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A primary school has banned Valentine's Day cards because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends.
Ashcombe Primary School in WestonsuperMare, 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 (簡訊), Peter Turner,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 talks 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 supported by Ruth Rice, 46, who has twins Harriet and Olivia,9,at the school.
She said, "Children at that age shouldn't really be thinking about Valentine's Day, and they should be
concentrating on their schoolwork."
"They are at an age when they are easily influenced and most parents including myself are with
Mr. Turner."
She added, "The cards caused too much competition. If someone gets a card and another doesn't then he will be disappointed."
However, Rajeev Takyar, 40, who sells newspapers and has two children Jai, 11, and Aryan, 5, at the school, said he was "genuinely outraged"．
He said, "There are schools that have banned conkers (康克戲) and snowballs, and now Valentine's
Day 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 AntiPolitical 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 Mother's or Father's Day."
1. Valentine's Day cards may cause confusion among young children because ________.
A. they are too young to understand what love is
B. teachers haven't taught them how to make friends
C. children shouldn't learn about social relationships
D. students talk too much about boyfriends and girlfriends
2. The underlined word "confiscated" in Paragraph 3 can probably be replaced by "________"．
A. collected
B. destroyed
C. taken away
D. burnt away
3. Ruth Rice was in favor of Mr. Turner's view in that ________.
A. children like to compare Valentine's Day cards
B. children should focus their mind on their lessons
C. sending holiday cards waste both time and money
D. making friends has a negative influence on children
4. Which statement is TRUE according to the text?
A. Most of English parents want children to have fun.
B. Children should learn how to develop social skills.
C. English schools don't allow students to play games.
D. Some parents think it unreasonable to ban the cards.
5. What is the best title of the text?
A. School Bans Valentine's Day Cards
B. Shall We Send Valentine's Day Cards?
C. Different Opinions on Valentine's Day Cards
D. Parents' Concern about Valentine's Day Cards
