Teacher Tells Boy He'll Lose Recess Unless He Invites Whole Class To Party
By Dave Basner
June 7, 2021
Chances are when you were in school, you weren't friends with every single person in your class. There might have been a bully who you hated or a kid who picked his nose and grossed you out. Certainly, you likely wouldn't consider inviting every single classmate to your birthday party, but one teacher told a boy in her class that if he didn't, he would lose recess, and now that boy's mom is fuming.
She explained the situation on Reddit, writing how she lives with her son in a small apartment and for his upcoming birthday, she let him invite five friends over for a party. She sent out the invites on social media and everything was fine until her son and his friends excitedly discussed the get-together in class. Their teacher overheard and sent the mom an email saying that, much like how on Valentine's Day if someone gives candy out they have to give it to everyone, if someone is having a birthday party, they have to invite the entire class.
The mom put her foot down, stating that she can't host 25 kids in her apartment, nor does she have the bandwidth to watch over 25 kids. She added that she'd never heard of this rule and her son definitely hasn't been invited to every other students' party. The teacher only confirmed the rule and said if the boy doesn't bring invitations for everyone the next day, his behavior card will automatically be turned "double red" and he'll miss recess.
Shocked, the mom instead just took her son out of school for that day and celebrated his b-day early with a Happy Meal, ice cream and a birthday present, but she went on to ask the Reddit community what they thought of the rule. She wrote, "I told my husband and while he agrees the rule is stupid, he basically called me a Karen for being so petty and having our son miss his education, that a day of missed recess isn’t a big deal, and that he'd still get punished the next day (today, so we’ll see). Basically telling me that my feelings are right but that all I did was hurt my child instead. I’m worried he has a point."
The response was overwhelmingly in support of her feelings. One person wrote,"In the long run, your child knowing that they are loved is far more important than a day of missed school. Missing recess is awful for a kid, and sends all of the wrong messages." Another asked, "How can a school possibly dictate whom you invite into your own home? Is this a public school? I would pursue it with the principal, and if not, with the school board. If your child is penalized, I'd see a lawyer."
A teacher also chimed in to say that some schools do have this rule, but that the mom didn't break it. They stated, "You said you invited them over social media. All they were doing at school was talking about the party. Not handing out invitations. Wasn't the teacher's place to say anything." They then added, "Moving a kid on a behavior chart to double red is NOT an appropriate consequence for not inviting the whole class. At all. That's just an abuse of power. Behavior systems like that should only be based on the child and their actions. Not anything to do with parents or outside of school activities. Absolutely ridiculous."
No word on if the boy wound up being punished and missing recess.
Photo: Getty Images