To think schools should allow black t shirts if they are going to use those black whiteboard pens

[Pastaandoranges]

Both my kids come home with their white t shirts marked by the black whiteboard pens they use to write on their mini whiteboards. I can not get it out of the t shirts. Tried bleach baths, bicarb and bleach spotting and the vanish whitening powder.
Aibu to think they should allow black or dark coloured t shirts or shirts as this would mean less washing, less purchasing of new t shirts, less landfill of old ones and less chemicals going into the environment from cleaning them.
Bonus pounts if anyone has found a way to get the pen stains out!!

There is no way to get the pen out. In my experience you can get the colour out of the school logo before you get the whiteboard marker out.

YANBU. This is one my pet hates too.

My DD’s school does not have a uniform, so I try not to send her in anything too light coloured, but it shows on everything that’s not black.

@Soontobe60 How on earth did teachers manage just a few years ago? The dc really csn write down answers in books. Do you not have note books any more? Do they not actually write with a pen any more? Probably not. Oh dear.

1. Kids like using whiteboards as it doesn't matter if they make mistakes, plus it saves on paper.

2. Does it really matter if the white shirt has a few marks on?

3. How is he getting pen on himself? I have 3 kids who use whiteboards daily at school and their shirts look fine. The teenager and biro marks on his shirt is more of an issue, but again, it doesn't really matter.

In the unlikely event you're expecting an answer (and don't just think you're making a hilarious 'stupid teachers' comment), we use individual whiteboards (and have for at least 20 years) because

It enables all children to participate in the learning part of the lesson and give an answer rather than one child who has been asked. This keeps them engaged and takes the pressure off the poor soul whose name has been called because everyone is involved.

It's a useful tool for assessment. You can easily pick up misunderstandings or misconceptions whilst teaching and address them. So teaching is more effective and learning more meaningful.

Children feel more confident in recording answers because they can correct their mistakes as they go. They can share their ideas with a partner and check their understanding with others.

They can practice their ideas before submitting them for public scrutiny.

I think it might depend on brand of pen, OP. I've never had a problem washing it out and my classes never seem to come in with ink stained clothes. But I don't think white is practical for many reasons because it ends up looking so grubby before the end of the year.

How is he getting pen on himself? I have 3 kids who use whiteboards daily at school and their shirts look fine.

Some children do literally pick their whiteboards up and wipe them clean on their tops - even when they have a board rubber and are reminded to use it.

In the old days they used slates which are probably more similar to whiteboards than pencil and paper.

There has always been a rumour that hairspray removes white board pen. No idea if it works.
I'm afraid whiteboard pen marks are a fact of life.

I wash out food, mud, chew trademarks on ties and cuffs but the black pen stays.
After all as soon as they've had the first white board session who's to say whether it is an old or new one. Unless you have a doodler (looking at you DS2) who deliberately colours in his arms, legs and sometimes clothes. In which case have a chat to the teacher and DC

I would LOVE this. Easier for the washing system and after the first wear of a white one it’s never properly white again.

No thank you, stick with white!

Colour or black tops are a nightmare, they mark when you try to remove stains, at least you can bleach white top.

Black t-shirts will look horrendous after 2 or 3 wash, I am not washing school clothes at 20 or 30 degrees.

Leave the clothes out to dry, the stains fade and disappear in the sun, it doesn't rain 365 days even in England.

Pens and paper, on the carpet, in reception? Viewable by the teacher at the front of the room? Re-usable in a short space of time?
Oh stop it.
What did you use? Slate and chalk?

And your children never once got pen on them for the entirety of primary school? What about the ever-staining purple paint?

At secondary school it’s all interactive screens/ touch screens in the class room. No whiteboards!

Well if the shirts don’t get stained with whiteboard pens, they get stained with tomato sauce or grass or with the “water soluble paint” which in fact cannot be dissolved by anything on earth. There is just no point worrying about keeping white shirts white on young kids.

Personally I’m not a fan of school uniform but one advantage if we have to have it is that at least it means that the clothes that get trashed at school are ones you aren’t attached to. Wash them so they are hygienic and don’t let the pen stains stress you.

Or you could spend hours bleaching them and trying stain removing tips from the internet, but life is too short.

Worryingly, the poster you're replying to was apparently a school governor for years.

I worked at a school where children could wear a white polo or one in the school colour. Most wore white and several parents told me it was because it was easier to wash them and bleach stains out.