AIBU to think that parents should buy the correct uniform and stop moaning

[Loveluck7]

I am getting increasingly irritated by people on FB moaning that their child's human rights have been violated because they were put into isolation for having the wrong uniform.

I understand that some rules can seem ridiculous but unfortunately some bad parents who have let their child wear spray on trousers and tiny skirts, have necessitated schools stipulating the exact items they need to wear.

Isolation does seem a harsh punishment when it is the parent's fault but how else can schools enforce the rules when some parent's think rules do not apply to them? The child cannot attend class without trousers and parent's would be angry if the child was sent home.

You also often find that it is these parent's who also complain when a school is no good at discipline, yet will not follow the rules themselves.

The most expensive standard blaster at my DD school is £131.25. That does nit include honours blazers which als require a different tie. As does being a prefect.

Who can honestly tell me, in a state school in the uk, that cost is justified?

DD is skinny waisted and short. To get the right skirt size around her hips I have to buy it bigger and take it to a tailoring shop to get it taken in at the waist and taken up. That costs an additions £12 on top of the cost of the skirt.

I can't take it in - I don't have the knowledge of how to do it plus I don't have a sewing machine and I can't take into up because it's kick pleats.

The trousers I wear to work every day are £4.44 off ebay. I'm not spending anything like on myself what the school uniform costs and yet I wear my £4.44 trousers and my £10 shoes that aren't leather every day.

*blazer

@CurryInAHurry 😂

@ Mary

Penggwn, of course teachers shouldn't waste their time chasing up school uniform issues. Schools could achieve this extremely efficiently by either not bothering at all or having very relaxed uniform rules. Then the teachers could actually spend their time teaching.

Do you think he could gelp me with my sons shoes Mary?

Exactly. Many of the complaints that parents should just fall in line come from a position of privilege. I also know parents who've followed published guidelines on shoes for example and then been told they're not formal enough - if you want a specific style, thisneeds to be made clear before people part with their money.

Zero tolerance of petty anti social behaviour is known to improve over all crime levels. Zero tolerance relating to uniform issues improves overall discipline thereby improving the quality of teaching the kids get.

Yeah, cos everyone's at home or in isolation. Makes for a very quiet smooth undisturbed class...

The world is going bonkers everyone knows the uniform requirements when they choose the school. If you don't like the uniform don't send your child to that school.

Teachers are there to teach the rules are clear, maybe we should tell our children to suck it up.

Totally agree op! Do these parents and dcs think that they can just rock up wearing whatever they like when they get a job and that their employer will be ok with it??!
Yes uniforms are expensive but they're a lot cheaper than a pair of Nike air max, iPhones, iPads and everything else that these kids seem to own!!

Why would you replace the shoes Cosmic now? Wait till they fall apart.

Why would you replace the shoes Cosmic now? Wait till they fall apart.

I dont want any further issues regarding shoe gate so I will just get new ones.
I have already asked to borrow the money so its fine.

Maldives can you rtft? 1) People don't always have a choice of schools and 2) sometimes the child is already at the school when some silly arse decides to change policy and ban what was previously accepted.

Actually, this idea that enforcement of petty rules makes things better is dangerously flawed.
It started out relatively sensible - that minor damage such as broken windows should be quickly repaired. At some point, it got warped into 'never let the lower orders get away with anything: they need to Know Their Place'. Constant nitpicking over useless shit like one earring or two in school and whining that people have no 'respect' if someone's laughing too loudly in the park makes the world a worse place. UK children have roughly the highest rate of mental health problems in the developed world - and the most test-based education system. The steady increase in surveillance is also harmful (feeling like you are being watched all the time is not at all good for mental health) coupled with the relentless battery of divisive spiteful bullshit from the tabloids is all part of the culture that led to the Brexit vote and the current resurgence of fascism - to the point where a vicious piece of shit like Rees-Mogg is seriously being put forward as a representative of 'traditional values' and fit to run the country.

Meant to add: schools with complicated uniform policies are likely to have a really bad culture of bullying. They'll be encouraging pupils to grass each other up for an untucked shirt or a cheap brand of shoes, as well as encouraging the type of 'teachers' who get off on wielding power rather than actually educating children.

Yeah, cos everyone's at home or in isolation. Makes for a very quiet smooth undisturbed class...

Exactly. The kids who have the chaotic family backgrounds and probably dress themselves every morning from whatever they can find are also largely the kids most likely to disbehave. So if you can find a pretext to exclude them for something minor you can get on with teaching the rest of the kids in peace and nobody even has to find the cash to send them to a pupil referral unit or whatever they call them these days. Ideal!

Meant to add: schools with complicated uniform policies are likely to have a really bad culture of bullying. They'll be encouraging pupils to grass each other up for an untucked shirt or a cheap brand of shoes, as well as encouraging the type of 'teachers' who get off on wielding power rather than actually educating children

Yes i do wonder if it was merely a coincidence that when I was at school the teachers who didn't give a crap about what you looked like and some openly admitted they didn't care about the uniform, were the teachers who hardly had any trouble in their class. They were the teachers who had engaging lessons, treated us like human beings, trusted us with sensitive issues/topics. We're the ones who didn't just say we were wrong but explained why we were wrong. Sone might have said they were "soft" but they weren't. They'd have dealt with inappropriate behaviour but very rarely had to.

The others however, different story. They couldn't hold anyone's attention, back up what they were teaching, explain alternate methods others may find easier and when they realised They'd "lost" the class would start on earrings or nail polish and report to form tutors about infringements etc

As a kid who was bullied at school I can honestly tell you that having to put up with people taking the piss out of you even when done in class and nothing said or done about it only to be sent to the office yourself over nail varnish , you feel like just giving up.

If there's 60 children in isolation it rather defeats the purpose, doesn't it.
I wait for the day when a whole school is placed in isolation. That would be funny.

I would like no uniform - ie jeans and sweatshirts.

Exactly Ceto. I can dress my kids with enough changes of clothes for £40 each. School uniform is £80 each.

Zero tolerance of petty anti social behaviour is known to improve over all crime levels. Zero tolerance relating to uniform issues improves overall discipline thereby improving the quality of teaching the kids get.

I think where your theory falls down is that, in the outside world, anti-social behaviour is criminal behaviour that is the conduct of wrong'uns. In schools with overly strict uniforms even the goody-two-shoes kids who would never dream of doing anything wrong seem to get into trouble.

It also wasn't my experience in a school with a strict uniform (though not quite as extreme as some today) where low-level disruption was endemic.

Maldives: how does your mantra of "Everyone knows the uniform requirements when they choose the school. If you don't like the uniform don't send your child to that school" works if the only school in the area with a place is the one with stupidly strict uniform requirements? Particularly if their child has learning difficulties or physical problems which mean that they are constantly falling foul of the rules? Would it not be better if schools were not permitted to have stupidly strict requirements?

As a teacher in a deprived area, our uniform of black trousers/jeans/ skirt and shirt and tie and black footwear means nobody is singled out for not having the trendy jeans from topshop or the sweatshirt from jack wills. I'm very pro uniform. Even with it, the girls still come in dressed like tarts with see through leggings and thongs. They are sent to get a skirt to put on top if this is the case and usually strip between classes to parade their arse in the corridor. Most work places would not let you do that!!! It's preparing them and they need to learn they have to conform to rules sometimes if they want to succeed.