Teaching independence to young men

Q WHAT ARE SOME ARKANSAS PARENTS BEING TOLD TO DO IF THEIR SON HAS FORGOTTEN SOMETHING AT HOME?

ANothing. The all-boys private Catholic school in Little Rock has long had a rule barring parents from coming to the school to drop off things — such as forgotten lunches or assignments — for their children, but parents occasionally forgot about it and had to be turned away at the front door. So the school decided to post a sign as a reminder. Adorned with a red stop sign, it reads: “If you are dropping off your son’s lunch, books, homework, equipment etc., please TURN AROUND and exit the building. Your son will learn to problem-solve in your absence.”

Q IS EVERYONE WELCOMING THIS APPROACH?

ANot everyone. An alum in charge of the school’s Facebook page posted a photo of the sign online on Aug. 10, under the message “Welcome to Catholic High. We teach reading, writing, arithmetic, and problem-solving.” By Friday, it had been shared nearly 120,000 times and received more than 3,700 comments, with parents debating whether it was ethical, fair or wise to punish teens when their memories fail them.

Q IS THE SCHOOL DETERRED?

APrincipal Steve Straessle said it has long been a part of the school’s mission to teach young men to be independent, and he was surprised that others found that idea — or the policy — so shocking. “The policy is one of the many policies that we have, hoping to help build self-reliance and self-advocacy in our kids,” Straessle said in an interview with The Washington Post. He said the school urges boys to think “beyond the default switch” of relying on their parents when they need help. “We just want a boy to figure out what comes next when Mom or Dad are not there to guide them ... We’ve been amazed that a school teaching self-reliance and personal responsibility seems like a novel idea.”