Support for Piercing

Published: 1:02 PM September 21, 2010 Updated: 9:24 PM October 31, 2020

I AM writing in response to your article ‘worse than prison’ in the Friday September 17 edition of Cambs Times.

I sympathize with Shannon and her family. Both of my children experienced similar victimization for their appearance during their time spent at Secondary school. The school that my children went to also ‘hid behind’ health & safety as a reason to ban facial piercings. However, when I requested a copy of the Risk Assessment that brought about this decision, they could not provide me with one.

My personal belief is that these outdated rules on uniform, hair colour and jewellery are there simply to ‘control’ the children and turn them into mindless drones. Schools say that they are trying to prepare children for the world of work and yet many teachers have never actually worked outside of education. In addition to this many children (like my own) will progress onto further education and university where there are no dress codes. A uniform takes away a persons identity. Your appearance is a big part of your personality and the person that you are. Most teenagers go through fazes, it is part of their evolution to adulthood and the system that should be helping them make this transition is suffocating them by taking away their identity creativity and individuality.

If Neale Wade are trying to ‘raise academic and social achievement’, then why are they making assumptions about a person based solely on what they are wearing? Isn’t this discrimination? Schools have to realise that facial piercings and ear stretching and multicoloured hair are all examples of the multi cultural society that we live in and as educators they should be embracing diversity and not promoting discrimination. We all know that school uniform doesn’t increase standards, but strong management and leadership does.