School "Culture Day' - why didn't school see this coming?

[mids2019]

https://www.joe.co.uk/news/school-issues-statement-after-sending-girl-home-for-wearing-union-jack-dress-496690?fbclid=IwY2xjawLkEB9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmXD4szLMfsqNubbE12kCn_Noe5jb2VGlNFVU0_IUIevHxzByCQ-5GXFN8F8_aem_P-q7I_yFCq82TY-Qr8mGdw

A local school state d a huge debate by sending a girl home on school culture day for wearing a union Jack dress. The question is why the school should have naively held an event which actually least a to more division than unity?

My daughter (white British) attended a similar event, for which she paid a pound, and dressed in jeans and t shirt. I asked how she had decided upon the attire and she stated 'well I don't have a culture'. I then had to explain that she did have a culture and even the jeans and t shirt were a product of fashion changes in western liberal society. We had a discussion about all the great products of white British culture, the music,science, results of the industrial revolution, shared experience in great wars, monarchy etc.

There is a white British culture but going into detail about this obviously brings into focus cultural divide and opens up divisive areas whether white British culture benefited from colonialism and past oppression.

Of course culture day probably was meant to highlight minority cultures and act to promote dress etc. from ethnic minorities as a welcoming inclusive gesture but by allowing all pupils to think about their culture we have to define 'white British' culture and by defining 'white British' culture schools have inadvertently started a discussion they didn't intend.

Sometimes things are what they look like. Given the school has apologised it seems very likely that they simply fucked up.

Me too to be fair.

I doubt it would cast them in a favourable light.

Perhaps. Or perhaps rhe kids were being little shits. Maybe both. I'm sure all will be revealed in time.

I accept that school may have been played here ...

But what would it be acceptable to wear on "culture day" if you don't have parents /grandparents from other countries?

I don't understand how celebrating different cultures is wonderful and diverse etc but celebrating the culture of the country we all live an and that supports all the diversity and encourages the celebrating is not ok.

Which other cultures do you think are 'largely an embarrassment'? Or is it just ours?

Heavy "All Lives Matter" vibes

I didn’t realise other kids in Welsh and English flags got sent home too. So bizarre.

my kids are at a school in Wales. They are encouraged to celebrate their culture often. We have many days where they wear welsh traditional clothing or Welsh colours, sports tops etc.

I find it absolutely insane that they asked the kids to dress up for culture day then sent them home when they wore a flag to represent their British culture. How could they possibly justify it?!

Because why. Wtf does “white” have anything to do with it? Clearly somebody is fixated on race.

My DDs school culture day, if you didn’t have a culture (if you’re British) you had to remain in school uniform and weren’t allowed to dress up/down at all

I'd love to see that. Could you post a redacted version of the email?

Do you think ‘Black British’ culture exists?

And if so, is this different to general ‘British’ culture?

If so, how?

If it is different, who makes up general ‘British culture’, and is black British culture separate from this?

I’m not being goady. Genuinely interested in this view point.

Surely the union flag is itself a symbol of cultural unity.

I would honestly have assumed that a lot of kids would be in flag/flag coloured outfits of whatever the relevant country was. For a lot of countries it’s a really easy costume, that is also cheap if you use things the child already has. Eg for France, blue jeans, white top, red hoodie/cardigan/jumper. Maybe some flag face paint on each cheek.

Why do you assume that only people from 'other countries' have a culture but someone who has always had heritage from the UK or Britain doesnt?

We have tons of traditions, histories, habits, clothing, games, foods, fesitvals and celebrations in this country which are British. Some modern, some not so modern, some ancient.

Everyone has a culture, its about the way you talk, dress, habits your family has, foods you eat, history you share. There are many overlaps with other countries, other cultures, other communities. Nothing wrong with that either - looking at you Jewish fish and chips.

That's appalling.

Everyone has a culture, the same way that everyone has an accent. This rule both stigmatises the British children, by making them wear uniform when everyone else can dress nicely, and gives the impression that their culture is the default state and that everything else is 'other'. Whatever that school's intentions were, they really didn't think them through.

Yes and chillies come from South America. As a second generation Asian immigrant I don’t have a problem with someone wearing the Union Jack but I have this question- as a British citizen who has lived in the uk all their life can an Asian origin person wear the flag and claim British culture to be theirs as well? Or do they have to turn up in the national costume of their grandparents and talk about a culture we experience through the immigrant dispora?

I’d like to know what the kids not wearing Union Jack dresses wore. Not commenting on the alleged flags and farmers ban because it’s only “I heard” this also happened.

Interesting that the dad said that niqabs and burkas and Nigerian dress were allowed. Wonder why he picked those in particular.

I was asking specifically what it would be acceptable for those children to wear?

How exactly did they phrase that? Did they ban kilts?

This is such a good point too.

People being ignorant and dense is behind the success of Reform.

I agree that referencing “white British culture” doesn’t necessarily make you a racist - although I’d love to hear an explanation for the significance of it being explicitly WHITE British culture. OP constantly referencing “white culture” when the article in question/ topic under discussion is not about race reveals a preoccupation with skin colour, to put it mildly.

In a similar vein...I teaching nursing. Quite rightly teach cultural competency in nursing care. Our students are excellent at understanding what the needs of lots of cultures might be, however when my colleague (who is of black Zimbabwean heritage) ask the class what the cultural needs of white British people might include, there is literal tumbleweeds. She makes a point of asking this and has commented before on how ludicrous this is and would not be the case in any other country she has worked in.