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.

You’re losing the argument here with the first attempt. You probably follow his SM more, I’m not on X and don’t care to look.

I’m glad systems are in place to stop anyone retaliating against 12 year olds who have done as the school asked.

A few sound extreme and luckily they don’t have any input.

You’re not defending a 12 year old. You’re defending her racist father.

Not the best look, IMO, but each to their own!

Retaliating by sending her home? The horror! I’m sure she’ll live.

Poor girl, how mortifying for her. At least the school has done the right thing by fully apologising and I hope she manages to return to school without too much worry. I liked her speech, it great her parents advocated on her behalf too

Although it concerning to hear that the governors had to be involved to force the school to behave appropriately and apologise. Staff make mistakes, it’s how mistakes are handled that matters and owning it rather than being defensive is the way forward

You can see the girl is a separate person? I mean it’s not hard to get students can go to school and do events regardless of their parents. You sound lost in this.

You can see that children are influenced by their upbringing and parenting?

I mean, it’s not hard to get.

Are you seriously suggesting the child woke up one morning and thought of this all by herself?
I’m sure this thread is just going round and round in circles and people said exactly the same thing two days ago
This will be my last comment on it. I’m not keeping this On the active list, it’s absolute nonsense

You can’t exclude a student due to a parent following someone on social media.

It’s really not related to what the child does. If they actually do something that’s wrong then fine, the school should deal with it appropriately. But not just you’re out your father is on the wrong SM

What you want is madness. But since you’re just on mn rather than able to do much, then ok.

Seen on Twitter/X:

Meet the scruffy, fat waste-of-space who's behind this: Louise Ansell the "Culture & Wellbeing co-ordinator' of Bilton School. Can someone tell me what a "Culture and Wellbeing co-ordinator" does all day, besides express their hatred of this country & its ppl, & scoff cake?

The staff of the school have really put themselves in the firing line for personal insults.

That apology was PR politeness. Surely we’re all smart enough to see that.

Politeness to whom?
If, as you and evidently the school, thought it right to exclude the girl in the Union Jack dress, then why didn’t they stick to their guns rather than apologising?

I’m not extreme at all in any way shape or form

You were salivating over the idea of a 12 year old child being assaulted.

You might view that as anti-racist, most people view that as extreme.

Her post was deleted, but she was hoping the child would be assaulted - the way “racism” was dealt with in the 80s, apparently.

I'm really not liking the idea of treating a child differently based on the political leanings or social media activities of the parents.

A kid comes in with a German flag and his dad is a known Nazi? Alarm bells.

This makes no sense at all.

Why would a German flag set off alarm bells in these circumstances? The Nazi’s weren’t really keen on the German flag - they had their own.

Context 😂

If you are going to give context, at least make sure you actually know what you’re talking about first.

Actually I disagree with this.

If you are going to have a culture day, and you haven't banned flags, then both kids should be allowed the German flag, no matter what the views of their parents are.

Obviously if the kid is spouting Nazi views or has a swastika that is different and should be dealt with.

The same applies here, I think the girl should have been allowed the Union Jack dress irrespective of her dad's political leanings - but if she was bringing in Reform propaganda or expressing anti-immigrant views that should be dealt with separately (there is no evidence that she was).

You can't have a culture day and then ban some kids from participating if their parents have views you don't like (you can of course keep an eye on them doing/saying anything untoward and deal with that appropriately)

Actually, I wasn’t hoping the child would be assaulted. I pointed out that it was inevitable that it will happen. As did other posters
Fuck about find out I believe is the modern terminology

She's dressed to suit the brief of culture. You're ascribing your own reasons which says nothing about him and everything about you.

The point that I was making is that it is because of her fathers links to far right activists that it could have been considered differently.

The Union Jack, and St George flag, have both been appropriated by those on the extreme right, who share their often anti-Islamic views quite readily and all over the internet. You only have to look at X to see the many, many people who have flags in their name or bio, and the things they are spouting.

It was those groups who encouraged or engaged in smashing our communities up and attacking people, around a year ago.

Whether people like it or not, any link to either those groups or the people that incite them (Tommy Robinson, in this case) are viewed in a certain light, and her father falls into that category.

My issue all along isn’t with the daughter for wearing a dress, she’s a 12 year old kid. Her father however, clearly holds views that some people would find problematic, and likely encouraged his daughter to push certain buttons. He got what he wanted, a response.

The apology was likely because a school isn’t going to engage in online tit for tat with a parent, particularly one so keen to run to the papers with his 12 year old. They wanted it dealt with, and the matter closed, because our education system shouldn’t be engaging in this online/press drama.

Who are you to give the benefit of the doubt to anyone? This is why Reform will win, because people will look at you and them and choose the side of less hatred, the side that doesn't have grown adults threatening innocent little girls.

Reform? Less hatred?

Please take a day off. 😂😂

Yes exactly.

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!

I do accept that there is a “real issue of many British people feeling their culture is being undermined”. I don’t think it’s true, but obviously accept that some people think it is. And I accept that it’s a real problem that needs to be addressed.
I just don’t think that using a 12 year old child as a political pawn, parading her in front of the world’s media, and arranging for her to address a Tommy Robinson rally is necessarily the way forward.

“If your child chooses to wear cultural dress, the document below must be completed by Tuesday 8 July.”

So did the Dad complete the document and if so, what did it say?

That slur against a member of staff on X that someone quoted mentioning cake is horrible.

Inclusion/cultural days are part of the National Curriculum? PSHE? Which part are they in? This comes from the DFE potentially and Central Government, now Labour, until August 2029 potentially.
The fact that Reform areas and councils will try and go against it, would be illegal? Reform councils cannot get rid of culture and inclusion days?

It is all such a shame. The end of the academic year in state schools is meant to be a time period to go beyond the curriculum, celebrate diversity, creativity, different things than the slog of the academic heavy curriculum, so the kids have fun and learn in a more practical way. The last thing the exhausted teachers need is to have to check everyone’s outfit or a photo of it before the actual day! Sounds to me like they already had a system in place where kids had to sign up and would love to see what it said.

It’s unfortunate you don’t see the erosion of British culture, but you might not value it in the first place, I don’t know.

what evidence do you have that a 12 year old was being used as a political pawn