From the 1920s Flappers on to punk rockers in the ’80s, every generation of American young people has found a way of rebelling that makes their parents uncomfortable. And from the comfortable distance of past decades, some of those parents look a little silly for objecting to what now seem like tame expressions of independence.

But that doesn’t mean those parents were wrong. Part of the adults’ job is to educate and instruct young people about the social norms of society, as they have been passed on. The idea that some of them may someday be old-fashioned is not a reason to let the kids do whatever they feel like doing.

This is the issue faced by school administrators who are running into a style of dancing called grinding, in which the students rub up against each other, simulating sex.

A number of school districts have taken action, informing students that they would be kicked out of this year’s homecoming dance for inappropriate dancing. Windham schools have canceled all dances except the senior prom.

An overreaction? Put yourself in the position of the administrators: This touching would be a criminal act if it was not consensual, and a chaperone at a dance is in no position to know who has given what consent to whom. How are they expected to keep children, and teenagers are children, safe in such an environment?

Not all teenage rebellion is later considered innocent. Few would argue that the prevalence of drug use and underage sex in the ’60s and ’70s were harmless.

Adults can’t predict the future; they can only pass on the community’s values as they currently understand them. The kids don’t have to like it, but the adults in their lives have a responsibility to keep them safe, and school officials are justified in taking a strong stance against grinding.