School bans pencil cases - AIBU to think this is a superficial measure?

[ScreamingValenta]

I was fascinated to read this BBC article today:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44075878

A school has banned pencil cases (and other branded items) to avoid the stigma poorer pupils may suffer because they don't have 'designer' school kit.

This has made me feel very old - in my schooldays in the 1980s, everyone got their pencil cases from WHSmith or Woolworths, and it was fashionable to have an ancient, scribbled-on, falling-apart pencil case with the name of your favourite band tippexed onto it - new, expensive pencil cases were for geeks only.

Are designer pencil cases really a thing now? Does banning branded things in schools really help with bullying or is it a superficial tick-box exercise? Should schools not be addressing the underlying issues which create a culture of stigmatising poorer pupils - banning designer items in school won't stop pupils being seen out of school or on social media wearing unbranded clothes?

I know nothing about what goes on in schools nowadays, other than what I read on Mumsnet, so I'm not really qualified to answer my own questions - I'd be interested to hear any up-to-date perspectives from parents or teachers.

YANBU. The schools should teach students not to judge and bully and not to ban everything that could show people do come from different background. It seems so out of touch with the real world. What about university. Should all uni students now wear uniform and not bring pencil case or bags too? What about work place? Are we supposed to wear uniform in the office too?

God how ridiculous.

How about we focus on teaching them to be decent human beings as opposed to constantly turning everything into contraband. It's not brands and products taht are the problem it's attitudes and attitudes won't change unless challenged. Which cant happen if we constantly try and hide the ways in which we are all different like it's shameful .

Fwiw dd doesn't care what pencil case a person has and thinks it's ridiculous so much importance is given to an item like that.

But we need to teach our kids how to cope with people having things they don't the same way we need to teach them to not rub having more in someone's face.

Sooner or later you have to actually deal witg the behaviour

Banning stuff is just lazy

What was proposed the children carry their pencils in, or does the school provide everything? They do provide everything. My dd walks to school with absolutely nothing now as opposed to a massihiove Australian backpack twice her size with her books, lunch, water, two fruits (for the two fruit breaks) and 'morning tea'.

I bet that the most of the kids without pencil cases have phones though.....

"Poor" doesn't mean what it used to....

I just don't recall anything like the level of awareness of branding there seems to be now back in my 80s comprehensive.

I remember once being laughed at when I said I'd bought my skirt from Primark (in the days before it called itself Atmosphere and became trendy) but I was one of the unfortunates who was laughed at for everything - if my skirt had been personally tailored for me by Christian Dior, they'd probably still have laughed.

In the 5th year, I remember a boy saying his parents were getting him a 'Goochy' watch for his 16th birthday and I had no idea what a 'Goochy' watch was and puzzled over it - it wasn't until some years later I realised it was 'Gucci' and the name of a designer.

Other than those, I have no recollection of brands being mentioned or being the currency of bullying - bullying tended to be centred on physical attributes, accent, mannerisms etc.

In the 5th year - sorry, using 'old money' there - I think it's Year Eleven in new money.

We give all students a pencil case and stationery at the start of the year, but smiggle things are starting to creep in now. I hate them. All they do is encourage the kids to fiddle with them, and then I get the inevitable mummy whinging that little Sally has lost her and obviously someone has stolen it, instead of Sally being the type to lose 30 things a day anyway, and I must immediately drop everything and find it for her. Just no. We've put out a message that anything outside of the school supplied items are sent at your own risk and teachers are not responsible for their loss or if they are stolen.

@MidniteScribbler Does the pencil case have your school's name/crest/logo on it, or is it just a plain one?

No, they are just a plain one.

Two mins after Giles post another poster proves her point beautifully.

@MidniteScribbler I'm thinking of university culture where there's often a lot of pride in owning items with the university's crest on - would this work for the school environment (where the school is an ordinary school as opposed to a famous Public School, I mean)?

@ScreamingValenta exactly what you say. Circa late 80s, early 90s kids always wanted the latest brands but no one got picked on for not wearing Benetton, Ton sur ton (with mahoosive shoulder pads) or Reebok.

Anyway I’m wondering if we went to the same school? Elderly art teacher in clogs, history teacher who looked like Christopher Lee & mad Chemistry teacher?

We are all looking at this from our view point.That our kids should be taught that others have less than us etc.
But if kids in deprived areas(and this school is) can reduce the reluctance of some of those children actually coming to school and getting an education from primary upwards that will make a hugh differece to their future lives.
This school is about more than pencil cases,it seems to have staff willing to think and innovative to help deprived or disadvantaged children and with discretion.
Maybe the back will benefit the kids who would otherwise have the latest pencil cases as they will be concentrating on their education too.

We certainly had a bonkers Chemistry teacher with the wildest hair known to man, @TracyBeakerSoYeah but my history teacher looked more like Oliver Reed (not in a good way ). The Art teachers were a strange combination of bohemian dressers with very right wing views, in a teaching environment where left wing views were generally prevalent.

Ton sur ton brings back fond memories!

Banning pencil cases or talk of holidays is artificial. What happens the minute the children are in the play ground or leave the school. Some children have massive homes, some don't, some have two cars others none, some have sky TVs others don't. Yes done are better off, for other families it's a choice as yo how they spend their money. Children move into the real world so why create an artificial one at school

... or why not try and make that the new reality?

Looking through the online Smiggle shop, I can see why things like that could lead to a blanket ban on pencil cases.

Some of those pencil cases have mini basketball/table football games on them (handy for listening to the teacher), a couple have voice recorders (handy for recording yourself insulting a kid or being a smartass to the teacher).

They're special enough for a kid to get upset at them being damaged or lost, the kids who don't have them to feel upset about that, and expensive enough for parents to ring up about their kid's one being lost or broken.

It looks like the Pokemon card fiasco from when I was at school.

I would have thought that it may well be counterproductive.
Because by banning pencil cases and talk about weekends they are saying that they think they are better and children should be jealous.
It won't mean they're in school, but the children will still have them, and they will talk about it, go back to each other's houses etc. They've now been told that a good weekend trip/Smiggle pencil case is something to boast about.

And I'll agree that it isn't necessarily the better of pupils that have the more desirable things. My parents would never pay out for named brands. Luckily for me my year wasn't so bothered. Dsis year was much more bothered and she did get bullied a bit about it... And the children that had them were much more likely to come from the council estate than the ones who lived in the huge houses at the other end if the village.

can reduce the reluctance of some of those children actually coming to school and getting an education from primary upwards that will make a hugh differece to their future lives

There are hundreds of reasons kids don't want to come into school. It would be better to tackle these in a root cause way rather than just remove the current tool.

There have always been these crazes. They last five mins then forgotten all about and it moves tongue next one.

But banning stuff immediately elevates the status of something. It makes a huge deal out of something that would otherwise be forgotten about very soon.

I realise the intention behind it cones from a place of good but it makes it worse.

Bullies need tackling. Poor people don't need to hide in the corners with shame and made indirectly responsible for everything that happens.

I grew up poor and doing without things other kids had. Sometimes I was picked on for things to do with socio-economic status. However I also noticed kids who had nice things were picked on for other things. So, really anyone can be picked on for just about anything and I don't think banning things solves the issue of bullying, prejudice or stigma. There must be better ways to deal with the issues. Conversation, education and finding creative solutions would be better. If we keep banning things where will it end. I don't regret missing out on the latest things, I learned to be creative and resourceful.

I think banning stuff also robs kids if valuable life lessons.

All this over priced tat stuff is often poor quality and not really fit for purpose

It's not a bad thing to learn that actually following the crowd with no thought can leave you several quid down with an item that doesn't really do what you want it to do.

Bullying has been around since humans existed.

Smiggle has been around 2 mins.

Schools are increasingly going OTT with banning stuff or sticking to limited approved items

And yet bullying continues.

Because no one's actually ever dealt with the behaviour. Just removed opportunities here and there . Shows how little they understand about what bullying is and why it happens

But banning stuff immediately elevates the status of something. It makes a huge deal out of something that would otherwise be forgotten about very soon.

I realise the intention behind it cones from a place of good but it makes it worse.

Bullies need tackling. Poor people don't need to hide in the corners with shame and made indirectly responsible for everything that happens.

Good point.

Gileswithachainsaw well said.

@Mamma

It may elevate status, but if they haven't got them it is irrelevant:

I think it is a good idea, they drive me crazy fiddling with them so I don't let them have them out on the table.