Kindergarten student and her classmate disciplined for hugging each other on the playground

Forced to write a letter, complete with teacher corrections, claiming she didn’t like the hug
Boston Herald
Apr. 07, 2006

Watch The Video Report HereSomeone call the campaign for “Hugs Not Drugs.”

Parents of a kindergarten student in Maynard are outraged that their daughter and her classmate were disciplined for hugging each other on the playground.

Michael Marino and Brenda Brier told WCVB-TV that their 5-year-old daughter, Savannah, who attends Greenwood Elementary School, was forced to write a letter, complete with teacher corrections, claiming she didn’t like the hug.

“I touched Sophie because she touched me,” Savannah wrote. “I didn’t like it when she hugged me.”

Brier said her daughter was “sad” that her classmate was disciplined for comforting her after a fall on the playground.

“When kids are being affectionate, they should not be disciplined or have to say the opposite or that they don’t like hugging,” Marino said.

The superintendant of Maynard schools, Dr. Mark Masterson, said in a statement that a teacher’s aide told a teacher one student lifted the other off the ground and gave her a bear hug.

After a meeting with school officials yesterday, Brier and Marino pulled their daughter from school. They said they want an official apology and are considering transferring Savannah to another school.

Related:
Girl, 5, Forced To Apologize For Hugging Classmate
School defends punishment of 5-year-old girl