Told to take off coat or get a detention

[beth111]

My teenage boys finally got the health message I have being trying to get through to them for years regarding wearing a coat on cold wet days. During lunch time and recess, in the play ground, they decided to wear their coats to keep warm and dry. However the assistant principal informed them that their coats were not apart of school uniform and if they wore them again they would get a detention. Angry and shocked I wrote the assistant principal a note requesting my children wear a coat for health reasons. With the note in his hand and before discussing with me the heath reasons I had, he told them to take off their coats and that I had no say in the uniform policy. I can't believe Victorian public schools, that offer no warm dry areas for the children to play, would deny children the basic human right to stay warm and dry by telling them to remove their coats. Coats have no 'social value' in schools, in fact my children run the risk at being bullied for wearing one. What makes me more angry is on school excursions children are often told to wear a school uniform and a coat is a mandatory excessary, And why? To ensure children stay dry and warm, so why not extend this basic human right to Victorian children who live in cold wet climates? Teachers wear nice thick warm coats so why are they telling the children not to? I think as parents we need to start standing up to some of the education departments out dated policies, that put our children at risk.

I don't know any teenage boys that choose to wear coats anyway.

They aren't babies, its not cold, and you could just buy them the school coat anyway if you were actually bothered about them, and not just about defying the school rules cos you;re too cool for them.

Sorry Hodooo I think you are being ackward for the sake of it.

First of all, you clearly don't know every single teenagers because around where I live most of them are wearing coats in winter. And in the last few weeks, there has been a few weeks wo one followed by everyone wearing one again.
I'm in the uk too.

Making massive generalisation about 'teenagers will never wear a coat' doesn't help.

And then you are mixing the 'I'm not cold therefore I don't wear a coat' effect with a 'no one wears a coat therefore I'm not wearing because I won't fit in' effect.
The first one is fine. The other isn't (so what we could see two years ago here where no teenagers would wear a coat when it was snowing was all in the name of fitting in -no way they weren't cold between the snow and the wind).

If being cold and wet could really cause illness, then immuno comprised people would be advised to be cautious. We are advised to avoid things like raw fish, unpasteurised cheese and people with infectious diseases but not the rain, funnily enough.

Aren''t they? Isn't that why elderly peole, who are have a lower immunity,, are told to stay warm in winter and why we have a winter allowance?

I've been on immunosuppressive drugs for years and been on many online forums, keeping warm and dry is not the advice given, although of course sensible. There is no link with infection risk. Older people have different issues with keeping warm and mobility and their difficulty in shifting infections if mobility is an issue.

The OP does sound a bit unreasonable, if it's just that she doesn't want her children to wear the regulation coat.

There is no school in Victoria that is telling students to take off their coats in the playground, that's just NOT happening. They will get told to take off whatever name label emblazoned top they prefer to wear instead of the available school jumpers.

A quick look at our local school uniform list shows a choice of: Jumper, Rugby Jumper, blazer, waterproof jacket and a hoodie jumper. And a scarf. There's plenty to choose from to suit the tastes of any discerning teenager to keep them warm.

MidniteScribbler
I'm in Victoria (Australia), and a teacher here, and it's a load of bullshit that there is no school "coat" available. Except we don't call them 'coats', but jumpers, blazers or most public schools even have a hoodie style jacket available to buy. Every school has several choices of school outerwear available to choose from, If you're sending your child in non-uniform outerwear, then of course they'll be told to remove them.

Mid is correct

MidniteScribbler
The OP does sound a bit unreasonable, if it's just that she doesn't want her children to wear the regulation coat.

There is no school in Victoria that is telling students to take off their coats in the playground, that's just NOT happening. They will get told to take off whatever name label emblazoned top they prefer to wear instead of the available school jumpers.

A quick look at our local school uniform list shows a choice of: Jumper, Rugby Jumper, blazer, waterproof jacket and a hoodie jumper. And a scarf. There's plenty to choose from to suit the tastes of any discerning teenager to keep them warm.

Mid is soooo Correct

waves Hi from another Aussie

To all the people who posted on this site without understanding the situation (sorry I was unclear), therefore turning speculation into fact. Thankyou for your ignorant opinions. You are probably the people that made the rule in the first place. To clear up a few things for you, the school jacket in a thin piece of plastic, called a 'wind breaker'. On school excursions the children are told to wear school uniform and bring a warm coat of any kind or colour (the school recognises the wind breaker is not enough). My children attend a state school as you know it. We live in a rural area in Victoria, Australia, therefore changing schools is not an option. The temperature is BELOW 10 degrees often 5, or less, windy and raining. My children started wearing their coats (outside) to keep warm, not knowing such a ridiculous rule existed (so not out of rebellion) or being told by me to do so. They wore them for 4 weeks before it became an issue. Sitting in wet clothes can decrease the body's core temperature and does effect the bodies immune system. Standing up for the basic right to stay warm and dry is not rebellion but is in fact leadership qualities. IN FACT, if people didn't stand up for what's right and fair by staging somewhat of a protest, us women would not be here having this debate. Furthermore for all you people who think they shouldn't be allowed to wear a suitable coat outside. Ask your self this 'Why not?' after all, why do we buy our children warm coats?

It is your fault people didn't understand. You didn't explain properly, don't get arsey with others over your own mistakes.

The school should probably bring in a lined jacket instead of pure windbreaker though. So I agree with you on that.

OP, it's good to see you've found some middle ground.

winters in Australia are horridly cold

PMSL and yes I have been to Australia in your winter, three times and different states.

Sitting in wet clothes can decrease the body's core temperature and does effect the bodies immune system

Please, please do google homeostasis. You clearly have no idea what a core temperature is.

My teenage boys finally got the health message I have being trying to get through to them for years regarding wearing a coat on cold wet days

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My children have been bought up to think for themselves and if somethings not right attempt to change it. You know leadership qualities.

So displaying leadership by finally falling with what their mum thinks (for themselves)?

Teenagers? What high school has a playground for teenagers? It's all about the oval, library, classrooms (if not out of bounds), tuckshop or buggering off to Maccas during lunch.

If a reasonable child (or adult) goes outside in the rain and gets wet on purpose then it's their own fault. A teenager should know that rain equals wet and cold. No one is making them go outside in the rain.

And yes (as an Australian living in Australia) I understand the weather and uniforms. I went to school in Toowoomba Queensland. Try having a school on the edge of a mountain range. It might be a lovely 15'c but the wind chill factor drops it to 5'c or lower some days. We were never stupid enough to go out in the rain in inappropriate clothing.

The whole concept of 'winters in Australia are horridly cold' is a bit silly.

It's a flipping huge country - winter in Hobart bears no resemblance to winter in Kununurra.

Koala it's 25'c where I am now. Fans on, doors and windows open and am wearing shorts and a singlet. Night time though is winter pj's and a hot water bottle in bed

Put a sad face article in the local press. Schools hate that

Some schools are really daft, rules for rules sake. Blazers to be worn in July, coats not allowed in rain and cold.

When I was a teenager there was a 'playground' at school. We weren't allowed to stay indoors or leave the school grounds. I have younger relatives who currently attend the same school and they tell me the rules are still the same.

No issues here with wearing coats though, as long as it is a school approved one. It is cold for most of the year and people generally wear their coats, including the teenagers.

Teenagers? What high school has a playground for teenagers?

Quite normal in Britain, except on urban school sites where there isn't the space.

I have no idea why other posters were confused about what the OP meant. It seemed pretty clear to me.

It's also pretty unfair to assert "this is not happening", if you don't believe theOP then report her.

Just5mins.

Thank you, you expressed what I have been thinking so much more eloquently than I could.

OP

I agree that some school rules/uniform policies are draconian verging on mad . At my DDs school all girls aged between 11-15 had to wear bright yellow woolly tights (of the sort babies wear) throughout the winter months including April when temps might be 20 degrees +. Can you imagine a 5' 6" size 14 teenager in those? Ridiculous, but in other more important ways the school was great and DDs were happy there so we put up and shut up.

When you disagree with a policy you debate it, you contact the governors, you write to the head, challenge through the courts, contact the press etc etc. You won't change the rules by ignoring them or writing your own rule book.

No high schools here have playgrounds (swings and slides etc) that is a primary school thing. It might be normal in the UK but not here. I would have loved a playground when in high school.

A lot of schools (state schools usually not private) here allow students to leave school during lunch time or during spare periods.