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.

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.

But all of that only happened after the girl had been sent home for wearing the dress. There is still no explanation of why the dress was considered to be inappropriate in the first place (or the Welsh flag, or the child dressed as a farmer, presumably reflecting his/her family heritage, as specified in the brief).

By British culture, do people mean the things the English, Scottish and Welsh have in common?

Because as an English person and very much a Londoner, I am happy to report on my English and London culture. But I cannot pretend to appropriate Welsh or Scottish or even NI culture?
Therein lies the difficulty.

Yes exactly @HonoriaBulstrode

As someone rightly pointed out earlier - it’s even different regionally within England.

I’m from the NE, which is a very different culture to London.

I’m not sure there even is a British culture to be proud of, they’re all different dependent on many factors.

By British culture, do people mean the things the English, Scottish and Welsh have in common?

I would take it as an umbrella term meaning anything which is culturally English, Welsh, Scottish or (Northern) Irish. Or Manx or Cornish or....

Because there isn't a single 'British' culture. There are many, many regional and local cultures and heritages, all often with their own traditions of music and dance and other customs.

Someone from the Scottish Highlands might choose to wear Highland dress. Someone from Durham or the Welsh Valleys might dress as a miner. Someone from a coastal town as a fisherman or lifeboatman if that's their family heritage (it's part of mine).

Could you give me an example of the erosion of British culture, please? I realise that you think this incident is an example-but bearing in mind that it is still ongoing, could you give another one?

“There are many, many regional and local cultures and heritages, all often with their own traditions of music and dance and other customs.”

So I think we should celebrate all of these, including across regions and different social classes and professional groups.
And I think we should also stop the attacks on the British upper and upper middle classes as well. Because that is just more fodder for Reform.

If I think about it - the stuff that unites - the NHS, the BBC, the Royal Family - these are all institutions and people are suspensions of institutions since Covid, in particular. Hence the protest voting.

So I think we should celebrate our histories and heritage in lots of different regions more. But not the flag, that is separate. I don’t like that being appropriated, it is too political.

That was meant to say many people are “suspicious” of institutions since Covid.

Also British Asian culture and Windrush, although I suspect there are regional differences there too. It should all be celebrated. I think it is quite a diverse country really and we need to celebrate the diversity itself.

What is British white culture (as my daughter and I are). Should it be defined or is the actual definition a means of excluding other cultures as we are in a way stating the majority host culture explicitly i.e. this is what British ((as opposed to white British) do?

I was called racist for using the term white British so you can see what a minefield this is. Why oh why did a head of a school not see this coming? A huge debate here on this thread but really how an experienced teaching lead could not see what was coming baffles me.

Could you give me an example of the erosion of British culture, please? I realise that you think this incident is an example-but bearing in mind that it is still ongoing, could you give another one?

More than one pp on this thread has said that when schools local to them do 'culture day', or whatever they choose to call it, children of British heritage are required to wear uniform, while others may wear whatever dress is associated with their culture or heritage.

It's a recipe for provocation; why do schools do this?

Running a school is hard enough with out some goals?

As I said previously a discussion about my white British daughters heritage and culture and how to feel proud about it probably wasn't what the school intended.

The message I took was 'right kids park your white privilege for a day as every day is white British day and let other minority cultures express themselves so you gain an understanding of them and maybe reflect on that:'

I know plenty of kids and parents and that never was going to wash.

Could you give me an example of the erosion of British culture, please? I realise that you think this incident is an example-but bearing in mind that it is still ongoing, could you give another one?

I see British Culture as tolerance, self depracating humour, pantos, village fetes, bonfire night, halloween, Christmas , queueing, flocking to the beach on a hot day, pubs, teashops, etc etc. Alongside our great writers, artists, history, architecture etc.

None of this is being eroded.

It is being supplemented. Other celebrations to which everyone is invited - Diwali, Chinese New Year etc. A fatastic range of foods and music etc.

The biggest attrition I see is in language - and that comes from America. So many British words, phrases and spellings being replaced with the American version. Many traditions being superseded by the U.S version: BabyShowers, Gender Reveals etc.

Our Macaroni Cheese has been made extinct by Mac'n'Cheese! Our Cadbury's Dairy Milk (A chocolate of our great tradition of Quaker chocolate companies and arguably part of our culture) is owned by Kraft ad polluted with palm oil and Oreos.

This is a (possibly accidentally?) perfect way of showing how British culture is actually an amalgamation of lots of other cultures and practices that we’ve borrowed, or taken, from other places.

If we ignore that lots of British people aren’t particularly tolerant 😂

Halloween (in the form we celebrate it now) - Americanised

Christmas - Jesus definitely wasn’t British, and neither is Santa.

Panto - Rome/Italy

Tea (from in the students letter) - not ours

We can’t be losing it, most of it wasn’t ours to begin with.

I think white British culture is eroding itself because of its own class system issues. I really do not think that can be blamed on anyone else.

I wonder if any other country can’t celebrate its own country’s flag? I’m trying to think of one other country across the world who is scared to put its own flag to the top of a pole in its own sovereign land. It’s bizarre to me.

You can put the flag up in many countries, on your national day of celebration, when it is appropriate to do so. For most people that is enough flag waving and celebrating.

Losses:
Our fireworks for Nov 5 are to be made quieter.
Much Real Ale is supplanted with Lager types with American hops. Some are using maize to replace some barley. An equal travesty I am informed as the corrupted chocolate on sale. Try buying dark choc in a corner shop!

Well, I agree that’s pretty shit.( i think it was only one person, actually) It’s not something I’ve ever heard of happening, and I’d certainly be battering on the Head’s door if it happened in my kid’s school. Anything else?

And? It doesn’t mean a student needs to be excluded / sent home for wearing a dress

Sure it is. It was big during the time of the Spice Girls and became a bit of a cultural image of the times.

Who is scared to put a flag up?

Are they the same people who are scared to wear a poppy and say Merry Christmas, as in.. nobody?

I see British Culture as tolerance....

Tolerance is being eroded. Look at the abuse JKR has experienced. Look at the abuse handed out to Leave voters and Conservative voters here on Mumsnet. 'Tory scum.'

In fact I'm seeing some of the tactics used in the Brexit threads here on this thread. Whatever reasons or explanations are given, it's never enough. People must continually justify themselves.
And then the insults start. We've already had 'gammon' on this thread.

The fireworks thing is largely due to dogs and autism, I think.

I don’t believe it’s anything to do with other cultures.

I'm not from the UK but surely that's insulting ?

St. George's flags would be unacceptable imo but I loved David Bowie's Alexander McQueen coat for example.