…ok, SRSLY?

You probably can’t tell, but I spent many years attending Christian Private Schools. We’re talking of the “memorizing complete chapters of the Bible, Southern Baptist” type school. I know, I’m the picture of purity now, so you likely figured that out, right? Right.

Some rules of the school for the girls:
— We were not allowed to wear pants on the school grounds.
— Shirt collars could not be lower than two fingers below the collar bone.
— Skirts had to touch the floor when you knelt – cover the knees.
— No sleeveless shirts, ever.
— No shorts – that whole “below the knee” thing dictated that we wear culottes, which made us laugh because when we fell in basketball, they showed more than shorts ever would have. These were also ONLY for Gym. All other times it was skirts/dresses/uniforms.
— Our hair was to be long. At the SHORTEST it had to cover the nape of the neck, though they frowned on anything shorter than shoulder length.
— No heels higher than two inches.

Some rules for the boys:
— Hair must be SHORT. It could not touch the tops of the ears, or the back of the collar.
— Shirt and tie and slacks. No jeans, no shorts, etc.
— Shorts for gym, but they had to be no shorter than a handwidth above the knee.
— Nothing sleeveless.

Yes, those are a little uneven, but after all the Woman is to be demure and perfect and pure for the man. They taught us that in many a manners/Bible class.

Some general rules, and rules for couples:
— No Dancing.
— No Rock Music.
— No Holding Hands.
— There must be at least 6 inches between you at ALL times.

During assemblies – every single morning, and Chapel on Wednesdays – The girls and boys were separated, so that there would be no temptations as we learned chapter after chapter of the bible in its entirety. Women were to be pure. Men were to respect women. There would be no TOUCHING, EVER.

Now sure – outside of the school grounds, I was a jean wearing, boy crazy tomboy – who held hands and kissed sometime after she turned 14, and by the ninth grade I had bristled under the control so much that my parents let me transfer to another school – a school that I lasted one year at before headed to public school where people were sane. This is not to say that the education I received at the Christian schools was sub-standard, just that the rest of it became too much and it was time to move on. I thank my parents a LOT for letting me do so.

All this came back though in a rush when I heard the story of Tyler Frost and his prom date, Rebecca Smooty. Tyler attended a Christan School that sounds much like the one I attended, while his girlfriend went to school elsewhere. When Rebecca asked Tyler to take her to prom, he of course said YES, because he is a smart boy. As a direct result, the officials at his school, Heritage Christian School in Findlay Ohio have suspended him, given him an incomplete for his exams, AND banned him from his graduation.

All for something that happened OFF THE SCHOOL GROUNDS.
All for daring to hold his girlfriends hand.
All for listening to the music and dancing.
All for “attending a function where girls wore short skirts”.
All of which happened OFF THE SCHOOL GROUNDS. (Yes, it bears repeating!)

The schools officials have graciously said that he can complete his final exams separately and get his diploma – after the school year ends.

I’m sorry – but this is utterly ridiculous. Once a child leaves the school grounds they are the responsibility 100% of their parents, NOT the school or it’s officials. The church/school has no right to dictate that he not attend another schools function, or insinuate that something improper is going on because he dared hold hands with his girlfriend. Its not like he was part of an orgy on the dance floor, for fuck’s sake!

I hope to HELL his parents are going to help him fight this, and that he gets to walk for his graduation. To ban him from it is absolutely unfair, and part of the reason folks think Christianity is full of sanctimonious wackjobs.

…wonder how many of the schools teachers and preachers have been divorced and remarried? Wonder how many of them hold hands, and wear short skirts, listen to music not of the ‘inspirational’ genre when off the school grounds and dare to bounce to the beat… That’s what drove me away… hypocritical bullshit like this.

Psalm 149:3
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

Stand your ground, Tyler! Stand. Your. Ground!