School makes pupils wear signs over uniform

[Still Waters]

A school has been criticised for making children wear signs around their necks if their uniforms are not up to scratch.

Pupils at the state school, Merchants’ Academy in Bristol, have to wear a lanyard with a card bearing the message: “I have 24 hours to sort out my uniform.’’

Parents say pupils have found themselves in trouble for wearing brightly coloured headbands or shoes that appear too shiny.

The school insists that its new “positive behaviour” policy is already improving behaviour and the number of pupils placed into isolation or excluded is fewer than had been expected when the measures were introduced in July. 

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/17/school-makes-pupils-wear-signs-if-uniform-doesnt-meet-standards

[Darkenpath25]

Reminds me of when I attended Catholic school . We wore uniforms . they had to be to dress code . Shoes black , dark blue slacks pressed , white shirt pressed , and a black and red tie . Personally I think all students in all schools should wear uniforms , that cuts down on children being made fun of because of what they wear. I think the dress code should be strict it is the beginning of a learning process and be taken very serious . After school you can dress the way you like weekends as well , No rules causes problems as well as poor grades . Making kids wear signs teaches them that school rules should be followed and teaches discipline , they have plenty of time after school and weekends to be a kid .

Edited July 17, 2017 by Darkenpath25
word correction

[skliss]

18 hours ago, Darkenpath25 said:

Reminds me of when I attended Catholic school . We wore uniforms . they had to be to dress code . Shoes black , dark blue slacks pressed , white shirt pressed , and a black and red tie . Personally I think all students in all schools should wear uniforms , that cuts down on children being made fun of because of what they wear. I think the dress code should be strict it is the beginning of a learning process and be taken very serious . After school you can dress the way you like weekends as well , No rules causes problems as well as poor grades . Making kids wear signs teaches them that school rules should be followed and teaches discipline , they have plenty of time after school and weekends to be a kid .

Mine worn uniforms. To this day they don't get the concept of looking down on people because of what they wear or what they own. It's baffling to them that people care or judge for such goofy reasons.

[GlitterRose]

It doesn't matter how much you make kids conform. They're going to find ways to pick on each other, and they don't need any help. 

Putting the equivalent of a dunce hat on a kid for wearing the wrong color hair band, or not having their shoes shined enough just seems over the top to me. And it's certainly not a positive behavior program. Maybe people should be asking why kids are being placed in isolation at all. Are they locking kids in the chokey?

[Darkenpath25]

9 hours ago, skliss said:

Mine worn uniforms. To this day they don't get the concept of looking down on people because of what they wear or what they own. It's baffling to them that people care or judge for such goofy reasons.

I don't agree with the way kids treat other kids because of how they dress but it happens , Kids are going to make fun no matter what because they are kids. Uniforms dressing to code following rules does help I've witnessed it myself.  

[DebDandelion]

Placing cards around their necks and placing them in isolation is cruel and unasked for. The kids themselves do not purchase their uniform, so we label them in order to force them (and their parents) to comply?

I have worked with many difficult children,.and 90% of them will change once a decent conversation is held with them. We don't want society to brand people and treat them differently yet we encourage it as school level. 

No wonder society is what it is, we as grown ups don't practice what we preach.

I have always believed that no matter what you wear, if you have a culture of learning you will learn. Discipline doesn't come from clothes,  it comes from choices. 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

On 19/07/2017 at 3:35 PM, DebDandelion said:

Placing cards around their necks and placing them in isolation is cruel and unasked for. The kids themselves do not purchase their uniform, so we label them in order to force them (and their parents) to comply?

I have worked with many difficult children,.and 90% of them will change once a decent conversation is held with them. We don't want society to brand people and treat them differently yet we encourage it as school level. 

No wonder society is what it is, we as grown ups don't practice what we preach.

I have always believed that no matter what you wear, if you have a culture of learning you will learn. Discipline doesn't come from clothes,  it comes from choices. 

Discipline does come from clothes - presuming you yourself is responsible for those clothes. When I was a Boys' Brigade leader we had two important rules about uniforms - you wore it well and you looked after it. That second one was reiterated to the parents as well, the children are to be solely responsible for their uniforms (ironing was the exception for the younger kids - the rule there was parents were to iron the uniform only if the kids asked them to). 

[The Silver Thong]

Jeans and a t-shirt for me thanks. 

[Parsec]

On 17/7/2017 at 9:23 PM, Darkenpath25 said:

Reminds me of when I attended Catholic school . We wore uniforms . they had to be to dress code . Shoes black , dark blue slacks pressed , white shirt pressed , and a black and red tie . Personally I think all students in all schools should wear uniforms , that cuts down on children being made fun of because of what they wear. I think the dress code should be strict it is the beginning of a learning process and be taken very serious . After school you can dress the way you like weekends as well , No rules causes problems as well as poor grades . Making kids wear signs teaches them that school rules should be followed and teaches discipline , they have plenty of time after school and weekends to be a kid .

Yes, because every child or teen in a uniform doesn't have any behavioural/disciplinary problem and has good grades, isn't it? 

 

Bad teachers and school systems cause problems and poor grades. 

But I guess it's easier to blame clothing and children. 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

5 hours ago, Parsec said:

Yes, because every child or teen in a uniform doesn't have any behavioural/disciplinary problem and has good grades, isn't it? 

 

Bad teachers and school systems cause problems and poor grades. 

But I guess it's easier to blame clothing and children. 

Bad teachers, Ill-run schools and inattentive students. 

Good students will achieve despite poor teaching. 

Great teaching cannot always surmount lack of support.

good students and good teachers are let down by administration.

the greatest teachers cannot motivate to learn students who do not want to learn. 

Edited July 22, 2017 by Sir Wearer of Hats

[Parsec]

12 hours ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

Bad teachers, Ill-run schools and inattentive students. 

Good students will achieve despite poor teaching. 

Great teaching cannot always surmount lack of support.

good students and good teachers are let down by administration.

the greatest teachers cannot motivate to learn students who do not want to learn. 

Agreed. 

And where does clothing fit in the picture? 

It would seem nowhere. 

[Parsec]

13 hours ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

the greatest teachers cannot motivate to learn students who do not want to learn. 

I tend to disagree on this. 

There are a very few people who don't really want to learn anything. 

Why doesn't the average "bad" student want to learn? 

Probably teachers should ask themselves (and to the students) this question first. 

And remember that the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting. 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

7 hours ago, Parsec said:

Agreed. 

And where does clothing fit in the picture? 

It would seem nowhere. 

I tend to agree - I work at "shoes optional" schools and they're identical in form, function and clientele to "detention for the wrong type of sock" schools. 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

7 hours ago, Parsec said:

I tend to disagree on this. 

There are a very few people who don't really want to learn anything. 

Why doesn't the average "bad" student want to learn? 

Probably teachers should ask themselves (and to the students) this question first. 

And remember that the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting. 

Perhaps it was ill-worded, but there are some people for whom the structured world of academia, even infant academia, is utterly disengaging. The world for which they are suited is entirely not connected to anything we teach - they're the Alaskan Bushmen of the world, the ones for whom society itself is too constraining. I've taught the type. The end up disappearing from the face of the Earth Outback and live happy lives close to the Earth. More power to thrm say, but in the education setting there's nothing that inspires them to slouch through the boring for them stuff (you know the sort, the ones who love science so tolerate Literacy, the ones who love Maths so grit and bear Sport....). 

[Parsec]

23 hours ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

Perhaps it was ill-worded, but there are some people for whom the structured world of academia, even infant academia, is utterly disengaging. The world for which they are suited is entirely not connected to anything we teach - they're the Alaskan Bushmen of the world, the ones for whom society itself is too constraining. I've taught the type. The end up disappearing from the face of the Earth Outback and live happy lives close to the Earth. More power to thrm say, but in the education setting there's nothing that inspires them to slouch through the boring for them stuff (you know the sort, the ones who love science so tolerate Literacy, the ones who love Maths so grit and bear Sport....). 

I see your point, but probably because I am in an "idealistic mood" these days, I don't completely agree. 

I do agree that a lot of what we teach at school sounds boring to a lot of students, but the issue lies in the way we "teach", not in the pupils. 

They get bored because what they listen (when they do) doesn't tick with them. 

First we should engage them. 

Before knowledge, there's passion. 

If you don't feel passionate about what you are forced to follow, you'll never own it. 

It's utter difficult to achieve this, but that's why teaching is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. 

The fact that a lot of people end up teaching because they couldn't find anything better, doesn't help. 

It is systemic, we should change the way our school systems work, but of course I 'm tipping a broader topic and I will stop here. 

[skliss]

Unfortunately its harder for them to cater to the individual student these days. Too much emphasis on test standards and not on teaching. One of the reasons we opted to do what we had to to send ours to private school.

Talking about bored....when my cousins son was little they had all kinds of problems with his behavior at school...he wouldn't pay attention, ignored the teacher, he hated school...she was always being called in. Finally they had him tested...turns out he was off the charts intelligent and so thoroughly bored at school he couldn't stand it. Once they sorted that all out and he was challenged he flew thru school. These days theyd probably just medicate him.