racism and sexism in school?

Lol, yes. Uniforms exist so to instill better order and discipline. It also makes the pupils look neat and presentable. Giving a good impression of the school in the community. A boy with massively long hair doesn't fit in with the uniform code - and yes its sexual discrimination. it happens in every part of life. It wouldn't be ok for a boy to wear a dress to school either.

Reply 23

shady lane

OP

16

Zakatu

There is one uniform code for boys, one for girls. Call it sexist if you like. I'd call it political correctness if you did. There has allways been different rules for boys and girls in school.

I'm not saying that boys and girls should be treated exactly the same in school. However, the issue with hair is that it cannot be easily replaced, like a piercing or something like that. I personally think that dress code rules should adapt to modern times. In the 1960s, long hair on a boy was a sign of rebellion, and was completely against social norms. Today, such is not the case. I don't see a long-haired guy and think he is a rebel. They need to change the rules so that a boy can have hair neatly tied back or something like that. It's ridiculous.

Does this look like an unruly criminal to you?

Reply 24

Straggler

..

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 25

I don't really think you understand that in a school everybody has to abide by the rules. Uniform code is subjective and down to the management of the school, but nonetheless if you got to school you have to obey the SCHOOL RULES. If you disagree then go to another school. If there is demand for a change the regulations then through the PTA etc changes can be made to the uniform policy.

Can you see what i mean? regardless of a hair style being right or wrong, it is not the child that gets to decide but the teachers. And what they say goes.

Reply 26

Straggler

..

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 27

Thats true when you are in optional education. But pre-16 education is compulsory. If you disagree with school rules then you must also disagree with compulsory pre-16 education.

There ARE some liberties denied to children, society has done this because on the whole it makes things better. One example is that children under 16 are forces to go to school by the government. If the government can do that then they can also say "you must wear school uniform".

The liberties of children are a different issue. Surely if you think children should be able to choose their uniform they should be able to choose whether or not to go to school too.

Reply 28

Straggler

..

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 29

Well, in alot of schools. Hair is part of the uniform. Uniform doesn't just mean your clothes, it means your appearance as a whole too.

I raised the point of pre-16 education because you were saying that uniform rules were a limit to your liberty. So my point is that a child under 16 allready has alot of limitations on their liberty.

In a way school is a bit like being in military service. You have no choice about being there and you have to accept the authority of your teachers. This covers many things, such as discipline and uniform.

If you disagree with one of these things (uniform) then i can't see how you CAN agree to other things, such as detention. Which are an attack on your "rights".

Of course, alot of people buy into the idea that children are mini adults and should be treated as such. This goes a long way into explaining the terrible state of discipline in alot of schools. Compared to how it was in the past.

Reply 30

silverbolt

19

FeedTheGoat

It doesn't mention anything about his past and undermines Sam's statement because he was blatently told exactly what to say by his solicitor father so as not to get in further trouble.

you could very well be right, however to tell him to cut his hair is sexist and the school can not exclude him for that.
However if as you say he is a little s**t then the school needs to deal with that.

The problems going to be if he then got excluded for something else the solictor dad is going to turn round and say "hey my darling little boy wouldnt do that your just saying this cos we made you take him back the firt time."

Reply 31

FeedTheGoat

FanTOM

I never said the boy had done no wrong. There is not enough information about whether the boy is a "troublemaker" or not. He claims to be a victim of racism at school, and is now going to be further discriminated against for having a "mop-head". It's the kids who throw insults around like this that should be punished. Otherwise they enter later life thinking it is acceptable. Human rights a farce? Pur-lease, without human rights the world would be in chaos. So many people have fought to bring us the human rights that we have now. Do we just leave it at that? No, we should campaign for more equality.

Whe World has human rights? Since when? Where is this saintly document kept and where can I read it? I think you'll find fewer countries than you think, have any form of human rights and those that do have quite conflicting views as to what they entail. This also leads on to the debate of cultural imperialism which I really don't want to go into here.
What is that about the kids throwing insults around? Why do you take this guys word and believe it, it is clearly an excuse that he was 'bullied' into breaking the rules. People really need to grow a pair and take responsibility for their actions. People always seek to exploit a mitigating factor or go so far in this case, as to probably make it up.
I love'd your line about the World being in chaos about Human Rights. Perhaps if we had Human Rights worldwide we would start going round with long hair and the new grossly liberal attitude whereby nobody takes responsibility for their actions.

He knew the rules since it is his second year of college. He knew you couldn't have long hair. Yet, he grew his hair. The result was his suspension. Does nobody see how clear this is? The rule is a rule, like in my old college you couldn't wear shorts too school regardless of how hot it was and if you did you got sent home. Being sent home at all is a 'violation of your human rights' as it deprives you of an education you're all so deserving of.

Let's not forget the really stupid stuff in human rights, like the denied extradition of foreign criminals like rapists and murderers (amongst other crimes) because they claim they will be killed upon their return. They play that ridiculous card everytime and most of them run back home on their parole anyway. Human rights is the biggest load of rubbish. Like 'everyone has a right to food'. Uhm yeh, if they go out and work for it. They don't work and have it presented to them on the welfare system which keeps them from 'poverty' and 'starvation' whilst everyone else who has this right goes out to work. They may have a right to food but I fail to see why someone else has to provide it for them. I personally think you have to earn these rights because it makes it too easy for people to just think they can't be bothered and do nothing knowing that their 'human rights' will keep them right.
Ergh, I can't be arsed to go through the whole thing of human rights but if you ever study it as part of your course you'll think it is absolutely ridiculous and in reality a veneer of a fallacy (worldwide especially). It's opinion anyway I guess...

Reply 32

*titanium*

12

There was this big sexism issue at my school. About long hair and earings. These are girl things, and guys are not allowed them, but isnt facial a guy thing? yet we are not allowed to have faical ahir, we msut hsave. NOw this stuff has never troubled me however it does make me think, the school is bieng sexist.

The girls dont have to wear ties and dont have to wear formal shirts. Yet us guys get told off for not havieng out top button done up or because our tie is loose.

There is very little justification for this differing treatment.

Women cry out about sexism when they get under payed yet it is found that men are much more likely to ask for a raise and are more carear motivated, so no wonder men get more money!

Fact is, theres no good reason for why guys are not allowed earings in school, the school says it is not what us expected of guys in an office enviroment, but why should social norms come in to play when it is ethics we are talking about.

Reply 33

Higgy

2

My school wasnt really sexist but it was quite racist, there were many occasions when the 'asian' lads and the 'white' lads would have big brawls just because of the fact that they were asian.

Reply 34

D00

Well I have to say this, the majority of the blacks in my school (not all of them) were inferior acedemically to the white pupils, especially the black boys. Now I'm not being racist, but most of them had no interest in learning, messed around and distracted other pupils. I think they should be seperate schooling for black and white children. This has been proposed before in the new Labour goverment once, so don't blab on about your political correct anti-racist rubbish.

Reply 35

Gammon

I am sitting a bit on the fence in this debate.
I can understand from the point of view of the boy. He was probably trying to highlight how bad the racist comments were up til the point when he felt forced to grow his hair to hide himself.
The school should sort their priorities out. Expelling a pupil for long hair (harmless) is clearly trivial when there is bullying and racism going on in the school.
However from the schools perspective - I understand that they may want short hair as to appear smart, traditional and as to not aquire a bad, unproper reputation. However I believe the way they tackled the problem was too extreme. This boy will have expulsion now on his record. Detentions, a serious talk to his parents would have been a more suitable punishment.

Reply 36

Scipio

There was no racism at my school that was known to me, though there may have been a minor incident here and there that I didn't know about. However, one of my friends is Iraqi, but he spent most of his youth in Germany, till about 10 years old, when he moved over to England. This resulted in some nasty 'nazi' name calling from one or two ********s.

Reply 37

D00

Well I have to say this, the majority of the blacks in my school (not all of them) were inferior acedemically to the white pupils, especially the black boys. Now I'm not being racist, but most of them had no interest in learning, messed around and distracted other pupils. I think they should be seperate schooling for black and white children. This has been proposed before in the new Labour goverment once, so don't blab on about your political correct anti-racist rubbish.

Its good that you can stand up and say, most people are too politically correct to think of it. I applaud you for doing so.

Reply 38

*titanium*

12

Zakatu

Its good that you can stand up and say, most people are too politically correct to think of it. I applaud you for doing so.

I have seen this before, but at my school i was at for 6th form there was no a large number of black people, mainly white and muslim. But the black people where all above average and mostly very clever.

Reply 39