So, the summer holidays have come to an end, this week most children here in the UK will be heading back to school and for us here our daughter will be having her first experience of high school. For her a daunting and worrying time and for us much the same, yet all with that little hint of excitement at something new.
That said, secondary school here in the UK has always had a strict code of conduct in regards to uniform and various other factors and it has become quite clear that quite a high degree of control is placed upon the children, so much so that it seems to have gotten a little carried away. What schools are not realising is that they are strictly enforcing practices which are both sexist and discriminatory on a personal and gender based level.
Some examples of this are ones that I myself had to cope with when I was at high school. Boys are not allowed to have long hair (if it gets past the chin they demand it is cut) and boys are not allowed to wear ear rings under any circumstances yet for girls both of these are allowed, but with conditions. Girls can wear ear rings but only one in each ear and hair must be in a “simple and suitable style” leaving the specifics out to allow themselves more scope of control. The school even insists on the colour underwear that must be worn whilst at school, specifically for during gym sessions…..I would be interested to discover just ow they plan to check and enforce that one – lawyers at the ready!
Clearly though what is made evident to the pupils is differentiation. One rule for boys and one rule for girls, separate conditions for separate genders. Is this really how we should be influencing those who are so easily influenced? Of course it is, that is if you want them to grow in healthy members of a controlling social system that has inequality of pay and different treatment for men and women from the workplace all the way to the courtroom and back again. Another thing to ponder is this – in the UK, as a woman are you ever in your life going to wear a full suit with shirt and tie? The chances of anyone saying yes are very very slim, yet we insist that all school girls dress up like boys with full suit shirt and tie….erm….am I missing something there….hmmm
What starts as can or cant wear ear rings over time develops into an underlying acceptance of various other segregated levels of control. Why has unequal pay persisted for so long, and is still to this day not contested enough to actual cause much change? Because we are socialised to accept it.
What I like about this topic is that it is one that you can actively start to try and change – how do I plan on going about that. My name is down for the parent/teacher association and I plan on running for school governor as soon as elections open. I did the same at my daughters primary school and played an integral part in exposing and helping stamp out an disturbing and often overlooked problem – racism against white people (and yes for those who get their back up at this issue, it bloody happens and ignored because it is almost ASSUMED that white people will NOT be on the receiving end of racism which is flat out rubbish). Yes that was me shouting a bit there but that issue has affected my family quite a lot over the last 5 years at my daughters school.
So, if you have children at secondary school, take a close look at the “school rules” and have a think about just what kind of example they might be setting for your children – do you really want them to grow up repeating the same mistakes we are all making right now?
Tags: identification, Rights, slavery, society
This is an excellent post. I’m bookmarking your blog and will sure be back for more. Thank you.
I totally agree with you. Me and my fiance if we have children we will have them home schooled. The teaching will be split between ourselves and a home tutor, social activities will be organized depening on what they are interested in etc etc. I think secondary education is maddening. All sorts of things are changing willy-nilly in the british education system at the whim of whatever party is in power. The way I see it, its becoming less and less stable, ever increasingly endoctrinating as you have rightfully pointed out and the hours, the confines of the rooms and stiff structure is not something I want our children to endure. And no sodding uniform! As long as they are comfortable and organized. Rant over.