Girls told to wear longer skirts at school because the boys are distracted and male teachers feel uncomfortable.

[Exercisejunkieforlife]

My DD is 15, yesterday all the girls were kept behind in assembly and told they must wear skirts from the official uniform shop.
I have no problem with this as this is where we get DDs skirts, my problem is with the reasons given.

They were told that it distracts the boys when the girls walk up the stairs and makes the male teachers feel uncomfortable.

AIBU to think that the girls should not have to modify their behaviour / what they wear so the 'boys' don't look up their skirts and that the male teachers are responsible for their own feelings. ?

Bit then if course just to really take the piss they then have to hunukkiate people further with pe kits...

Squeezing everyone into cycling shorts and teeny tennis/netball skirts

Giles

Agree with giles

Male teachers also have to be aware of accusations agaisnt them. It's other people thinking they're looking at the girls' legs that they might be worried about.

I'm the mum of teen boys and a teen girl. I absolutely hate the way that a lot of the girls dress - I do think it's unnecessarily distracting for the boys who let's face it, are very much at the mercy of teen hormones. I don't think it's fair to either the boys or male teachers to have to face girls dressed in such a provocative way. It puts the male teachers in particular at risk of all sorts of accusations - yes they should have control and I am certain that nearly all don't take advantage, but accusations can be made by teenaged girls and can ruin a teacher's life.

I also think that girls should be taught that they have to dress modestly in certain situations - I personally don't think that the Friday and Saturday night clubbers are dressed particularly well when they have vast amounts of cleavage and leg on show. But that's not my business and they can do what they like. Workwear - which is what school uniform is - should be appropriate for all persons in the school from the children through to the head. Some heads to need to have a word with some of the female teachers as well.

Kids can of course dress in what they like when not in school - though personally I think the belt, tights and half a t shirt as an outfit is a bit chilly.

The vast majority of girls are perfectly capable of wearing school uniform, and wear it inappropriately because they want to. If you walk around any secondary school you'll see plenty of larger girls with bigger boobs who do manage to wear correct uniform. I've taught some today. They actually looked pretty smart. Unlike the ones who had hoiked their skirts right up, showing acres of thigh. Besides which, whinging about the skirts is pretty irrelevant in almost all state schools, as the girls are allowed to wear trousers.

I'm not particularly pro-uniform but I think that an awful lot of the excuses trotted out by people for not wearing correct uniform are bollocks.

- I do think it's unnecessarily distracting for the boys who let's face it, are very much at the mercy of teen hormones. I don't think it's fair to either the boys or male teachers to have to face girls dressed in such a provocative way. It puts the male teachers in particular at risk of all sorts of accusations -
At the mercy of teen hormones!! Seriously!!

Let's hope none of these teen boys or grown men who struggle so much with the provocative way girls dress, are ever say on a beach or swimming pool. How on earth could they possible control themselves and not become so distracted they drown or something. And what about male swimming teachers or pe teachers, they must surely have accusations thrown at them all the time, being around all those scantly clad girls!

I was never a massive rule breaker at school, my skirt was probably a couple of inches shorter than the regulation no more than 2 inches above knee, I had some lace on my white bras and wore a small amount of makeup, maybe snuck the odd bit of jewellery on.
Trousers were my bug bear as I just couldn't get school approved trousers that fit with out being tight on my bum, I'm small size 6/8 but I have boobs and a bum, but a tiny waist, so trousers without a bit of stretch wouldn't fit my bum or would be too big on my waist. And no Lycra allowed! A teacher used to actually pull your trousers to see if they stretched! Yet I saw plenty of boys in trousers fitting tight over their bums.

Yes have a uniform policy, but make it fair and accept that not everyone's bodies are the same. And don't tell teen girls that they are in any way responsible for the actions of boys or men and that they should have to think about what they wear in realtion to how males will look at them!!

I like the sounds of hunukkiate people I think I will go and threaten my GC, who are currently fighting like a pair of cats in a sack, "Granny is going to hunukkiate you if you don't stop." Wonder if it will work?

Stupid Samsung update on having to 're teach autocorrect everything again grrr..

Sure you can figure out what it really meant though

If their underwear is visible when they're walking up stairs then they should be required to wear longer skirts. Teenage boys are going to look. If male teachers are "uncomfortable" however, that is creepy and weird and they are in the wrong job. They should NEVER be sexually distracted by children.

It DISTRACTS the boys NOT the teachers!!! So many people seem to have confused this.... And it's key to the message.
Yes very worrying if it distracts teachers. They DID NOT say this - they said it makes them feel uncomfortable. Well I'd be worried if it to didn't make teachers feel uncomfortable!? Maybe they could have just said teachers rather than male- but hey ho- they are human.

its very weird.

So many posters equating "uncomfortable" to "sexual".

I love how people dont know the difference between uncomfortable and sexual

OP, I agree with you. But at the same time I don't think children should be allowed to wear mini skirts to school anyway. It's just not appropriate. They are still children.

Aside from the original OP, just s general question. Is it now standard or a fashion for girls to have really short skirts. There's a secondary nearby and all the girls wear a really short black skirt. I'd say mid-thigh. Is this the same in all
State secondaries?

We'd have got so told off in my day.

Agree with the school.
You can tell the standard of school by the uniform, & if girls are turning up in short skirts it doesn't give a good impression at all.
I wouldn't send my kids to a school where pupils were allowed to basically dress like they're on a night out.
Just my opinion though ( actually no it isn't, I know loads of people who think the same )

Teachers often "see" more than pupils due to their position in the classroom - at the front looking directly ahead most of the time. People aren't always aware of what is showing when they sit down etc.

I'm a female teacher. I teacher Drama. Girls who can't participate in the practical aspects of the lessons because they're wearing very short skirts and the slightest movement flashes their pants - they drive me potty. The reasons the school gave are stupid - pupils need to dress for the environment and the work undertaken. I tell the girls that it is a practical lesson so to wear either trousers or shorts under their skirts to ensure they do not feel self conscious. It isn't about distraction or making me feel uncomfortable, it is actually about them engaging in the lesson. Which they do not do if they can't even sit on the carpet without showing their knickers.

Not at my dd's school. They have to wear a specific skirt with pleats in. Some of them are above the knee but I've never seen a child with an unreasonably short skirt. I've seen ridiculous skirts at some of the other senior schools. I think it looks really scruffy and actually quite sad. I think they wear what is deemed to be acceptable by their peer group. The boys aren't allowed to wear skinny trousers either.

I agree surferjet.

If male teachers are "uncomfortable" however, that is creepy and weird and they are in the wrong job

I'd be more worried if they were comfortable with seeing girls underwear! What a topsy turvy world we must be living in.

Yes, there should be a uniform. I don't think insisting that it isn't a pelmet is unreasonable. I think saying that it's because of the boys is terrible and the teachers make me queasy. If I was one of the male teachers I'd be at the implications of that statement!

Can't help thinking of DD2's high school though. 2 years ago they declared all skirts had to be a certain style, instead of black and a certain length. DD2 is as skinny as a rake so to get the length with a waist that would stay on, I bought 3 M&S skirts. Fine. Then last year it's announced that all skirts will now have to be the school tartan style skirt. We are not in Scotland. Nearly £20 a pop. Sod that. Thankfully DD2 screamed in horror and so it's now trousers all the way. In the midst of all this skirt crap: GCSE results are dropping like a rock, the local bus company have come really close to banning the pupils from their service bus, the locals are being terrorised, the cops keep being called for the fights and people are waiting for the school to be put in Special Measures.

But the girl's uniform skirts are all very smart.

So what about male swim teachers or gymnastics coaches Slarti they see girls in next to nothing, should they feel uncomfortable doing their job? Or should parents feel worried that they're not uncomfortable?

In regards to seeing underwear under skirts, my school changed our skirts, to a lovely pleated version which had to be bought from the school shop, to stop the tight fitted, short skirts! Great, only as they were wider and looser the more immature boys, realised it was really easy to lift girls skirts up!

Maybe in this day and age male teachers are worried of being accused of looking at girls even if they weren't.