My gf showed me this article last night and I was going to post it. Granfire beat me to it.
It's getting out of hand ... all of it.
Not just with kids but with adults and in the work place.
The school "understandably" won't say anything more? Probably because they know how STUPID they look. Probably because they know they don't have a leg to stand on. Probably, because they know how STUPID they look, (yes, I said that twice).
Sexual harassment IS a serious thing. A woman (or man) should be able to function in their place of employment without worries about undue and inappropriate distractions/attention from their fellow employees and management or even from the customers they interact with. Children, until they're proven to actually know better or are aware of the implied wording/actions should be exempt because they just don't know or understand the sexual connotations that CAN be associated with their actions/words. Even if they did I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the time they're not even THINKING along those lines. Especially as young as 1st-4th graders... even if they are aware of the implications.
One has to intentionally mean sexuality if they intend to apply words/actions towards their *ahem* "subject". But when it gets to the point where a compliment, which is probably what the kid had meant his "cute" statement to be -- or more along the lines of saying something nice which he probably was referred to as cute himself a few times and is using that via mimicry, and it's made into a "bad" thing, then we might as well not say anything to anyone anymore. Might as well stop teaching kids how to talk and socialize altogether. Because eventually it's going to get so bad now that even LOOKING in another person's direction could be construed as harassment. Don't think I'm joking.
To me harassment, ok, to me. Is when a man see's a woman co-worker wearing an outfit that flatters her figure and he says something lewd about it i.e. "she's/you're just spilling out all over the place with that blouse". Or if he's wanting relations with her and comes out and makes a suggestive proposal, reaches out and pinches her butt or cops a feel whatever! Definitely harassment and definitely a call for disciplinary action(s). It can be considered harassment if he asks a co-worker out on a date (which is illegal in 90+% of the work places these days, because of the harassment laws) and they say "no" and he persists time and again constantly then it's harassment because she's already said no and likely has said "no" each time he's asked... obviously he hasn't learned to accept defeat in that particular field of battle, it's harassment.
But to sincerely compliment on how an outfit or hair, even make up looks upon a woman shouldn't be considered as anything more than a compliment. Given once and with a sincere tone or even as a "by the way" off the cuff comment, i.e. "that style looks good on you". That's fricken harassment? Gimme a break will ya. Tonal inflection, facial expression, body language and INTENT... all those add up to determine if a comment was harassment.
Double standards too. I get cashiers, order takers, nurses, receptionists, and all manner of working women tossing out little terms i.e. sweetie, hunny, et al. a lot. I can't help but think that if I did that, because I'm a man... I'd probably lose my job.
Fricken B.S.
Now we're subjecting our children to it, and going to rigorously train them... no, BRAINWASH them to being what WE want them to be not who they truly are.
How about building a fricken bridge and getting the hell over it and move on?