobs.

[Bible Truth]

12:50 PM on 10/08/2010

Good for the School! If students don't know how to behave at these kind of functions without including drugs and vulgar behavior then they don't deserve to have a dance. Parents need to discipline their children a lot better and protect their homes from highly immoral influences of the enterainment industry.

[cameron d]

06:34 PM on 10/10/2010

There's always been sex and drugs in high school. There will always be sex and drugs in high school. Problem not solved.

[Spank05]

06:15 PM on 10/11/2010

Doesn't mean the school has to condone it.

Let the kids have sex and do drugs on their own time. That's what we did, heh.

[KateInMT]

05:09 PM on 10/11/2010

No, parents need to lead by example and oversee what their children are watching. Movies and television can lead to wonderful discussions between parents and children.