英小学禁送情人节贺卡 家长褒贬不一

A primary school has banned Valentine's Day cards from thepremises because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends.

Ashcombe Primary School in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, has told parents that cards declaring love can be “confusing” for children under the age of 11, who are still emotionally and socially developing.

In his February newsletter, Peter Turner, the head teacher, warned that any cards found in school would be confiscated.

He wrote: “We do not wish to see any Valentine’s Day cards in school this year. Some children and parents encourage a lot of talk about boyfriends and girlfriends.”

"We believe that such ideas should wait until children are mature enough emotionally and socially to understand the commitment involved in having or being a boyfriend or girlfriend."

Mr Turner said any families wanting to support the Valentine’s Day concept should send cards in the post or deliver them to home addresses by hand.

His views were endorsed by Ruth Rice, 46, who has twins Harriet and Olivia, nine, at the school.

She said: “Children at that age shouldn't really be thinking about Valentine's Day, they should be concentrating on their schoolwork.

“They are at an age when they are impressionable and most parents including myself are with Mr Turner.”

She added that the cards cause “too much competition. If someone gets a card and another doesn't then someone will be disappointed.”

However, Rajeev Takyar, 40, who runs a local newsagent, and has two children Jai, 11, and Aryan, five, at the school, said he was “genuinely outraged”.

He said: "There are schools that have banned conkers and snowballs, and now Valentine's Cards.

"I think banning the cards stops children from having social skills. How are they going to learn about relationships otherwise? It's ridiculous.”

Alec Suttenwood, founder of the Anti-Political Correctness group, said of the ban: "It's totally ridiculous. Young children just send the cards to each other as friends and to their parents. It’s just a bit of harmless fun. There is no difference between this and Mothers or Fathers Day.”

英国一所小学日前宣布禁止学生互送情人节贺卡，理由是小学生不应过多讨论男女朋友的问题。

英国萨默塞特郡滨海韦斯顿镇的艾什康姆小学日前告知学生家长，11岁以下的孩子在情感和社交上都还不够成熟，传达爱意的情人节贺卡会让他们感到“困惑”。

该校校长彼特．特纳在二月份的学校通讯中提醒家长说，今年在学校发现的任何情人节贺卡将一律被没收。

他在信件中写道：“今年我们不希望在学校看见情人节贺卡。有些孩子过多地与家长讨论男女朋友的问题。”

“学校认为，孩子们现在讨论这些问题为时过早，必须等到他们在情感和社交上都足够成熟，能够理解这其中所牵涉的责任之后，才能给他们这样的自由。”

特纳校长说，任何支持送情人节贺卡的家庭请通过邮局寄送贺卡或自行送到别人的住所。

九岁的双胞胎姐妹哈丽特和奥利维娅的母亲、46岁的鲁丝．莱斯对校长的看法表示赞同。

她说：“孩子们现在不应该过多考虑情人节这个问题，而应把精力放在学习上。”

“这个年龄段的孩子缺乏判断力，包括我自己在内的大多数家长都支持特纳校长的做法。”

她还说，互送情人节贺卡“会让孩子们产生攀比心理，如果有人收到了贺卡，而另外一个人没有收到，他就会感到失望。”

然而，11岁的吉埃和5岁的阿里安的父亲、40岁的报刊经销商拉吉维．塔吉亚则表示自己“十分愤慨”。

他说：“先是打栗子游戏和打雪仗在某些学校被禁，现在又是情人节贺卡。”

“我认为禁送情人节贺卡不利于孩子们社交技能的培养。以后他们要怎么学各种社会关系？真是荒谬。”

反政治正确性组织的创始人阿莱克．萨特恩伍德评价这一禁令时说：“这简直是荒唐。小孩子之间只是像朋友一样互送贺卡，或是送给父母。送情人节贺卡只是学习之余的一点小乐子，无伤大雅，和母亲节、父亲节送贺卡没什么区别。”

Vocabulary:

premise:A proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn（前提）

impressionable:readily or easily influenced; suggestible（敏感的；易受影响的）