To wonder how a school could get this so wrong

[Hingeandbracket]

And not admit it.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/newsbeat-45521094
I am not quick to shout racist but this seems pretty clear cut.

Would schools not be better off concentrating on more important stuff than hair.

It's a shame "The Peter Principle" isn't required reading in the UK. All of a sudden, everything would make sense.

Monty Python weren't making shit up - they were reflecting reality in the Cheese Shop sketch:

(Customer asks for several cheeses without luck)

Customer : You are a cheese shop aren't you ?
Shopkeeper: Oh yes, Sir. Best in the county !
Customer: Best in the county ? How, pray tell ?
Shopkeeper: Very clean sir ...
Customer: Well certainly not contaminated by any cheese ....

Incidentally, it's interesting and possibly not accidental that "The Peter Principle" features the education industry quite heavily

If school rules are tie your hair back why should she be exempt

I don't think anyone's said she should be; the point seems to be that the school reportedly focused on afro caribbean hair - though it's said they changed this later - thus singling these girls out

It does still beg the question of why nobody except Ruby seems to have said they have problems tying back their hair, but on a more positive note it was good to read she did well in her GCSEs - I hadn't heard that and it's nice to know

My kids were forced to wear their hair in plaits or a pony tail, how is that different? If school rules are tie your hair back why should she be exempt. Hair rules are for safety

@okiedokieme, the point is that only children with Afro hair were required to tie their hair back. There was no suggestion that this was for safety reasons. If they were that concerned about safety, surely the rule should have applied to everyone?

It does still beg the question of why nobody except Ruby seems to have said they have problems tying back their hair

You know this how?

I agree OP the school got it so so wrong. It's teaching this girl that her hair is unacceptable in society. Which of course it is not.

Seriously, what the hell are we saying to girls in this country with this utter bullshit. Your hair is a problem. Your natural body is a problem. It's so fucking insidious. It makes me so angry!!

It's decades since we were meant to have got over this bollocks. Even Good Hair was in 2009. 2009!

I don't know this, Judy, which is why I wrote "nobody else seems to have said ..." rather than that they hadn't

Perhaps I'd have done better to write "nobody else is reported to have said ... ", but that's getting a bit far into semantics I guess

Perhaps I'd have done better to write "nobody else is reported to have said ... ", but that's getting a bit far into semantics I guess

Part semantics, part victim blaming maybe ?

Referring to myself the "nobody else seems to have a problem" line is a subset of "we've had no complaints" tactic in trying to shut someone up.

(To which the correct response is "You have now" and to make a formal complaint).

You know it's amazing the US every abolished slavery - after all, very few slaves complained.

Point taken, Professor, though I certainly didn't intend any victim blaming and am genuinely sorry if it came across that way

Point taken, Professor, though I certainly didn't intend any victim blaming and am genuinely sorry if it came across that way

I was 100% sure you weren't. But the point is "nobody else has complained" is a tried and tested tactic that has spread by osmosis into wider society allowing the oppressors to marginalise the oppressed. If you ever find yourself saying it, then it might be worth a quick recap as to what exactly you are saying and who it benefits.

In this case, saying "no one else [seemed] to have a problem" only benefits the school. And given their status in this and things generally, I think they already have plenty of benefits.

That poor girl.

If a rule means that a black or.mixed race child has to spend hours or lots of money or cause damage to their hair just to "comply" then yes that rule is racist/discriminatory.
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