The Price is right
Alexander Price, a teacher at Denbigh High School in north Wales, has been struck off the teachers' register for two years, for inappropriate, offensive, or derogatory
blog posts, in which he mocked the school's pupils and teaching staff. Among other thoughts, he described the girls attending school prom as dressing like Eastern European prostitutes and Kardashian clones
; having poorly applied fake tans, because they were too illiterate to read the instructions; and as overweight girls being shoehorned into gowns and paraded through the town like cattle
.
According to the chairman of the misconduct hearing, Steve Powell, Mr Price's comments were critical, they were disrespectful, they were likely to cause offence to any pupil or parent who came across the article
. I suggest that Mr Powell needs to wise up and get out more, preferably during school's out
.
I have never visited Denbigh, so I cannot directly vouch for Mr Price's comments. But, from my own experience elsewhere in the UK, I'd be surprised if they were too far from the truth. During their return home, it's not uncommon to see thunder-thighed schoolgirls waddling along the street with their skirts rolled up just short of their knickers, showing off vast tracts of blubber above and below. It's not a pleasant sight, but it's not as if it's easy to look the other way either; when walking England's dogshit-strewn streets, you really have to pay attention to where you're going. It's unlikely that they'd be charged with outraging public decency, but it's gotta be a close call in some cases.
Some people just don't care, or understand, about dressing appropriately for their own body shape. It's easy, particularly for the young, to see what looks good or fashionable on others, without giving any thought as to how it translates to them. This isn't about body-shaming, it's about having consideration for one's own dignity and that of others. As for the pupils and parents of Denbigh High School, any that are literate and intelligent enough to be offended by Mr Price's observations probably deserve to be.
Now, if all of that just makes me sound like the grumpy old man that younger me mocked, back in the day, then so be it. I have become that person. AND I OWN IT!
Except when it's wrong
Finally, Mr Price also gave his boss, the head teacher, Dr Paul Evans, an insight into what he really thought of the school's senior management's performance. In my experience, middle management—which is what a school's senior management effectively is within the education hierarchy—rarely has the fortitude, humility, or self-awareness to take honest criticism; let alone when posted pointedly, albeit light-heartedly, to a blog.
Some thoughts are best kept to yourself.
Yes, I know that body positivity is a thing, but there are limits!