Teacher hugging a child....

So much...all of this.  Even with "consent" not being as big here in Morocco, I will only lightly touch a students shoulder if I am walking around class and want to give them some type of encouragement.  There can be a good deal of physical hitting/abuse at home, and it is important for me to give my students positive physical contact.  But it always just a light hand on their shoulder or a high five.  I NEVER EVER hug unless it is initiated by the student themselves and typically is it a side hug.  Oddly enough, the "European" double check kiss is big here, so that happens a lot.  But again, never do I do this unless the student initiates.

As long as your daughter is okay with letting go, I wouldn't make a big fuss.  But, it is so important that she knows you have her back...which undoubtedly you do! 

I just hate to hear about teachers that have such negative impacts on their students.  I mean WHY be a teacher???  GRRRRR!

Junior high is sometimes hell on earth. Everyone feels awkward & in between and hormones begin & no one knows how to deal with them & the nicest kids get snappy & sassy & moody. Friends change. Old friends go, new friends come. They want to fit in but, they want to stand out. They are experimenting with everything from make up & hair to who the hell they actually are. It’s probably the worst time in most kids lives. A whole series of what am I, who am I, where do I fit, what am I good at.

Support your DD, be there for her, guide her, get her help if/when needed. Most important listen. Don’t count on her bestie being her bestie forever, that might happen & when it does that’s great. But sometimes they just grow apart, naturally, and it’s not a betrayal. One of the things my DD (22) recently said was that she wished someone had told her that it was ok to grow apart from friends in a friendly manner. It’s ok to ‘let go’ a bit because kids become different people with different interests and that’s ok. That’s normal. She said she felt torn apart in middle school trying to please everyone new friends & old friends and she just couldn’t. I was kind of taken aback by that, who knew something had to be said about that, I didn’t.

I hope your DD has smooth sailing thru the land mine of middle school ( junior high ) And Friendly pea not quite hugs from far away without touching for her. I know how awkward it is to be hugged by someone you don’t even want to touch.

I’m in CA, my school is a K-8.  We have 1-2 classes at each grade.  The kids stay together as a cohort and move between myself (math/sci), my neighbor (SS/LA), the PE teacher, 6th period class (mixture of 6, 7, 8 grades).  Other than 6th period, they are with the same group all day.

We also cannot request anything unless there is a documented problem with particular kids or teachers.  Even then, it’s not likely to be granted.

My favorite was when a parent requested their kid to not have a particular teacher at that grade and the undesired teacher and the desired teacher taught a split (as my neighbor and I do).  Oh well.