Home > New Zealand > Parents Furious At Dean’s “Slut” Comment – Updated

Parents Furious At Dean’s “Slut” Comment – Updated

November 11, 2010

Another example of a culture of bullying and victimisation has arisen in a New Zealand, a great place to raise kids.

A pupil told that she “looked like a slut” by her school dean says she feels unfairly singled out and her parents are furious the school has done little in response to their complaints.

But the school principal has come out in full support of the teacher, describing her as professional with an impeccable record.

Year 10 Newlands College pupil Amethyst Staladi, 14, last week visited dean Angela King, who told her to pull down her skirt because she “looked like a slut”, the pupil said. Amethyst said she pulled her skirt down but was “shocked” by what had been said.

“I was singled out, because pretty much everyone has their skirt above their knees. It just made me feel stink.”…  read the full story on Stuff here

Apparently the girls’ school skirts have to be long enough to “touch the ground” when they kneel down, but the practice of rolling the bands of school skirts is as widespread in New Zealand as it is in other westernised countries.

It’s a shame that the school can’t enforce their uniform rules without making derogatory remarks to impressionable young women, surely there is a less humiliating way to remind pupils of  how the uniform is to be worn?

The following day, Amanda Fisher, writing for the Dom Post said

“Teachers Council director Peter Lind said the comment was unusual. “I don’t think that teachers have been known to use these kind of derogatory statements to students.”

The council had not received any complaint about the incident as far as he was aware.

If a complaint met the criteria for serious misconduct, a disciplinary tribunal considered the case, and a teacher could be struck off.”

 

Also read other blogs tagged Bullying in New Zealand Schools

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  1. Andrew
    November 11, 2010 at 11:14 am | #1
    Quote

    Ha!

    The same sort of thing happened when I was at Newlands College (1990s) – and I dont think any of the “impressionable” young women of those times were terribly upset and\or damaged as a result.

    This looks more to me like a case of a parent not being able to appreciate the (possibly inappropriate) behaviour of their own child at school.

    As for the student commenting “I was singled out, because pretty much everyone has their skirt above their knees. It just made me feel stink.” – well surprise surprise – pretty much everyone has their skirt above their knees?!?!? Either standards are slipping or students have nothing better to do than play with their uniforms…

    Come on people, take a concrete pill, HTFU and just accept that you were caught in a blatant case of DCV (Dress Code Violation), take the “remarks” and move on….

  2. Dougalize
    November 11, 2010 at 12:34 pm | #2
    Quote

    DVC = opportunity for slut shaming. Oh, yay! The girls at my college got the ruler treatment and it sounded like great fun. No, I’m sure plenty were mortified by it. I really should have put in a complaint about one dude in my year who wore his shorts far too small. Oh the humanity. I’d have only been doing if for his own good, I mean, what if someone was to think he looked like, I don’t know, a rent boy? A gay? The horror!

    It’s bad enough that women get called sluttish and all manner of similar slurs by their peers and society in general, now they get it from their teachers. Fantastic! High fives all around.

    I couldn’t give a rat’s left teste if said pupil was disruptive and flaunted rules, leave the trashy, misogynistic speak out.

  3. E2NZ
    November 11, 2010 at 1:48 pm | #3
    Quote

    Thanks for your comments Dougalize, you make valid points there about the way females are treated and we particularly liked your last one.

    “I couldn’t give a rat’s left teste if said pupil was disruptive and flaunted rules, leave the trashy, misogynistic speak out.”

    We thought the way this young woman’s reputation was besmirched in the news article was ridiculous and smacks of ‘blaming the victim.’ She is entitled to receive the same respect and treatment as any other pupil at the school who is in contravention of a dress code.

    She’s a minor. Isn’t school about educating and nurturing young people, not belittling them?

    We’ve had another comment from a ‘Fran’ that has denigrated Ms. Staladi, but decision has been taken not to publish it – to avoid further victimisation of this young woman.

  4. Val
    November 11, 2010 at 6:44 pm | #4
    Quote

    Misogynistic? They’re both female!

    • E2NZ
      November 11, 2010 at 7:06 pm | #5
      Quote

      If you read it again it says “misogynistic speak”

  5. E2NZ
    November 11, 2010 at 7:17 pm | #6
    Quote

    Remarks made by Bryan have been removed as we were unable to authenticate the sources of the quotes he’d made. In future no quotes will be permitted, unless verifiable links/sources are provided.

    A good many responses to this story were made on the Yahoo News Website

    Lynn
    This is happening all the time in NZ schools, my daughter was also called a @#$% by the deputy head at her school for wearing a shirt that he deemed too tight around her chest! He made this comment in front of my husband and I and we ended up taking our 3 kids out of the school. Was he disiplined…was he hell! With three teenage daughters I have also found that because they are pretty they can get picked on by female teachers who obviously have an inferiority complex about the way they look…

    Rose
    No dean or teacher should speak to a student like this i think an written apology should be given to this student if it was my daughter i would be doing something about that dean is that how you train your staff Mr Principle i dont think you should give your school a badname mother of 6

    Sammygees
    I am sorry wether she had an iompeccable record that is still no reason to call a student those names & verble apology maybe okay to the Dean of the school but a written apology should be still given to the parents & student there is no exscuse no matter what !!!! if she had a problem with the student skirt she should of written a letter to the parents that she had a problem with the length

    William
    If a student didnt agree with the “deans” quote {looking like a @#$%} and called her a @#$% what do you think the principles actions would of been then? The power of one can certainly reflect a bad teaching to so many.

    Geo
    Lets get rid of School Uniforms altogether. Students should not be required to be advertising collateral for a school. Nor should this be a way teachers have to dominate students and make them feel like pawns. Students should be encouraged to dress appropriately for the WEATHER – remember guys, the primary requirement of clothing! Ha Ha !!!

    Joseph
    yes i agree that her skirt was far to short but under no circumstances should any one in that power ever speak to a student like that. A written apology should be given immediately.

    Adam
    Instead of telling Amethyst Staladi she looks like a @#$%, couldn’t the dean say something more professional like for example “the way you’re looking is inappropriate”. At least that choice of words would be more acceptable.

    CHRISTOPHER
    Guys can wear shorts around there butts and not have to put up with being likened to @#$%s. Double standards, and woman who talk with potty mouths sound as much like @#$%s as woman with short skirts look like them. I agree with dress standards and disclipine, but teachers should set an example in the way children talk as well as how they look and the rules should be consistent between the sexes.

    Whether it was in the school rules or boundaries, that the length of skirt was inappropriate is beyond the point! It certainly does not give the teacher any right to call any student a s##t, I’m sure if any of us called colleagues or clients this, we would be well warned or dismissed… and these are the same teachers wanting a pay rise!!

    Dale
    The issue should have been about the fact that she was breaking the school rules. Calling someone a @#$% is a judgemental personel opinion which the dean should not be expressing as a professional. I think she should take a pay cut

    Stewart
    I’m simply amazed that anybody could get into a position such as Dean without understanding the fundamentals of behavioral management. What she should have done was set an expectation with the girl that the skirt should be knee length, corrected it without making any value judgement, and then praising the girl if she was found later to have the required length. Positive reinforcement is a much better behavioral modifier than verbal abuse.

    ETC. ETC.

    We’ll leave the final word with

    AB
    Bring in the Burka. That will fix it.

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