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 do agree that people are more confident, for want of a better word, about being rude than they were. Not sure that is about the erosion of tolerance though! In fact, I think this idea of British tolerance in the past is a bit of a myth, to be honest. Certainly when I was a child there was much less tolerance for different types of relationships, sexualities, opinions than there are now…..

St. George's flags would be unacceptable imo

The national flag of England is unacceptable?

@Araminta1003

They should make their own symbols, not steal those of the majority.

I disagree. The far right can’t steal the flag. It belonged to them all along, and to the far left, and to the centrist middle. To all of us.

The only way the flag comes to represent far rightism is if everyone else relinquish it. The cohort most keen to do that seems to be left and liberal elites. The trad working class and the middle englanders are the ones holding the line against the far right association, by refusing to relinquish or stigmatise the flag.

You can be working class and left, you know. We still exist 👋🏻

The culture day story must have sickened you. All those kids who weren’t sent home, taking pride in their heritages.

I actually think “sickened” is a fairly dramatic response, to be honest.

Yep — I didn’t mean to suggest you can’t! A very honourable heritage.

I’m not sickened at all. You were derisive of the idea of taking pride in one’s heritage. You have achievements, after all.

So I’m guessing your not thrilled that all those children were encouraged to do just that.

No.. you asked if I was sickened by the children celebrating their culture. I said that would be a dramatic response.

British culture isn’t diverse. We’ve covered this. We’re not the minority, every day is British day.

For me, it’s a bit like me popping along to a pride march with a banner about how heterosexual I am.

Not your day, kid. You have your day every day, and we already have days for flag fans.

I would like to take a healthy amount of pride in our regional cultures and heritage, without being divisive though.
Brit Pop is a great cover story, but even Brit Pop has its fair amount of academic controversy. I am nostalgic for the Brit Pop era myself and nostalgia was actually part of it too.

It would be great if we could have a unifying musical or cultural movement that unites rather than divides.

In any event, Reform have a light blue badge with an arrow, upside down house. It is very basic symbol. What does it actually mean? Blue I guess for right wing. What does the arrow signify? Backward looking?!

I don't know what you mean. On St George's day children at our school made England flags, and there were several up in our local shops etc. Isn't that celebrating the flag?

Still hoping for examples of ways in which British culture is being eroded.

Being sent home for wearing the British flag, for one.

British culture isn’t diverse. We’ve covered this. We’re not the minority, every day is British day.

Well it certainly seems like we’re in the minority when councils in England are cancelling Christmas markets and forbidding decorated trees in public places for fear of causing offence to other minorities.

This. All day long.

Not if you’re Welsh Scottish or NI it doesn’t.

This is just bollocks. She was sent home before any of this came out.

Pop down, that’ll be all they need to see you for what you are.

I meant to say-I knew people would say that. And I think this is still an ongoing situation-I was looking for other examples. From before this one- it didn’t start here, surely? And I would prefer to discuss an example that didn’t involve a child.

Not context at all. Unless the kid whose dad is a known Nazi is dressed in the swastika there’s no cause for concern. The Nazis were the antithesis of everything the German flag stood for.

But the whole thread involves a child. Who was sent home for wearing the British flag. What better example of what you say you’re looking for ? But if you want another example, our local authority banned a Christmas tree in the village square - donated by a local business - which had been a decades old tradition. The reason ? They didn’t want to offend those of non Christian religions. They banned the local Christmas market for the same reason. That enough ?

Because we really, really don’t know the full context of this particular situation. Posters are talking about feeling as if their culture is being eroded. Presumably they felt like that before this week and can talk about what makes them feel that way without citing this case?

Right. The Christmas tree is a good example. Could you say where this happened? Link to press reports?

Why are you so keen to exclude this case when it’s a perfect example of why people feel this way ? She wasn’t the only kid excluded. Those wearing the Welsh flag and the flag of St George, and for some unfathomable reason, a child wearing traditional farmers’ dress were also turned away. So not just the Union Jack, and not just the child of someone allegedly connected to TR. This is the whole point.