PC Gone Wrong!

Old Jul 19th 2005, 11:10 am
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Angry PC Gone Wrong!



Thought I'd share with you our recent experience of political correctness going wrong. For the record, we're white. My 12 year old daughter and 4 of her friends had a food fight outside the school gates last night, after school, with a tin of aerosol cream that one of them, an asian girl, had brought to school for a cookery class. The asian girl started the food fight and when I got home my daughter was on the phone to this girl having a good laugh about it, they'd had terrific fun. I didn't mind that her uniform needed another wash, or that her bag was covered in the stuff, they'd had a great time. It's nearly the end of the school year and they were letting off steam. It had gone on for a while before a teacher leaving school for the day had stopped it.

At 8.15 this morning I got a call from the school. It was being considered a racist attack because the cream was white and it was being pushed into an asian girl's face. Nothing was said about the girls rubbing the cream into the half caste girl's face, when I mentioned that the teacher said they were dealing with one thing at a time but that they weren't aware of her having had it done, despite the fact she had it all over her and in her hair - she'd come back to our house afterwards and had a shower and borrowed clothes so I could wash her uniform at the same time as my daughter's. Of the girls involved, three are white British, one is half caste British and one is asian British.

This asian girl has been to our house several times and is as welcome there as any of our children's friends, but my daughter is now being investigated for a racist attack. Her parents haven't made any complaint, why the hell are the school getting themselves involved?

Now, am I being stupid? I asked the teacher on the phone if the asian girl had rubbed nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) onto a white girl would that be considered racist? She didn't have an answer other than each case would be treated on its merits. To me, that wasn't an answer.

So today the school are having a meeting and will be questioning the girls individually and collectively and taking any action considered appropriate. No doubt the asian girl is going to confirm she wasn't being intimidated, it was all a bit of fun, etc, but it having even gone to an investigation where they've all got to sit outside the Head's office and go in one at a time is pathetic. Why not just ask her, then leave it alone? I can even understand they might want to reassure themselves she's not being bullied in any way - fine, but check it out before you start calling people racist!

How the hell are children expected to integrate and not see colour if they can't do something this simple without being accused of being racist? Do they tell non-white people that they can't join a simple food fight game because the food they're using is not brown?

I'm livid - can you tell?


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Old Jul 19th 2005, 11:34 am
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by bookemjano


Thought I'd share with you our recent experience of political correctness going wrong. For the record, we're white. My 12 year old daughter and 4 of her friends had a food fight outside the school gates last night, after school, with a tin of aerosol cream that one of them, an asian girl, had brought to school for a cookery class. The asian girl started the food fight and when I got home my daughter was on the phone to this girl having a good laugh about it, they'd had terrific fun. I didn't mind that her uniform needed another wash, or that her bag was covered in the stuff, they'd had a great time. It's nearly the end of the school year and they were letting off steam. It had gone on for a while before a teacher leaving school for the day had stopped it.

At 8.15 this morning I got a call from the school. It was being considered a racist attack because the cream was white and it was being pushed into an asian girl's face. Nothing was said about the girls rubbing the cream into the half caste girl's face, when I mentioned that the teacher said they were dealing with one thing at a time but that they weren't aware of her having had it done, despite the fact she had it all over her and in her hair - she'd come back to our house afterwards and had a shower and borrowed clothes so I could wash her uniform at the same time as my daughter's. Of the girls involved, three are white British, one is half caste British and one is asian British.

This asian girl has been to our house several times and is as welcome there as any of our children's friends, but my daughter is now being investigated for a racist attack. Her parents haven't made any complaint, why the hell are the school getting themselves involved?

Now, am I being stupid? I asked the teacher on the phone if the asian girl had rubbed nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) onto a white girl would that be considered racist? She didn't have an answer other than each case would be treated on its merits. To me, that wasn't an answer.

So today the school are having a meeting and will be questioning the girls individually and collectively and taking any action considered appropriate. No doubt the asian girl is going to confirm she wasn't being intimidated, it was all a bit of fun, etc, but it having even gone to an investigation where they've all got to sit outside the Head's office and go in one at a time is pathetic. Why not just ask her, then leave it alone? I can even understand they might want to reassure themselves she's not being bullied in any way - fine, but check it out before you start calling people racist!

How the hell are children expected to integrate and not see colour if they can't do something this simple without being accused of being racist? Do they tell non-white people that they can't join a simple food fight game because the food they're using is not brown?

I'm livid - can you tell?


Jan, are you leaving England by choice, or are your family being evicted?

A very touchy subject that can easily get misunderstood.
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 12:00 pm
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The world has gone bonkers!
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 12:42 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by planty
Jan, are you leaving England by choice, or are your family being evicted?

A very touchy subject that can easily get misunderstood.
We're getting out before we're thrown out! I have calmed down considerably now, can see the funny side (just)!
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 4:40 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

On my way home tonight I heard on the BBC London news that the word "Fail" is to be banned in British schools and replaced with the words "Deferred Success".

Don't want to go stigmatising our little dears do we?


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Old Jul 19th 2005, 5:17 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by Sega Mad
On my way home tonight I heard on the BBC London news that the word "Fail" is to be banned in British schools and replaced with the words "Deferred Success".

Don't want to go stigmatising our little dears do we?


Easy PC
Well in that case I'm not fat I'm 'Deferred Slim'
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 5:37 pm
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With the london bombings the school may be expecting bullying so probably being over reactive. But in some ways I think I would rather they checked it out than later find that it was bullying etc and some kid had committed suicide over it..... But everywhere is getting so sensitive nowadays, they sure are taking fun out of life nowadays though........now this food fight I haven't had one for a while, can I join in....

Originally Posted by bookemjano


Thought I'd share with you our recent experience of political correctness going wrong. For the record, we're white. My 12 year old daughter and 4 of her friends had a food fight outside the school gates last night, after school, with a tin of aerosol cream that one of them, an asian girl, had brought to school for a cookery class. The asian girl started the food fight and when I got home my daughter was on the phone to this girl having a good laugh about it, they'd had terrific fun. I didn't mind that her uniform needed another wash, or that her bag was covered in the stuff, they'd had a great time. It's nearly the end of the school year and they were letting off steam. It had gone on for a while before a teacher leaving school for the day had stopped it.

At 8.15 this morning I got a call from the school. It was being considered a racist attack because the cream was white and it was being pushed into an asian girl's face. Nothing was said about the girls rubbing the cream into the half caste girl's face, when I mentioned that the teacher said they were dealing with one thing at a time but that they weren't aware of her having had it done, despite the fact she had it all over her and in her hair - she'd come back to our house afterwards and had a shower and borrowed clothes so I could wash her uniform at the same time as my daughter's. Of the girls involved, three are white British, one is half caste British and one is asian British.

This asian girl has been to our house several times and is as welcome there as any of our children's friends, but my daughter is now being investigated for a racist attack. Her parents haven't made any complaint, why the hell are the school getting themselves involved?

Now, am I being stupid? I asked the teacher on the phone if the asian girl had rubbed nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) onto a white girl would that be considered racist? She didn't have an answer other than each case would be treated on its merits. To me, that wasn't an answer.

So today the school are having a meeting and will be questioning the girls individually and collectively and taking any action considered appropriate. No doubt the asian girl is going to confirm she wasn't being intimidated, it was all a bit of fun, etc, but it having even gone to an investigation where they've all got to sit outside the Head's office and go in one at a time is pathetic. Why not just ask her, then leave it alone? I can even understand they might want to reassure themselves she's not being bullied in any way - fine, but check it out before you start calling people racist!

How the hell are children expected to integrate and not see colour if they can't do something this simple without being accused of being racist? Do they tell non-white people that they can't join a simple food fight game because the food they're using is not brown?

I'm livid - can you tell?


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Old Jul 19th 2005, 6:08 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by Sega Mad
On my way home tonight I heard on the BBC London news that the word "Fail" is to be banned in British schools and replaced with the words "Deferred Success".

Don't want to go stigmatising our little dears do we?


Easy PC

*LOL* ... I remember the term "terminally inconvenienced" in place of "dead". Inserting into Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch, "Sir, this parrot IS NOT DEAD, it is merely terminally inconvenienced".
 
Old Jul 19th 2005, 9:41 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by bookemjano
Well in that case I'm not fat I'm 'Deferred Slim'

I think the phrase "you couldn't make it up" says it all!!

Matt
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 10:05 pm
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Originally Posted by the turner family
I think the phrase "you couldn't make it up" says it all!!

Matt
Alex (11 yrs) had his end of term show at school this evening. With his 2 best friends they did a spoof of the tv gameshow 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' Alex's part was changed at the last minute because it was deemed inappropriate that he was playing a drunk
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 10:05 pm
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Update - all four girls had to apologise to the asian girl even though she told the teachers she started it and it was just fun, who is so embarrassed about the whole thing and is now worried her four best friends are going to treat her differently, my daughter is worried that everything she says to her asian school peers can be construed as offensive (the school is 35% asian) - so who's come off worse because of so called political correctness? A group of girls who have been best mates for months now have tension amongst them that wasn't there before, 5 sets of parents are up in arms, teachers have wasted god knows how much time investigating a problem that wasn't even there, and my daughter has 'involved in possible racist attack' on her school record! That'll look good when we try to get her into a school in NZ won't it!

If you read the previous thread on why you want to leave the UK you'll know it took me 3 years to get my son away from a school where he suffered terrible bullying. Crazy world we live in isn't it!

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Old Jul 19th 2005, 10:30 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by bookemjano
Update - all four girls had to apologise to the asian girl even though she told the teachers she started it and it was just fun, who is so embarrassed about the whole thing and is now worried her four best friends are going to treat her differently, my daughter is worried that everything she says to her asian school peers can be construed as offensive (the school is 35% asian) - so who's come off worse because of so called political correctness? A group of girls who have been best mates for months now have tension amongst them that wasn't there before, 5 sets of parents are up in arms, teachers have wasted god knows how much time investigating a problem that wasn't even there, and my daughter has 'involved in possible racist attack' on her school record! That'll look good when we try to get her into a school in NZ won't it!

If you read the previous thread on why you want to leave the UK you'll know it took me 3 years to get my son away from a school where he suffered terrible bullying. Crazy world we live in isn't it!
Jan, it sounds like you've had one hell of a day..PC gone terribly wrong I would say....

If I was you I would fight tooth and nail to get 'involved in possible racist attack' removed from her school record...it is untrue and unfair of them to put something like that on her file...sorry, just what I would do....no child deserves to undergo this sort of treatment for what was essentially a bit of harmless childhood fun...dear God, what is the world coming to..

I hope that your daughter and her friends can all put this behind them and that they come to realise that it was just a horrible error of judgement on the part of the teachers involved...
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 10:38 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by Pinkie Pie
Jan, it sounds like you've had one hell of a day..PC gone terribly wrong I would say....

If I was you I would fight tooth and nail to get 'involved in possible racist attack' removed from her school record...it is untrue and unfair of them to put something like that on her file...sorry, just what I would do....no child deserves to undergo this sort of treatment for what was essentially a bit of harmless childhood fun...dear God, what is the world coming to..

I hope that your daughter and her friends can all put this behind them and that they come to realise that it was just a horrible error of judgement on the part of the teachers involved...
I'm going to write into the school and make a complaint, and copy it to the Chair of Governors. I hate making trouble in a school, I know they have a really hard job, but it seems they don't shy away from making it even harder from themselves. Helen wants to write a letter for her file as well and has told the teacher that if they say the file has to have full information on it it needs to have her letter. I hope writing it on white paper doesn't cause problems!

In the meantime I've told her to have the other four girls over for tea on the last school day and they can throw what food they want at each other. They're a great little group, they don't deserve this crap. I just hope that's not the day the house buyers decide to pop in!
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 11:03 pm
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You really couldn't make this stuff up Jan. When Ali was teaching in a comprehensive school in Buckinghamshire in the late 90s, David Beckham had closely cropped hair and loads of boys naturally were copying the latest Beckham hairstyle. In assembly a group of lads (all white) were dragged up on stage in front of the entire school and accused of being racist because of their hair. Afro hair is notoriously difficult to manage so the close crop is a popular hairstyle for African boys too. How many of those boys were dragged up on stage and given the same treatment? Now of course Ali didn't know these boys and neither do we so who are to say that they weren't racist? However the proof given that they were racist was that they had a No.1 crop. No incidents were recounted or anecdotes shared with the audience just 'they have shaved heads, therefore they are racist'. Disgraceful. Interestingly this incident occurred during some particularly bad outbreaks of headlice in various schools and I've noticed the increasing popularity of the close crop to combat this, particularly in black children.

Thank God your daughter didn't suffer the indignity of being humiliated in front of the whole school. Some teachers really need to take a reality check.
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Old Jul 19th 2005, 11:04 pm
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Default Re: PC Gone Wrong!

Originally Posted by bookemjano
I'm going to write into the school and make a complaint, and copy it to the Chair of Governors. I hate making trouble in a school, I know they have a really hard job, but it seems they don't shy away from making it even harder from themselves. Helen wants to write a letter for her file as well and has told the teacher that if they say the file has to have full information on it it needs to have her letter. I hope writing it on white paper doesn't cause problems!

In the meantime I've told her to have the other four girls over for tea on the last school day and they can throw what food they want at each other. They're a great little group, they don't deserve this crap. I just hope that's not the day the house buyers decide to pop in!
Jan, speaking as someone who works in a high school , I would strongly advise you to also send a copy of your letter to your local Education office which will probably be based at your local county council, sorry not very familiar with Manchester so don't know the local set up if you see what I mean...

I would also try and put off any viewings for 24 hours after your tea party :scared:
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