I was and am a big advocate for school uniforms because I was bullied b/c of my clothing and shoes in school. even came home with a broken arm once because of it.
but this, this is some sick racist shit.
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UK School threatens legal action after Muslim girl told skirt is ‘too long’
- Thread starter Puroresu_kid
- Start date
but this, this is some sick racist shit.
Here, they were sent home because the skirt was too short.
That shit is so unreal I thought it was a typo.
I'm getting it. I'm just being facetious. Personal choice does not exist in these schools regarding school uniforms. That's the whole point with school uniforms.
To an extent. The general conceit of school uniforms is tohide wealth inequality amongst class-mates.), as well as officially brand the students so that people on the street can tell which school you belong to.
Exceptions are generally made though for religious items. In past court cases people genuinely win when they sue a school on the grounds of religious clothing discrimination.
Thing is, personal choice clearly does exist, because she has the choice of a skirt or trousers. There is no reason why that choice could not be extended to trousers and a small range of skirt lengths. I suspect that that's how this story will eventually be resolved - the school will realise that they're being complete idiots, drop any threat of legal action, and make the single phone call to their supplier that would be needed to expand their uniform selection, something that they should have done long ago.
I'm sorry to hear that, friend. School uniforms didn't stop bullying when we had them, unfortunately. We had people getting picked on because of the brands they wore. I was bullied myself because I couldn't afford name brand clothes or shoes.
Punishing a student because they don't want to wear a short skirt is heavily sus on the admin's end.
These are students ffs, not sex objects.
These are students ffs, not sex objects.
Get rid of school uniform?
So kids pick on poor kids because they can't afford better clothes or wear the same clothes?
No thanks.
So kids pick on poor kids because they can't afford better clothes or wear the same clothes?
No thanks.
Yeah, so we had to all wear the same pants/shirts and chukka boots. I agree that they'll find a way but it definitely helped a bit in my situation. I'm sorry that you had to endure that.
Yuuuup. This shit is expensive as well, someone I work with was running down how much he was going to have to spend for his daughters stuff and I'd have been telling them to fuck off. One branded blazer/shirt/jumper/whatever should be more than enough.
It comes with positives. I'm relatively wealthy now, but I'll never forget what it was like to be less well off.
The school went to great lengths to make themselves look bad.
With all the stuff kids have to deal with, the hierarchy, finding your place, you have to factor in the clothes you have to wear and where that puts you.
So long as a skirt doesn't have a fucking train, I don't really see the purpose for a dress code stipulating a maximum length. Seems like what they had been doing, just tastefully ignoring the violation, was the right call. Really this feels designed to protect the vendors of the official clothes, otherwise you would just have the official jacket and tie, with some reasonable guidelines around the shirt and pants/skirt.
That would be a reasonable solution.
Yes, it does seem like others have won cases like this in the UK. The solution is above seems to be an easy way out of court expenses and embarrasment.
Well yes. If she's wearing a long one and no long ones are approved, of course it's visible. Still not a profit thing as you mentioned.
Ideally the school should approve some long skirt versions, the supplier should sell them, and then we can argue whether she wants to wear the supplier provided long one vs. her own long one as a profit motive.
Here in the US in some school districts that have uniform requirements lots of local stores sell approved items in the appropriate colors/lengths/styles. So you can go to lots of stores and get clothes that have stickers/tags on them as approved. That way there's a tiny bit of variety but they all have to adhere to price points/limitations on design/style. And, very importantly, they have to be available in a wide size range, so there's no "your kid is too heavy/tall to wear the fancy brand that only makes super slim versions of their dress".
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When I was in school (about 12 years ago now), all the girls wore ankle length skirts and long sleeved shirts/sweaters. Boys wore full suits and ties.
When did wearing a long skirt become an issue? It's ridiculous to require school kids to wear short skirts.
When did wearing a long skirt become an issue? It's ridiculous to require school kids to wear short skirts.
It's going to be pretty clear cut, exemptions are offered regularly based on social/cultural issues across the country, and that is the advice given by DoE too, I believe. Not exactly sure why the school would go so far to do this (Racism/Bigotry don't seem likely given she is wearing other religious clothing) so the most reasonable answer would be that they don't have an approved supplier for a longer skirt, so they are worried about the money from their contracts...
Yes, in serious cases can result in imprisonment (For the parents) ((You can opt to home school, but I believe there are checks in place and has to be pre-arranged etc))
Yes, in serious cases can result in imprisonment (For the parents) ((You can opt to home school, but I believe there are checks in place and has to be pre-arranged etc))
Anyone saying that school uniforms are a bad idea clearly never grew up with them, or was never bullied for being one of the poor kids. They're important.
But enforcing rules like these, where students are required to wear branded clothing, and the brand does not have options for Muslims, is clearly not okay.
Frankly, I don't like the idea of someone's religion making these demands of someone, but that's an entirely different problem. She's dressed just like any of the Muslim girls were at the schools I went to, and no-one had a problem with that.
The only time I can remember there ever being an "issue" was when one of my friends decided to start wearing a pinafore rather than a skirt, but it was permitted within the dress code - it's just that no-one chose to wear one. And that was the end of it.
The rules for uniforms should be that a skirt has to be black and no shorter than a certain length; e.g. must be worn to reach the knees, but anything longer is permitted.
Requiring branded clothing, beyond a specific tie or patch/trim to be sewn onto a blazer, is completely unacceptable for public schooling.
At best, these rules are extremely short-sighted and based on trying to make a profit off the uniforms - which should not be permitted. At worst, it comes off as Islamophobic. Neither is a good look.
But it also doesn't surprise me at all that this would happen, after my encounters with head teachers/school management. You have to wonder how some of them ever managed to end up in the position, and they certainly let that 'power' get to their heads.
But enforcing rules like these, where students are required to wear branded clothing, and the brand does not have options for Muslims, is clearly not okay.
Frankly, I don't like the idea of someone's religion making these demands of someone, but that's an entirely different problem. She's dressed just like any of the Muslim girls were at the schools I went to, and no-one had a problem with that.
The only time I can remember there ever being an "issue" was when one of my friends decided to start wearing a pinafore rather than a skirt, but it was permitted within the dress code - it's just that no-one chose to wear one. And that was the end of it.
The rules for uniforms should be that a skirt has to be black and no shorter than a certain length; e.g. must be worn to reach the knees, but anything longer is permitted.
Requiring branded clothing, beyond a specific tie or patch/trim to be sewn onto a blazer, is completely unacceptable for public schooling.
At best, these rules are extremely short-sighted and based on trying to make a profit off the uniforms - which should not be permitted. At worst, it comes off as Islamophobic. Neither is a good look.
But it also doesn't surprise me at all that this would happen, after my encounters with head teachers/school management. You have to wonder how some of them ever managed to end up in the position, and they certainly let that 'power' get to their heads.
Yes. Kids are required to be in school or receive approved home schooling. It's in part to prevent child abuse, and child indoctrination by religious fundamentalists, and to make sure they integrate into society and speak the language and so forth.
What a stupid decision. I don't have a problem whatsoever with a strict school uniform policy, it's a good thing. However this is escalated to stupidity. Have a minimum skirt length so girls can choose and branding on anything but a blazer or tie is way overboard and stupid.
Because it's her choice and nobody else's opinion is relevant? As long as it's not nudity or highly distracting the teachers should mind their own business
As someone NOT from a Muslim background, I sense an element of Islamophobia in this story. They're using this kid as a wedge for their personal problems. I feel really bad for the kid.
How about she just gets to wear whatever she wants to wear? It's really not that hard. A skirt is still a skirt regardless of whether it's a mini, a midi or a maxi and both boys and girls should be able to define their uniforms as they choose - whether they want to wear shorts, trousers or skirts of any length.
Costs of uniforms on the other hand also acts as a barrier for the poor.
She wouldn't be punished for a skirt too long if there wasn't a financial motive in the kids wearing a branded school uniform.
Well, explicitly, uniforms are about kids not getting a choice.
No they're not. Uniforms are explicitly used because they're meant to look smart and tidy. You wear the uniform, you represent the school, and they don't want to be represented by a scraggy kid. That's why they're so particular about your tie being worn properly and keeping your uniform clean.
There's nothing unkempt about a skirt that reaches your ankles and I went to a Catholic school myself and while they had a minimum skirt length requirement they definitely didn't have a maximum skirt length requirement as well. I can't imagine how pissed the parents would've been when I was a kid if the teachers had been, like, "your skirt needs to cover your arse but it can't cover your knees".
This is dumb.
At my school we only had to pay for a school sweater with the logo on and it was subsidised for poor families who couldn't buy one like one of my friends. We were free to wear any kind of black/grey trousers and any kind of smartwear shoes. Pretty useful cos i'd wear them for funerals/weddings too lol. I don't think we even had skirts as an option in Junior/Senior school. If we did i didn't ever wear one and no other girl did either.
At my school we only had to pay for a school sweater with the logo on and it was subsidised for poor families who couldn't buy one like one of my friends. We were free to wear any kind of black/grey trousers and any kind of smartwear shoes. Pretty useful cos i'd wear them for funerals/weddings too lol. I don't think we even had skirts as an option in Junior/Senior school. If we did i didn't ever wear one and no other girl did either.
Yup. I got really fucking lucky that the head of my high school at the time worked hard to foster an environment where everyone was welcome (and his frequent trips to the Indian subcontinent really helped with that). But from my own primary school experiences, and what I've heard from others, there's a lot of racism among higher ups in schools.
Yeah, the skirt length should definitely not be a problem here.
It's weird how it's the other way around for boys. In 2017, a group of school boys protested because they were not allowed to wear shorts in the hot summers and instead had to wear trousers. They protested by wearing skirts.
www.theguardian.com
It's weird how it's the other way around for boys. In 2017, a group of school boys protested because they were not allowed to wear shorts in the hot summers and instead had to wear trousers. They protested by wearing skirts.
Teenage boys wear skirts to school to protest against 'no shorts' policy
Dozens of pupils at Isca academy in Exeter stage uniform protest after school insists they wear trousers despite heatwave
www.theguardian.com
This is ludicrous and all about the branding/contract with the clothing supplier. Kicking a girl out of school because her skirt is a couple of inches too long and thus not the approved uniform is just weird. It's like, at my school (25+ years ago) we had black blazers with the school logo on, but were free to pick and choose anything else as long as it was vaguely the right colour, smart shoes rather than trainers, girls had a minimum length for skirts but could choose trousers instead.
My daughter is in school uniform and it's pretty similar. There's a variety they can wear within a guide of colours, but all the local supermarkets sell variants of it at different prices. The only specific branded thing they have is on sweaters/cardigans with a small school logo on the front. Putting the whole 'your skirt must be our specific branded one' rather than just a minimum length and a colour is stupid. Who can tell given that kids can vary wildly in height in the same peer group anyway.
My daughter is in school uniform and it's pretty similar. There's a variety they can wear within a guide of colours, but all the local supermarkets sell variants of it at different prices. The only specific branded thing they have is on sweaters/cardigans with a small school logo on the front. Putting the whole 'your skirt must be our specific branded one' rather than just a minimum length and a colour is stupid. Who can tell given that kids can vary wildly in height in the same peer group anyway.
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I've heard of school sending kids home for wearing to short a skirt but never because a skirt was to long, what a weird school.
We had the same argument about shorts in the 90s too at my school, but the answer was a less pithy 'wear a skirt if you want' and a more draconian 'we're getting you ready for business dress'.Yeah, the skirt length should definitely not be a problem here.
It's weird how it's the other way around for boys. In 2017, a group of school boys protested because they were not allowed to wear shorts in the hot summers and instead had to wear trousers. They protested by wearing skirts.
Teenage boys wear skirts to school to protest against 'no shorts' policy
Dozens of pupils at Isca academy in Exeter stage uniform protest after school insists they wear trousers despite heatwave
I'm sure the supplier can accommodate to provide a skirt suitable for the student in question, if asked, but I don't think that's the solution the school wants to arrive to. Also, it's weird to see a student being punished because her skirt was too long...
These aren't 'short skirts' as in above the knee, the story states 'shorter skirt'. Her dad say the ankle length skirt she has been wearing is 'a few cm longer than her classmates', so from that it sounds like the branded one being promoted (literally in this case) is a pretty standard shin-length school one. Doesn't make the school's decision to say she can't come back until she wears it, before threatening to take the father to court over not sending her to school when she refuses, any less ridiculous though. Especially when teenagers vary wildly in height even in the same year, and policing a few cm of skirt length below the knee seem like an exercise in making money rather than a point of principle about everyone adhering to the school uniform guide. I mean, she's been wearing it for years and nobody noticed or minded. Her sisters wore it too. Looks like it's paired with a blouse, school tie and blazer with a school badge anyway. Why on earth is this an issue worth making a fuss over now? It just stinks of profit rather than reason. if loads of other girls want to wear smart ankle length skirts in the right colour too, why not let them.
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I can get the regulations that a skirt must not be shorted than a particular length. I can't see how a skirt being longer than the stated length is a problem unless it's dragging on the floor and is a safety issue (which it obviously isn't). I'd be interested in reading why they didn't want to go the trouser route though. That seems like it would be the path that satisfied the issues for both parties. That it's gotten this far and gone to court proceedings is nonsense though imo.
the school has a problem with skirts but lets the kids wear AF1s?The skirt in question
