I grew up in a time when school dances were pretty popular. We had homecoming, and turnabout, and maybe a winter dance and prom. There was slow dancing to Chicago...color my world... and fast dancing to BTO. You went to a dance with a boy. You were asked by a boy. If you were fortunate.
When my boys were in high school they attended a conservative Christian school that did not allow dancing. At all. So they did not attend dances. I had heard of this...at schools like Wheaton College. (No drinking, No smoking, No dancing, No hankiepankie)
My boys didn't really care. Not going to a dance was no biggie for them.
Emma's homeschool group had proms. Which she attended and danced at.
But by now...girls can go to dances with other groups of girls and same with guys.
I happen to love this idea! I didn't really care about my prom dates. I just wanted to wear a pretty dress. Going with my girlfriends would have been just fine with me.
This morning as Katie and I were chatting about this very topic, Katie held her arms up as in a dance hold and declared,
"Make sure there's room for Jesus."
She claims a nearby Catholic school tells the students this as they prepare for a dance.
The things she comes up with just crack me up.
Oh. And by the way.
Good rule.
Encourage one another,
Donna and Katie
First off, you and Susie look so young, fresh-faced and beautiful! And you are rocking that red lipstick!
ReplyDeleteMolly just had her (Catholic high school) prom last Friday and, as at all their dances, the kids are warned not to dance too closely. The girls had a prom facebook page where they posted pictures of their dresses in the months leading up to the dance. One of the girls posted a picture of a couple dancing with Jesus in between them stating "Make room for Jesus." I totally agree it's a good rule. :)
Mary Z
Mary!! Those are fake wax lips!! Haha!
DeleteI love these Catholic schools. Can't believe you have heard this expression.
DeleteI never heard of this before, and I'm a church lady of the first order (ho ho)
DeleteI love the way you described Katie demonstrating the whole theory!
Plus the photos are darling!#
It was in several movies in the 80s - gimme a minute and I'll come up with it. We went in groups for homecoming and junior girls, but prom and senior ball were just for couples. So I always went with buddies. I didn't date in high school... We had our group of friends break off into couples so we could all still go together. /)
DeleteWax lips!! Haha! Obviously my eyesight is lacking a bit of clarity. You were a jokester back in the day, too, I see! :)
DeleteColor My World was one of my very favorite slow dance tunes. Ahhhh...such good memories....
Mary Z
My husband was in a band in college (bass player) and Color my World was one of his very few solos. That and Sweet Caroline ;-)
DeleteHilarious!
ReplyDeleteHa! I went to a Catholic school where we had occasional dances, and we were told to leave room for the Holy Spirit. Glad to hear this is still in circulation. ;)
ReplyDeleteLeaving room for the Holy Spirit seems a little more lenient... ;)
DeleteI agree, the Holy Spirit takes up no room at all ;-)
DeleteYou never heard the leave room for Jesus rule?! Protestants like it too.
ReplyDeleteApparently we were a bunch of heathens at Wheaton central high school. Ha!!!
DeleteI have seen my kids joke on facebook, if there is a chummy couple picture..."Um, where's the room for Jesus?" It makes me laugh.
ReplyDeleteI have seen lots of pics of kids going to dances where there is an uneven number of guys and girls. I was wondering if you could just go with your friends now.
With Brennan going to school next year, this is the first time I have looked beyond the homeschool prom. And our homeschool prom is AWESOME! They held it at the California Automobile Museum, so they were surrounded by classic cars. Claire thought she was in heaven. But now Brennan will be entering a whole new world. I have gotten really used to being one of the less conservative members of my world...and now the tables will be turned. I think it will be Mom that has the most to learn.
Your song memories from high school dances are spot on for me. Chicago slow dances!
Di
I can't believe I've never heard the "make room for Jesus" thing! How did I ever miss hearing that?!?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, wax lips?! Do they even sell those anymore? Indeed priceless :)
I only have one word for the whole "dances" experience nowadays.....DRAMA!
Blessings,
Tammy ~@~
I went to Catholic grade and high schools ... the high school was "girls only" but we shared a campus with another order who had a "boys only" high school. There were dances. We had to leave room for Jesus, not wear patent leather shoes (they reflected up), white blouses would either remind boys of bedsheets ... or ... allow them to see the lines of your lingerie. I didn't die ... I had lots of "boy friends" as well as dates for dances and prom. It was a good time and a good age ... wish the kids today didn't feel so much "pressure". Oh, by the way ... it was in 1963-1967 when the Beatles first arrived and there was hysteria in the air ... we survived very well. I think our parents and teachers (nuns and priests) needed extra fortification at times though ... LOL Linda
ReplyDeleteWhite shirts= bed sheets.
ReplyDeleteAstonishing.
Reflecting shoes!! Gasp! Oh my!!
DeleteI remember reading about the school that doesn't allow girls to have wet hair because of the idea of girls taking showers leading to all sorts of things. But reflecting shoes...who would've thunk?
DeleteIt is a miracle any of us come through youth unscathed.
Di
One of the high schools here (ND) has 4 or 5 dances a year, homecoming is semiformal, prom is formal. During prom 2013, some kids were dancing in ways that created complaints (like you would expect people to dance in a night club in a larger city, not in a high school). This caused the adminstrators to create the "face to face with lots of space" rule. My husband adds 'with room for the holy spirit" at the end of that line. The 1st dance of the year this school year, admin was monitoring the dancing & almost all of the students left (I heard only 5 stayed at the school) & found an empty parking lot to have their own dance in. (Reminds me of Footloose.) Dances have been poorly attended since, except homecoming & prom. I agree they are in high school & shouldn't dance as if they're at a club, but I also think it's sad they are pushing kids away from an alcohol & drug free place.
ReplyDeleteRachel in ND
Rachel, I agree. But I have heard some rather horrifying stories of what happens in the middle of the tight knit group on the dance floor...from a therapist who deals with the post-dance trauma for the girls involved. I was a naive and happy high schooler; I think it is sad that these kinds of choices spoil it for those who just want to have some fun.
DeleteDi
In my day, if you weren't asked by a boy, you didn't get to go. I never got to go to prom… *sniff.*
ReplyDeleteAltho my father was not a Baptist, we attended a Baptist church during my adolescence and eventually I married the son of a Baptist minister: all this to explain that neither of us are comfortable dancers. We were both too old when we began to dance! What a shame ... because I LOVE dancing ... at least in theory!
ReplyDeleteOh! My! Stars! "Make room for Jesus!"...
ReplyDeletesis' cindy :)
The chaperones at our school say that all the time!! And....NO TWERKING. LOL :)
ReplyDeleteAt my girls' schools (Catholic), they say "leave room for the Holy Spirit!" I love it!
ReplyDeleteJane
LOL I love it! I am filing that one away for the future!
ReplyDeleteOh, I just laughed out loud at this! LOVE it so. :) My little elementary schooler is going to a strict Baptist school in the fall....I'm wondering what their social rules and norms will be. Give us something to look back on, I suppose! :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAh, Color My World by Chicago. Yes, I remember those dances. We had sororities in our high school. Three of them. Two put on dances at Christmas and one (mine) put on a dance in the Spring. So with prom we had four dances we could attend each year. Wow. I, too, love the option of going with a bunch of girlfriends to a dance. My mama said when they were in school the girls danced with each other just because the boys wouldn't dance. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's a different world with the music and dancing nowadays which is sad. Although, there are those kids like Katie who will influence for the good.