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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to tell DD to stay put and not do what her teacher has just told her?

241 replies

quackermoomoo · 16/11/2011 09:48

DD1 is in 6 form - they don't have a uniform, their rules just say that nothing lowcut or very short, beach attire etc

I'm spanish - my great GP all fought on Republican side in civil war, GP involved against Franco as were parents.

My Grandfather bought my DD a t-shirt for her birthday a few days ago. She really likes it (okay so it is winter so she is wearing a long sleeved black top under it) and went to school wearing it. It has a montif of Dolores Ibarruri on the side. (DD has just got very into our family history)

She has just phoned to say she has been told to go home. She is obviously shocked. The school send people home to get changed if clothes dont match the code. Head of 6 form told her that political symbols are againt school rules - I just checked no where in cotract she signed does it say that.

I have seen students walking to school past our house wearing tops with Che Guevara on and one person in DS1 class wore a Tory party top when the elction was on (he is at uni) and they were allowed to wear it.

She doesn't want to go home and change and I don't think she should have to.

I told her to stay put and if head says anything tell him to phone me. We shall wait and see

AIBU to not back up school?

OP posts:
MissM · 16/11/2011 09:56

I think you should phone the school directly and tell them all of this. They might not even know who Dolores Ibarruri is (I don't either, apologies for my ignorance).

gordyslovesheep · 16/11/2011 09:58

YABNU phone the school

Original poster
quackermoomoo · 16/11/2011 10:03

one of the leaders of the communists esp during the civil war MissM Rememebered for puplic speaking, (she was very good at that ) Batte of Madrid and basically being a leader. We have a photo of her with my Great Granddad (which was his pride and joy)

OP posts:
gordyslovesheep · 16/11/2011 10:04

My Grandfather would have been hugely jealous of those photos - his mum stopped him running away to join the civil war!

squeakytoy · 16/11/2011 10:06

She could simply put the long sleeve black top OVER the tshirt for the time being.

BoysBoysBoysAndMe · 16/11/2011 10:08

I would phone the school and say to the Head what you just wrote about other pupils wearing political clothing. If it isn't in the rules then the school don't have a leg to stand on.

It's not even political for the UK is it?

YANBU

Original poster
quackermoomoo · 16/11/2011 10:08

But why should she squeaky? she isn't breaking a school rule. she is wearing a top with a historical figure on it.

OP posts:
MissM · 16/11/2011 10:09

Thanks. My grandad would also have been jealous, and horrified that I had to ask! I do think you should phone the school and explain though - your daughter could use it to her advantage and teach her fellow pupils a thing or two in citizenship lessons!

SirBoobAlot · 16/11/2011 10:09

I don't think YABU. I would speak to the head, not just dd though.

squeakytoy · 16/11/2011 10:10

To save her coming home, and missing out on a days education. I am not saying that she shouldnt be able to wear it, but for the sake of keeping the peace for the moment it is a workable solution.

UniS · 16/11/2011 10:17

Did DD tell school it was a communist leader on the T-shirt or was it a savvy teacher who knew/ worked it out from thd imagery? If DD told them.. then she's been a pillock and has to take the consequence. The iconic che image has lost its political potancy and few people wearing it know who he is I fear.

If its one of these Ts I think I'm with school , not really suitable school wear are they? and pretty blatantly communist with the red star and red scarf.
Equally unsuitable would be one of these Also Not exactly political.

BeerTricksPotter · 16/11/2011 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fluffywhitekittens · 16/11/2011 10:18

I would phone the school. Seems a bit odd really. Unless she is just wearing the t shirt ? Wink

UniS · 16/11/2011 10:18

Just a thought - why can' t she just TAKE IT OFF, she has a long sleeve top on under it you said in OP.

gordyslovesheep · 16/11/2011 10:21

she shouldn;t have to - she is in 6th form - there is not rule against political T Shirts that the OP is aware of and I can;t, for the life of me, see what is wrong with a communist T shirt?

BlueFergie · 16/11/2011 10:26

This is BS. There is no way she should take it off. If there is no rule against political clothing and they have allowed Che t shirts and a Tory t shirt in the past then they can not apply a different rule now. Whats the problem with it being obviously communist? Communism is a valid political ideology. It mightn't be everyones cup of tea but you can't ban a t shirt based on the fact that you don't like the politics of the person dipicted. Or if you do you have to do it for all.

MincePieFlavouredVoidka · 16/11/2011 10:27

What reason have they given?

MissM · 16/11/2011 10:37

If the Che image has lost his political clout then why would this image of a Spanish communist leader from the 1930s carry enough clout to be threatening? Does this mean pupils can't wear a t-shirt showing iconic leaders such as Mao Tse Tung, or Martin Luther King, or even Oliver Cromwell (ok, perhaps that one's not so iconic!)

Bathsheba · 16/11/2011 10:41

You say yourself that the boy you saw wearing the Tory party top was at University. She isn't at university, she is at school.

Keep the tshirt until she is at universtiy and she can really wear what she likes.

Thumbwitch · 16/11/2011 10:41

Who is it offending? If there is someone there that is feeling particularly offended or threatened by your DD wearing it, then perhaps it would be politic (ha, see what I did there?) for her to remove it. But if the teacher is being an arse about it for no good reason, then the Head should be involved and your DD should be allowed to wear it as there is nothing specific in the rules to say that she can't, and other people have been allowed to wear other political leader symbols/emblems.

But you need to go through the school's authority for this, not encourage your DD to defy the teacher just because.

MmeLindor. · 16/11/2011 10:43

Phone the school and ask to speak to the HT. Don't leave it or she will again be told to go home and get more distressed.

Tell the headteacher that unless this is in school policy, and she/he can show you the relevant passage then your DD is staying in school. Also mention the other tshirts you have seen children wearing.

cory · 16/11/2011 10:45

I think this demonstrates the importance of having very clear school rules, not inventing them on the spur of the moment.

But you will make that point better by communicating with the head, not by instructing your dd to disobey flat out.

A1980 · 16/11/2011 10:46

*I'm spanish - my great GP all fought on Republican side in civil war, GP involved against Franco as were parents.

My Grandfather bought my DD a t-shirt for her birthday a few days ago. She really likes it (okay so it is winter so she is wearing a long sleeved black top under it) and went to school wearing it. It has a montif of Dolores Ibarruri on the side. (DD has just got very into our family history)*

I have no clue who Dolores Ibarruri is (sorry) and I'd wager no one at the school would either. She probably shot her mouth off at college telling everyone who it was and the politics behind it given her pride in it all and yours. Perhaps it was her attitude rather than the t-shirt that alerted the teachers to it and told her to take it off.

aldiwhore · 16/11/2011 10:47

I'd ring the school first and speak to the head, saying that you cannot find any reference to this 'rule' to which they're referring, also mention the other political slogans you've seen. Tell the head that you dd will be returning to school in the same clothes until such time that there is a formal rule change of clarification.

I'm all for a 6th former standing up for themselves, but I think sometimes its okay for parents to step in.

fedupofnamechanging · 16/11/2011 10:47

What's wrong with kids expressing a political opinion? So long as they understand what they are saying?

OP, my DC history teacher has a Stalin mug and posters of him and Che Guevara on her classroom walls. By your school's logic, she should be sent home too.

I would call the school and tell them that unless they can produce a copy of these 'rules', then they need to wind their neck in.