UK Schools Favor Clip On Ties For Safety
And you thought that the discussion on school uniforms here in the United States was getting weirder and weirder. I have heard both sides of the story, and some comments are just plain incomprehensible to me. Then I read about the ongoing issue about school ties in the United Kingdom. Our concerns about uniforms here in the US are nothing compared to theirs!
So what is the issue? You do know that school children in the UK are required to wear regulation clothing, right? And part of this uniform is the ubiquitous tie. To digress for a moment, I think that this get up is particularly charming. School children look really nice and distinguished with this kind of uniform, tie included.
Anyhow, authorities are now looking into requiring the use of clip on ties – the kind that you do not have to knot. The reasoning behind this move is that clip on ties can be safer and that they can remove the idea of social leveling that is being used (determined by how you knot your tie!). The BBC has this story:
The emergence of clip-on ties is part of a growing sensitivity towards health and safety, says the association, along with modifications such as high-visibility trimming on scarves.
Clip-on ties take away the risk of pupils having accidents with their knotted ties.
Schools have raised concerns about ties catching fire in science lessons, getting trapped in technology equipment or ties getting caught when pupils were running.
That’s for safety – as ties that catch on fire or get caught in equipment can be easily removed if they are clip ons. Another reason is standardization:
Clip-on ties also allow schools to create a more standardised appearance, says the association, stopping pupils from being more creative in how they wear their ties. “There is little opportunity for pupils to style their tie with short tails and fat knots - as seen in programmes featuring schoolchildren such as Hollyoaks and Grange Hill,” says the Schoolwear Association.
I understand the rationale behind standardization. After all, we do not want children labeling other students because of how their ties are knotted, right? Then again, the idea of stopping pupils from being more creative just does not sound right to me! Creativity is something that should be nurtured in children, it is something that cannot be taught easily and anything that stifles it just does not make sense.
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Posted on May 15th, 2009 by Deborah J Thomas
Filed under: Administrators, News, People Involved, Students
Are any schools in the UK considering BOW ties?