Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Daniela Ginta

The Way I See It

GINTA: On the Norkam dress code, will casting stones solve the issue?

Mar 1, 2021 | 2:02 PM

WHEN I STUMBLED UPON the news of a NorKam student being removed from class because of what her teacher perceived to be inappropriate attire, I did what every other person did when reading the said news story. I looked at the photo and shrugged. There was nothing inappropriate about the student’s clothing. Different, yes, a trend these days apparently, but not inappropriate.

Also, like many who read the story, I wondered how to make sense of the fact that the teachers (the female teacher and a male student teacher) felt uncomfortable with the Karis Wilson’s attire. How is that going to make any parent feel okay about their kids being in school? What does ‘feeling uncomfortable’ mean anyway?

The impact these stories have on the community cannot be understated.

The deluge of comments on social media debating the NorKam story and the opinion pieces that followed was of gargantuan proportions. Some demanded that the teacher and student teacher be removed; they were called perverts and other awful words — including ‘rapist’ for the latter. Also, people attacked and insulted each other for having different opinions.

To be clear: it is never okay for a man to say that a woman who dressed in a way he found provocative made him do or think sexual thoughts. I grew up with hearing that enough and I made sure to convey to my sons that one has to take responsibility for their thoughts and actions rather than rely on the pathetic and immature excuse of, ‘It’s because of how she dressed…’

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Yes, the removal of the student from class was uncalled for. But vilifying the teachers will not help the cause. It will add a black eye to the profession at a time when many teachers and prospective teachers are considering leaving it behind over the handling of COVID-19 by school officials and provincial health authorities.

Being a teacher comes with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of expectations. Among them, knowing how to handle oneself in a situation such as the one above. It is not easy being a teacher these days.

An older teacher may have different standards than a younger, progressive teacher who accepts that school attire is a fluid subject and quite frankly, secondary to the education process. Let’s face it – teenagers have always been challenging beliefs and that’s a good thing. It does not make them right always, but it also reminds us, humbly so, that adults are not always right either.

Our evolving of a society relies on people pushing the boundaries and asking ‘why?’ and ‘why not?’ and that’s where dialogue starts and where growth happens.

We’re better as a society when we step away from the black and white and consider the many shades in between. Because life is like that, no matter how much some want to have it fit within rigid boundaries, school dress codes included.

So let’s make this a learning opportunity, rather than a stone casting one. Karis Wilson and her father spoke up and that led to a big conversation.

Once the social media outrage will subside, I hope we will see changes within the school district, not just in regard to dress codes but also in how such situations are being handled so that students will not find themselves singled out and possibly humiliated over trivial matters.

I also hope that we will remember that a teacher’s job is not easy. They are under a lot of pressure and handling it with grace and wisdom does not always happen.

That should not strip them of everything else they’ve earned through their hard work though and it should be a sign that we need to go back to the discussion table – parents, teachers and students, too when appropriate and revise our common values. It’s for everyone’s benefit.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.