Teachers and Administrators are to blame. I believe this was a set up for complete failure. How come? Because teaching is the best paid part time job in America. These activities are outside the normal part time day job. I also feel teachers were jealous, maybe if they did more this type of dance at home they would be less stressed.

East side, Please learn to stick to the topic. You are obviously a severely ignorant individual who is hiding behind a cryptic monniker. I would suggest you volunteer in a classroom and learn what teachers have to do to teach large numbers of students with multiple needs and learning ablilities.
As for the issue at hand, This is not really a music issue, but a societal one. Administration should probably bend a little and students need to treat adults in authority with respect (whether they believe they deserve it) and understand they are not entitled to their every want.

Yes mario, this generation in general, is suffering from the lack of true parenting. Many parents are so eager to give their children the things they themselves did not have. This has created a sense of entitlement...they ask and they receive. No sense of accomplishment for the "everyone gets a trophy" generation.
Re: teachers...they are part time. 9 months (185 work days) per year. Im sure they work hard while they are there, but it is still for 9 months or 185 work days per year. If you subtract personal days and seminars...its less than that.

music is controversial because it represents freedom.

George Hanson: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.
Billy: Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig? They think we're gonna cut their throat or somethin'. They're scared, man.
George Hanson: They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to 'em.
Billy: Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.
George Hanson: Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom.
Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.

Those damn kids and their dancing! Get off my lawn!

It's not about the music but rather the dance. I'm a pretty easy going guy but I wouldn't want my high school daughter (if I had one) doing the "grind" in public (or in private for that matter) with some dude I might not know while the lights are turned down low. Kudos to the teachers, not only for stopping that type of dancing at school, but for also letting the KIDS know just WHO is in charge on campus. Having said that, however, I do believe the parents have a valid point about the kids being allowed to wander off without them being contacted or provisions being made to get the kids home.

When I was in High School (1950's rock and roll) we had a similar (slow) dance called the grind and you would definitely get kicked out of the dance (at school or the "rec" center") for doing it - and might even get suspended for a few days.

Oh please. Let the kids dance however they want. It's a form of expression and if they want to grind then let them grind. I went to school in the 70's....class of 1976, The Bicentennial Class. I'm also a Greek and I'm sure that schools would frown upon a Greek girl arriving in a belly dance costume and proceed to shimmy. I say that dance is a form of freedom of speech and nobody has the right to censor unless they bring religion into a public school. If they even try to suggest that grinding is against Christian values I'd be on the phone with the
ACLU in a heartbeat.

I think we should have a law that prohibits sexual thoughts until teens reach 18. Doesn't the grind originate from Arifican fertility rituals?

This article is ridiculous. This is not about uptight grownups getting their knickers in a twist about music selection. It is about unruly kids engaging in sexually lascivious acts in public after being warned several times not to do so. Schools are under no obligation to host dances. If the student body cannot control themselves while attending them, then the school does not need to host them.

ok so now there will be a policy in place and kids who disagree may choose not to attend. the issue is not very complex. pretty one dimensional.....

This article doesn't tellt he whole story...that Nicki Manaj song that the DJ wouldn't play...the lyrics go, and I quote, "So F*ck who you want and F*ck who you like." This was a school sponsored event. And to the mid-life crisis crew who wants to be cool and "relate" to this generation...your version of grinding is very different than now. It literally is dry humping and imitating doggy-style sex, so stop trying to be the "cool" parent and actually start to parent your children. I cannot even believe there are people on here questioning the adults who volunteered their time and were forced to make the tough decision to end the dance when the kids got completely out-of-control. They yelled and were disrespectful to the adults attempting to do the job they were there to do. These kids are not at a frat party, they are in high school, they are minors. They are not adults, they do not have the right to do whatever they want.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. And each is obvious to all concerned, adult and adolescent. When adults set limits on me at that age, I resisted, but inwardly, I was relieved that someone was setting decent limits for me to live by that due to the nature of the adolescent brain, I wasn't yet ready to set for myself. This was a good decision, and a definite benefit to these kids.

ok so a policy was ALREADY in place. how about a contingency plan?

Since the dance was sponsored by the school and held on school property, the administration has the right to create and enforce any any rule they see fit. If your child (or you, parent) feel the rules are overreaching or unfair, you have the choice to NOT attend. Very simple. If you want to let your teenage son or daughter dry hump their dance partner in public, maybe you should host a "hump party" yourself. It is not a requirement of the school district to do so.

ccryder, maybe if the school board gave the music teacher more than 15 for her budget for " the year" for three schools the kids would be getting a more efficient education. oh and by the way, your comment about how much teachers make, is the funniest joke i have heard in years! thanks for the laugh!
Kids have been dancing like that for years, I think if the kids want a dance, it should be run by parents, the parents dont do enough as far as getting invovlved with activities like this, they dont have time, let the teachers deal with it, why dont you deal with it and get a little taste of what your kids are really doing when your not around! Im sick of the parents these days barley raising their kids, disrespectful little punks are what they are today. most of them anyways.

few spelling corrections needed there, excuse me for typing to fast!

Olga? I'm going to start calling you Bueller! The dance was NOT cancelled due to "grinding". This particular group of kids does NOT know how to dance. What they attempted to do in the beginning was grind but in reality it wasn't even close. The dance was cancelled because they started a mosh pit. I hope as the editor of Middletown Patch and the ring leader of this three ring circus getting everyone fired up, you would at least do your homework and follow up with the school system. Who did you talk to the senior class?! I'm disappointed. The kids were not released they left. Anyone without a ride had to sit in the gym and wait; the others snuck out or forced their way out. Please before starting an online patch sponsored "riot" please do your homework. All this is turning into is people arguing over self-expression.

To quote the late 20th century philosopher Will Smith, "Parents just don't understand".

Its odd to me where I read this whole post and not one of you put the blame on the families. What the hell happened to parents being responsible. Or better yet we are talking about H.S. are these teenagers that immature that they can't adhere to the rules. Stop the dances ... there will be plenty of time later for you to dance on poles when you get older...

Solution to this issue: 1) Have students agree in playlist and have it run up thru administration for approval. 2) teach everyone's kids how to dance the right way, i.e (hip hop dance classes, salsa , slow dancing.. or whatever.. ) 3) have kids sign ticket stubs upon entry with disclaimer written on them that any prolong provocative dancing which imitates sexual acts will be cause for immediate dismissal...

I have been to night clubs in which these kids see from dance, grind, sexual innuendos examples of every major music video they feed themselves of from you-tube or MTV.

They will try to imitate these acts no matter what we say or do. SO... please.. please.. please.. lets fix these problems without playing the blame game.. there is still a lot of school left for middle-town high students and a bunch of activities that need to be reviewed to ensure this does not occur again..

From a concerned parent of a senior at MHS..

Ahem - the question was: "[W]hat was [sic] type of music controversial when you went to high school? What do you think it is about music that often divides generations?"

Not one person has answered either of these questions. So I'll go out on a limb: When I was in high school, any music that suggested or encouraged sex, directly or in directly, was cause for adults to come down on kids, on live bands (my band was banned (ha ha) from ever playing at Lincoln High School again by an irate principal who didn't like our clothes or our play list), dances and all of the above. Rock 'n" roll was subversive then, a "threat" to "American values." The FBI spent over $1M in U.S. Taxpayers' money in the 60's (probably about $10 in today's money) to try to decipher the lyrics of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie," because everyone *just knew* that the lyrics were pornographic. (They weren't; not even close.) When I was in high school, getting kicked out of a dance or suspended from school for doing "the Alligator," "the Dirty Dog" --- or if you and your partner were really rebels, "the Hunch" -- was a badge of honor. It was "in your face" to parental and school authority.

As long as school teachers and administrators are thrust into the role of "in loco parentis," they are going to catch flack. My soul is with the kids; but my heart is with the teachers and administrators. Let's try to learn from this and move on.

East side what are you 12? Pretty clear you have an axe to grind with educators. Its the culture and weak hyper parenting that pervade society that not only causes foolishness like that but that leads feeble minded people like you to stray so far from reality its laughable. You most likely couldnt cut it in school and arerent probaby arent educated enough to be a teacher. So instead you make jackasstic remarks on the patch probably from the computer in your parents basement.
Get a clue.

"No one puts baby in the corner"--- the problem is not the music!--- it is how the music is understood or heard- and who steps to it.... Teachers are hired to mold and to teach.... not to force in thoughts but to pull forth- to create ideas and questions, But you are all really in the dark and have been for some time, Parents have a big job, you are not your kids buddies- you must mold, help, instruct, give disipline, and beyond the work of the teachers-- it does take a village- sadly the world at large is pandering sex and bad actions.-- Where is the wholesome idea of kids playing, sharing, caring?... kids see sex, violence, hate, rebellion, war, greed and break down of self and country all the time!!! And now we want them to Waltz?---Our country is preverted- we can send a child to war now-18yrs old but want them not to notice the horror-- and beyond that they should not drink and should not engage in sex--- My generation does not know how to raise children (kids of the late 70's-80's) We threw all the rules out for what-- a world of Cyber Crap that is only slowing us down, locking our kids in a room with a control device, vid game or joy stick...Few children go out and play, run, takes in air and climb a trees, Now I hear kids number one thought is will they make it through the day-- and not get gunned down... Kids kill now- and "parents' do nothing but turn on the TV or the Cell phone and give less and less to their kids.... IT"s not the Teachers Fault- Its everyones!

More Middletown foolishness. Nothing more, nothing less. *Yawn*

"ccryder
8:01 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
i agree teachers are part time. no way to measure their performance either. teachers in ri make more than engineers in some instances."

Hey ccryder - What’s wrong with teachers making as much as, or more than, engineers? And tell me again how the engineers learn their skills anyway?

I'm sure there must be a video of their dancing around on some social network. I think it should be found, and let all the people who think this is ok, check it out. Then say what they think. I really think some are thinking of the "old" grinding when there was no contact. If they could see this is just sex with your cloths on, they may feel different...

I think that is an extremely misguided headline in regards to the problems at and cancellation of the homecoming dance. This seems to be about more than just controversial music. From what I have read and heard from students this sounds to me more like a story of teens feeling oppressed by 'new rules' and trying to protest against them. It's my understanding that this year for the homecoming festivities the administration decided to enforce rules previously ignored as well as create some new ones. This was made clear to the students. But to them they were and are unfair, unreasonable, excessively restrictive, and took away their 'right' to makes choices. Taking away or keeping something from a teen that they thought was or should be their God given right will ALWAYS create a controversy. It's all about perspective. Do I agree with their perspective? Nope. I don't have to and they are still entitled to it.
If memory serves, some 15 years ago they only played a certain number of ‘slow’ songs at school dances, homecoming themes had to be cleared by the administration, and as part of a new dress code wearing baseball hats inside the building was banned (another horrific oppression inflicted by the administration). Now it seems silly and I find it very disrespectful for someone to wear their hat in doors. It was unacceptable and disrespectful before, then, or now. I just didn't know that then.

I answer to the question posed..........Damn you Elvis and Chubby Checker...you started it all....Remember, Ed Sulivan wouldn't show Elvis from the waste down. Tsk,tsk. The twist was considerd riske'. just having fun showing my age!!

Part 1 of 2

Among other things, this is another example of the ever-present generational gap. Teenagers vs adults. Teachers, administrators, and parents vs teenage students. Each side has their perspective and it is always very difficult to get either side to appreciate the other’s. But, imposed on these situations is the responsibility that each side has toward the other – a compact, if you will. Teachers, administrators, and parents are responsible for a number of things, but paramount among them is to teach teenagers the code of civil behavior and the omni-present nature of showing respect to superiors, to peers, and to oneself. Students on the other hand, are responsible for conforming to the established rules, recognizing that there is a reason for their existence and, should they disagree with them, to “protest” them in as mature and non-disruptive manner as possible. As young adults, teenage students should also be mature enough to know that they are responsible for their actions. And if their protest should take some untoward or unacceptable form, then they should expect consequences.

Part 2 of 2

Now, in this instance, the administration had informed students of the policies well in advance. In fact, representatives from the student body had approached the administration to request a relaxation of the policy. Their request was considered, but in the end it was denied. It doesn’t take much to jump to a conclusion that at least some of the “protestors” at the dance had attended with a chip already on their shoulder.

I just wish that the adults chaperoning the dance could have devised a better way to isolate the guilty and let the innocent continue enjoying the dance. But I guess it must have been a fairly fast-moving scene without a great deal of cooperation from the students. So in the end, hopefully, both sides have learned lessons. But it is sad when some parents can’t get beyond some warped sense that their child has been wronged, even when many of them were clearly not only in violation of pre-announced rules, but also were attempting to incite others to join them and create further friction and disruption. For them, it appears impossible to see why the administration’s actions were, at least, the safest decision for everyone’s sake.

More on topic with the original question....

I believe Music is controversial because it's a form of rebellion, a right of passage that every teen goes through to some extent. I'm not sure about the pre-Elvis days but I do believe this all started with rock and roll and the fact that we were all going to hell (in-a-handbasket) for listening to it. In my day it was the (later) Beatles, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, etc. Parents were sure their kids were on the road to ruin or destined to become drug addicts or satanists, which didn't happen.

Does anyone remember in the 70s/80s when they tried to make us believe there were sinister messages hidden on albums if you played the record backwards?

For goodness sake people! School dances are a privilege not a right. I'm not sure about Middletown but in NK they are made possible by many, many parent volunteers. I've "worked" my share. I tend to get fun jobs like guarding the doors to keep kids from escaping. No, I'm not a teacher if that matters.
This issue is an easy fix. Parents and kids would need to sign a permission slip stating they will follow rules about dancing, language in music, dress code and whatever else is needed. If kids can't follow the rules to which they and their parents agreed then they will have to be picked up. Our slips back in the day defined how much of a couple's body could be touching! I really wish I had one of those to show you all.
Yes, kids today can be ridiculously entitled and unappreciative. How dare a a whole bunch of people volunteer to do something fun and safe for them! Not knowing anything more than what is written here, it sounds like some kids had a temper tantrum, as spoiled children tend to do. I assume the ones that left broke a rule or two and can be banned from further extra-curricular activities.
It sounds like MHS hired the wrong DJ. Although I'd probably be thrilled chaperoning a dance with alternative music, it's not what kids want. It's not easy to DJ a PG rated event in an R rated world and still get kids to dance and have fun. If anyone would like the the name of a good one we've used, please pm me.

Middletown High never had a problem with our dances in 1974-1977 and we listened and danced to the Stones, Led Zepplin, Davis Bowie, the Clash, the Tubes, Boston, Heart, Aerosmith etc. My how times have changed.

Music was not the problem at the dance. Music has never been a problem, for many years. The problem was the dance being done to the music, the grinding. If the kids had never wanted to do it there would have never been a problem but the music was not the problem.

raven you are so on point with that. this grinding is along with so vulgar music its sickening!

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All of this constitutes reason #437 why I am relieved that I never had children.

Who needs this garbage? Stay home and read a book!