School trip dress code...wtf?!

Legionreturns

My daughter is going on a trip to Amsterdam with her school. They just sent out a list of stuff we need to know...

It includes this line: 

"Students should dress appropriately for a school trip. We are visiting historic places of interest so short or low cut items for the girls are not suitable and boys should not wear any football shirts. T shirts with inappropriate images or slogans on them should also not be worn."

I was not aware we had regressed to Victorian times. Does she have to wear a boater? 

Presumably, by their wording, boys can wear short skirts if they want to, and the girls can wear a football shirt saying "fuck the rules"? 

FelineGuitars

It would be the same with ANY school to be fair....including Dutch ones visiting London.

BloodEagle

Sounds like a pretty sensible policy to be honest - shouldnt pupils be following that dress code all the time at school anyway, or am I just hopelessly stuck in the past?

Brize

Yep, perfectly reasonable. I wouldn't want my daughter wearing short or low-cut items or t-shirts with inappropriate images/slogans anyway.  

darthed1981

Not seen this obviously

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRfluaMKoOY

thumpingrug

We regressed to Victorian times around 2010,  have you not seen the rise in people sleeping rough and the out of nowhere need for food banks to prevent people from starving.  I think the schools approach is over the top and might even be sexist, but thats 2018 for you.

EricTheWeary

My impression ( based on one holiday to the Netherlands, so this might not be scientific) is that the Dutch are as conservative as they are liberal. Everything in it's place: the Abraxas coffee shop and Anne Frank’s house are different places even if you can walk from one to the other in five minutes. Assuming your daughter is going to see the Van Gogh museum rather than the Banana Bar I’m siding with the school on this one. 

Sporky

Having worked for a Netherlands-based company, I can confirm that my experience, too, is that they are indeed more conservative than you might expect given Amsterdam's reputation. 

Legionreturns

EricTheWeary said:

My impression ( based on one holiday to the Netherlands, so this might not be scientific) is that the Dutch are as conservative as they are liberal. Everything in it's place: the Abraxas coffee shop and Anne Frank’s house are different places even if you can walk from one to the other in five minutes. Assuming your daughter is going to see the Van Gogh museum rather than the Banana Bar I’m siding with the school on this one. 

Ajax stadium, Ann Frsnk's house, some theme park and a clog factory... 

Yes ok I deliberately read the thing wrong for comedic effect, but its blatant sexism for one, and incredibly outdated. This is a school that won't let girls wear trousers...

Phil_aka_Pip

BloodEagle said:

Sounds like a pretty sensible policy to be honest - shouldnt pupils be following that dress code all the time at school anyway, or am I just hopelessly stuck in the past?

You're hopelessly stuck in the past. As is any school that insists on a uniform other than practical easy-to-maintain clothing. You don't see the Germans or the French getting uptight about whether the kid has the right colour socks or whether he has a tie on, but there's nothing wrong with their education.

EricTheWeary

Legionreturns said:

EricTheWeary said:

My impression ( based on one holiday to the Netherlands, so this might not be scientific) is that the Dutch are as conservative as they are liberal. Everything in it's place: the Abraxas coffee shop and Anne Frank’s house are different places even if you can walk from one to the other in five minutes. Assuming your daughter is going to see the Van Gogh museum rather than the Banana Bar I’m siding with the school on this one. 

Ajax stadium, Ann Frsnk's house, some theme park and a clog factory... 

Yes ok I deliberately read the thing wrong for comedic effect, but its blatant sexism for one, and incredibly outdated. This is a school that won't let girls wear trousers...

The opposite ( no short or low cut items for any pupil) might be seen as a bit pointlessly politically correct mebbe? 

Iamnobody

I’d say it’s a step in the right direction - I remember a school trip to the south of France at 15ish where the girls wore bikini tops and shorts/hot pants for much of the time. Some sunbathed topless and our French teacher at the time thought it was hilarious that he’d taken some photos. He’d probably be struck off as a minimum now...

Phil_aka_Pip

Legionreturns said:

Presumably, by their wording, boys can wear short skirts if they want to, and the girls can wear a football shirt saying "fuck the rules"? 

You remind me of a young chap that came to work in the same place as me. He told me that a teacher at his school had told him to take his earring out, claiming it was "against the rules". Matey showed this teacher the rules, which clearly stated "Girls shall not wear earrings". Said nothing about boys

Legionreturns

Iamnobody said:

I’d say it’s a step in the right direction - I remember a school trip to the south of France at 15ish where the girls wore bikini tops and shorts/hot pants for much of the time. Some sunbathed topless and our French teacher at the time thought it was hilarious that he’d taken some photos. He’d probably be struck off as a minimum now...

On my school trip to Amsterdam, the teachers sat having "coffee" while we spent our pennies on porn machines, unsupervised for 4 hours.

BloodEagle

Phil_aka_Pip said:

BloodEagle said:

Sounds like a pretty sensible policy to be honest - shouldnt pupils be following that dress code all the time at school anyway, or am I just hopelessly stuck in the past?

You're hopelessly stuck in the past. As is any school that insists on a uniform other than practical easy-to-maintain clothing. You don't see the Germans or the French getting uptight about whether the kid has the right colour socks or whether he has a tie on, but there's nothing wrong with their education.

With respect, I think that's bullshit - I dont believe I am stuck in the past. I went to school with a strict uniform policy, and my daughter is due to go to one this year - one of the reasons I liked it was because it has a uniform. I can completely understand a teacher not wanting his or her pupils dressed like a bunch of slobs.

EricTheWeary

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Legionreturns said:

Presumably, by their wording, boys can wear short skirts if they want to, and the girls can wear a football shirt saying "fuck the rules"? 

You remind me of a young chap that came to work in the same place as me. He told me that a teacher at his school had told him to take his earring out, claiming it was "against the rules". Matey showed this teacher the rules, which clearly stated "Girls shall not wear earrings". Said nothing about boys

I went to school with an earring and the gym teacher stopped me doing PE ( that was a win for me!). Next week two of my equally unfit classmates also turned up with pierced ears. However, we were just made to take them out. 

Slightly struggling to believe  that I was such a rebel...

axisus

I don't see a problem at all with those rules? Do parents have to be indignant at everything these days?

RaymondLin

I don't see what the problem is.  All it is saying is don't dress like a slut and a football hooligan.  Like it or not, we don't have the best reputation when it comes to being football fans.

I've seen plenty of places around where it says no football jersey allow, what if they didn't enforce that by the school and at the door of said museum, your child can't gain entry and had to wait at the lobby whilst the rest of the class get to see and learn?

You are going to another country, learn to respect their rules, play a little on the conservative side, why do you feel the need to exercise all this freedom BS, if you want to dress what you want, or walk naked, do it at home.  When you step outside your home, there are rules.

Teyeplayer

Come on mate, we both work with teens and know how they’ll bend the rules.

I bet in a few schools you’ve worked In that you’ve seen what they rock up in on mufti-day and though wtf -you were allowed to leave the house like that? I know I have. The school are just avoiding having their ‘cultural’ trip mistaken for shagaloof 2018 and are giving themselves the necessary grounds to remove a students freedom if they need to. After all, you’d be mortified if your daughter suddenly posted photos of her and her mates online in the redlight district looking like underage workers. That’s what the school want to avoid too.

Heartfeltdawn

RaymondLin said:

I don't see what the problem is.  All it is saying is don't dress like a slut and a football hooligan.  Like it or not, we don't have the best reputation when it comes to being football fans.

And that reputation is unfair when you look at other European football leagues. Way worse than us. 

Legionreturns

Personally, I don't agree with school uniform. A simple hoody or jumper, yes, fine, but the blazers, ties and skirts within 4cm of the knee either way and shiny (but not patent) leather black shoes crap really gets my goat. 

If my daughters school spent half as much energy worrying about what's in their heads instead of on their feet they'd have a chance at understanding kids. There are many problems with staff, caused mainly by a dinosaur leadership team that still think its the 1930s.