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Friday 1 August 2008

Baubles, bangles and bias

We're not the only ones here at Pink Triangle to pose the question about what will happen to schools' dress codes after the case of the 14-year-old Sikh pupil in South Wales who won her case after a dispute over her bangle.

The kara is a thin, unobtrusive bangle that is considered essential (see our previous posts, "So it's any bling goes at school today" and "Bangle wrangle") within the Sikh religion. Why should there be a fuss over something so inoffensive? you may ask.

But the school, at Aberdare, said no jewellery except ear studs and watches. That sounds to me like a rule that says, "No exceptions!" But an exception has been made, and that exception has been made in the name of religion.

And that is favouring the religious above others, who might wish to wear, say, a nose stud or a special kind of necklace – equally unobtrusive, you could argue – for good reasons of their own.

But they wouldn't be allowed to. Yet the Sikh girl is allowed her bangle.

The Times Educational Supplement has a report today, and teachers' unions, it seems, aren't happy. They need guidance.

The only guidance that can come out of this is that pupils be allowed to wear only what the school stipulates is allowable, except in the case of religious requirements. Or perceived religious requirements.

And that would be grossly unfair and morally indefensible.

3 comments:

Cadiz said...

Sikhs always had the right to wear a bangle, the teaching unions are running wild, they're complete foaming at the mouth lunatics, they just want trouble, and more trouble.

They had one Sikh too many (one), and they wanted to get rid of her.

'It has now emerged that to have a proper race equality policy in place. An audit by the local education authority, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, established earlier this year that a number of schools, including Aberdare Girls, were not compliant.'

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2007/12/07/race-laws-breach-at-sikh-bangle-ban-school-91466-20215462/

The teaching unions are a complete joke, they want rules for other people, they don't obey the law themselves, they're anti-faith fanatics. Lawlessness and rogue activism is second nature to them.

One of the unions wanted to ban skirts, to protect male teachers from false allegations, like that was the problem, not really, the same union has more pedophiles than I have grass in my garden.

Diesel B said...

What is Cadiz talking about? Answers on a post card ...

Cadiz said...

The school had systemic race problems, I know it well, it was on one of our icky lists.

The establishment was operated lawlessly, even the LEA dumped them in Jan because it could see where the case was going.

The school simply didn't want any Sikhs. In the USA, the school would be closed down, it is beyond fixing.

In the USA you can't dump your Polish, Irish, Sikh kids in the street, it just illegal. In the UK it is just a resource technique.


On the TES web-site, home to thousands of Brit teachers, the child is being called a tub of lard.

TES - Teaching jobs, resources & ideas from the Times Educational ... Topic: Tub-of-lard kid with another stupid court action against a school . ... tenth Sikh Guru, who so ordered on the day of Baisakhi Amrit Sanskar in 1699. ...

That is what Brit teaching is about, they have immunity in virtually all circumstances. Every single Summer Camp in the USA, which hired Brit teachers had probs.

It goes back to the 1880's, the Brits just don't have any standards. The reason lIst 99 was created in 1926, was because Australia et alia, was fed-up with England sending her pedophiles to Oz etc.

The dominions basically had enough of it.