School bans expensive coats to protect poorer children

[Demovictory9]

High school bans Canada Goose and Moncler jackets to protect poorer children

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/uk/poverty-proof-school-gbr-scli-intl/index.html

ondon (CNN)High school can be tough for anyone, and students from poor backgrounds have the added anxiety of struggling to keep up with their wealthier peers when it comes to clothes and accessories.

A high school in northwestern England is attempting to level the playing field for disadvantaged students by banning expensive Canada Goose and Moncler coats.

In a letter to parents at the beginning of November, the headteacher of Woodchurch High School in Birkenhead explained that the ban was coming in after Christmas as the school was "mindful that some young people put pressure on their parents to purchase expensive items of clothing."

"These coats cause a lot of inequality between our pupils," headteacher Rebekah Phillips told CNN. "They stigmatize students and parents who are less well off and struggle financially."

The blacklisted coats sell for as much as $1,200 -- a cost many parents will struggle to afford. "There has been feedback from children, who say 'Gosh, that is our rent for the month,'" Phillips said.


She said her attempt to "poverty-proof" the school, which has students between the ages of 11 and 16, has been well-received by parents.

Phillips added that a former student wrote to her praising the move and saying that school should not be a place where students' "economic background is rubbed in their faces and distracts them from learning."

[PoliticAverse]

1. Yes, we can't have students at school be confronted with reality. n/t

[Skidmore]

6. Oh, good grief. nt

[GoCubsGo]

2. $1200 for a coat???

Do these things have solid gold hardware on them, or what? I can't even imagine spending that kind of money for something that the kid is likely going to outgrow within six months. As for the ban, I see their reasoning for it. But, I am still having a hard time with it. I don't like anyone dictating what another person wears, even when it's well-meaning.

[Adrahil]

4. Agreed....

I'd never pay that much for a coat, and I can afford it. I can buy a high quality down coat for a 1/3 of that.

But I very much opposed to banning the wearing of them. Cause if I DID pay that much for a coat for my kid, I'd damn well want them to wear it. Heck, I just spent $300 on a down coat for my daughter. And I get very irritated when she treats it too casually. Treated right it should last her 5 years or more.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. I see a reasoning for the ban, but when did parents forget how to say "No"?

Seriously. I wouldn't pay $1200 for a coat if I won the lottery and lived in Alaska. I certainly wouldn't buy one for a kid.

[octoberlib]

7. Goose down coats are hella expensive.

[TheBlackAdder]

3. I grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood. One douche would drive his Porche Carrera to school

.

But, there definitely was this whole keep up with the Jones mentality, and people were poor-shamed in the halls.

Then one day, my dad took me around town and showed me a couple of homes, that had Porches and Mercedes in the driveway. He said, son, see that house, the downstairs is fully furnished, they sleep on a mattress on the floor and have no bedroom furniture. He took me to another, and said that the father would stay downstairs while the wife entertained men in their bedroom upstairs, for a fee.

While there were quite a few who had money, he also said that the majority of families are going into massive debt to present an illusion of wealth and stability.

Getting back to that guy, Eric, he really was a dick who thought his poop didn't smell. His family moved out of town shortly after he graduated high school.

.