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.

And yet so many people seem to want to risk life and limb to live here!

I always think of culture as encompassing music, literature, art etc, not only dress or food or language. Britain has such a rich history in that regard. It always surprises me when it’s visually represented as Union Jack flags and football shirts etc, when kids could come in dressed as Shakespeare or The Beatles!

But none of those things are analogous to eg wearing a sari that you already have. They are fancy dress ideas not what your culture actually wears. I don’t thing many teenagers are involved in morris dancing or would want to go to the effort of assembling a morris dancing costume. If they did it would probably be being done ironically. There is no British national dress - you could argue that the closest we get is morning suits / djs for men and wedding / ascot type clothes for women.

I am an immigrant. This is fucking ridiculous especially what others said about havong yo remain in uniform farmer being sent home (if both true).
This kind of forced overzealous self flagellating of nation will absolute lead to ultra far right government. And to be honest, quite understandably. And loss of local culture. Once country loses its culture and traditions, the country fails. I also think this is why quite a few immigrants are voting right too. Because they see the ridicolousness of self deletion and imvested enough in the country to care.

What have I said that suggests we shouldn’t celebrate music of black origin?

I agree

But by asking people to celebrate their culture, you are saying it’s ’other’ to British culture.

This sentiment of British culture being a melting pot where everyone is British equally is fine, but you undermine it when you then ask them to basically show you where they’re ’really from’.

A girl wore a union flag dress to my DD’s school and was praised! (She was wearing shorts underneath!) my dd wore her choir robes which the teachers loved as it is traditional British and not revealing like 3/4 of the white British girls outfits. The difference might be though that over half the students are Asian descent and came in many colourful clothes, though quite a few Asian lads came in jeans and cricket shirts! Many teachers are also Asian descent and came in lovely clothes, the evening fundraiser, a bring and share supper was amazing, I brought pastries topped with shellfish, could not deal with eels I’m afraid (I’m from London originally)

Crikey, I do apologise. That’s not how it was reported in the papers yesterday and if the school have said that it’s a chance to celebrate “their culture” (as in the children’s’ own culture) then I can’t see why they’d have a problem with a Union flag dress. It’s all a bit weird.

It was a culture day! Read the actual flyer - it says “your attire must reflect your nationality or family heritage.” Which hers did.

I saw this media story and thought it was likely a set-up by Reform or similar, with the poor kid the unwitting face of this. If the story is true, the head of the school and the teachers concerned should for sure get a bollocking (1) for stupidly excluding the child and (2) for being so devoid of political nous and judgment.

That said, there is definitely a bigger issue here for white British DCs with these dress-up diversity days (which are basically well-intentioned but ham-fistedly managed, see above). On various different occasions I sent my DC (very diverse school) in wearing - an EU logo T-shirt, a "global citizen" T-shirt and I also suggested a English country gent via the medium of wearing granddad's tweed cap (although got shot down by DC on this and it didn't happen). But each time I had to think really hard about what could be the options - just like World Book Day but on steroids.

A few ideas off the top of my head to make it easier.
Replace "diversity" day with "things I like" day (crap name but someone can think of a better one). Which would mean kids could dress as a footballer or as a Spanish dancer* or in a heritage or cultural dress.
*Schools to guide that no flags to be a major part of costumes (for anyone at all!). Flags are are an easy shortcut but usually a symbol of nationalism rather than culture anyway. I can think of quite a few countries where dressing in the flag is a symbol that you are a supporter of the ruling nationalist political party.
*Do a "bring a recipe/dish" day instead of dressing-up and run it after school on a designated day. This was successful at primary level at DC's school ... in fact it was so popular that the food quickly ran out. Relies on a core group of motivated parents to get it organised though.

Can anyone think of any more ideas?
*edited to remove some rogue bolding

"OP your constant references to “white British” reveal you as a racist."

And your condemnation of using the term "white British" reveals your racism.

If it’s cultural clothing how would the school have dealt with a pupil who came dressed up as a Morris dancer or full suit or armour as St George or even Brunel?

Having a British heritage that goes back many generations isn’t something to be ashamed of but the school clearly is stating that British culture/heritage is something shameful.

This is why the English cross of St George and the Union Jack appear racist. They are only flags but it does seem that only far Right thugs are happy to display them and other, British/English people, feel they shouldn’t without fear of being branded Reform or out and out racists.

It’s a mess and I imagine the other children from Bilton School didn’t care that this girl wore the Union Jack dress. The school were clearly wanting to celebrate multiculturalism (and that’s a great thing) whilst forgetting not all children are from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The school’s behaviour only creates division, not cohesion. A great idea but poorly executed I would say.

I think we need to reclaim the union Jack and flag of St George and be proud of being British /English and our heritage and culture.
I can't see anything wrong in what she wore or did.
Haven't read her speach but tbh parents help their kids with homework all the time.
School handled it very very badly.
Their reaction is exactly the sort of thing that divides communities and feeds racism.
School should have made it clear what they meant by"culture" and what could and could not be included.
Honestly I think calling this kind of batshit is good, why can't we be proud of being British, celebrate our heritage And respect other cultures.

I agree the last couple of paragraphs challenge the school where none is needed.

There is something implied in her letter that suggests that other cultures are being prioritised over British culture, and that we should fight back against this. The letter is confrontational and misleading. British culture is not disappearing. We live and breathe British culture each day. The cultures of others are highlighted on days such as this as a way of reminding us that British culture is actually made up of all these different influences. Her speech is divisive because it suggests that there is British culture AND all these others whereas I would argue that British culture is constituted of and has been influenced by all these different cultures.

I agree, it didn’t sound like a speech written by a year 7, even a ‘brightest in year’ ‘straight A’ year 7 (that’s going to go down well with the other pupils!)
It strikes me as a very adult perspective on culture, with an underlying message softened for public consumption.

So what answers would you expect when you ask that question? Because as a British person in Britain I have no idea what I would say.

So come on people - what should the child have worn?

It doesnt have to be a national dress. It wasnt 'national dress day' (unless Ive missed something)

Its culture day, something that represents your culture, your culture can be anything, a mixture of any of those things. If a sari represents you culture great. If a union jack represents your culture great.

Our grandson has just had his little coming out celebration from nursery in Spain, he wore his historical costume, its not a 'Spanish' historical costume but an outfit from the region, because Spain is very regional.

We are also regional if people care to look and embrace it.

Why aren't indigenous people's part of the diversity in the school? What if a south asian or black person wanted to see themselves as British and wear a similar dress or outfit? There is something profoundly othering and fundamentally racist about having a day like this. Its underlying message seems to be PoC should not see themselves as British and white British children should be ashamed of their culture.

Lets fact it, this is part of 'progressive' thinking around race, which encourages people to be ashamed of their British ( or American culture, where it originated) and where whiteness is associated with wrongness. I recently read an article where a black woman describes the racism she faces from South Asians, and described the South Asian's racism as a 'masterclass in white supremecy.' 🙄

These are deeply divisive ways to think that schools should not be encouraging.

If a school wants to celebrate diversity they should not be excluding some of that diversity from the day.

Sorry, why were the parents “dicks”? Are the British not allowed to have a culture? It wasn’t just this girl, either - apparently others were in trouble for the Welsh flag and the St George’s flag. Are we not supposed to take pride in our flag, as every other nation does? The “dicks” in this story were the school - a child turns up in a perfectly respectable Union Jack dress in a nod to Geri Halliwell - and is in trouble, because apparently everyone else in Britain is allowed to celebrate their culture except the white British. If you’re celebrating culture, it should be all cultures, and most particularly that of the home country. My daughters teach abroad - you don’t think any other country would be so daft as to send home children for wearing their own flag on a culture day, do you? I’m certainly not about to apologise for my culture - it’s the only one I have.
(edited for spelling mistake!)

People are swiftly moving past the alleged Tommy Robinson connection….

I've not read the whole thread, but I was convinced this was going to turn out to be that the girl's dress was ridiculously short and showed her pants or that she'd been sent home for being rude and not because of the dress. Then I saw the school's apology, so it looks like this was actually why she was sent home. I'm surprised!

The handled this very badly indeed, we keep hearing about being inclusive but this was anything but that. I wish people would stop talking our culture down and making out that everyone else’s is so amazing and interesting. There are good and bad things about all cultures.

That was my first thought, it’s not traditional dress.

having said that, if the school wanted to be prescriptive they should have said that a flag wasn’t traditional dress.