<p>Now I disagree…who of us was irreparably harmed by any of the bad uniforms, the mandatory communal showers, the tales of utter failure at the ropes? To me, it builds character…something that I think our kids can be alittle lacking given the preponderance of needing to “keep up their self esteem.” I know that’s a contrary opinion, but I still question this protection shield we’ve set up around kids. My S1 was really upset in high school because some of the team traditions, which were perfectly harmless, silly and decades old like dying their hair the school colors, evoked a phone call from one of the kid’s mother to the superintendent saying that it was “hazing.” I sometimes think we’d be better off letting our kids “suffer” through the anxieties of being a member of general society. I’m also probably more sensitive by nature of my job to the fact that companies spend an inordinate amount of time and money these days trying to get younger employees to understand diversity, learn to work in teams, tolerate personality differences, etc. many of the “turf” type stuff we all learned in the communal showers. I didn’t “love it” either, but I think I’m a stronger person because of it.</p>