Do you remember your school’s dress code? Do you remember breaking it? I vividly remember having the length of my sleeves measured by teachers just to see if they were “too short” for the boys around me.
A Canadian girl recently went through something similar at her school, with big consequences: she was sent home. Luckily, her dad was not about to tolerate that at all.
Karis Wilson is a twelfth grade student in Kamloops, British Columbia.
This is the outfit she chose to wore to school on the fateful day in question. A high-necked, white turtleneck to cover her whole upper half, and a lace-edged dress that went down to her knees.
Her dad, Chris Wilson, told the story of the confrontation in a viral Facebook video.
“My beautiful, Grade 12, 17-year-old daughter went to school today feeling excited, feeling good about herself, ready to learn,” he said in the video, recorded in his car.
What the teacher said to her is unbelievable.
“[…] and she sat down in class and after a short period of time, was centered out by the teacher, and was told the outfit she was wearing made, or could make, her or the teacher’s assistant, who is a male, feel uncomfortable.”
Let me just have a moment to rage out, okay?
Ah yes, the age-old problem: a grown man being made “uncomfortable” by a minor’s conservative outfit is obviously cause for dismissal from school. You know how it is.
Karis was taken to the vice principal’s office, and was sent home “in tears,” according to her father.
“After asking her how she would like me to handle it she said she wanted to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen to the students that come after her,” he wrote on Facebook.
A new dress code had just been instituted at the school.
The new code states that students, “Not to wear clothing that is distracting to teaching or learning.”
To…teaching? Not distracting to teaching? I’m thinking there’s a lot of teaching distractions from the kids themselves, and clothing is pretty low on a normal person’s list.
Chris said the quiet part out loud:
“Maybe if you’re a teacher and you’re distracted by clothing that your students are wearing, you’re in the wrong profession. Maybe you should try something new.”
He told the story to save other young women the embarrassment of being singled out.
“We shouldn’t be treating our females like this. We shouldn’t be telling them they can’t dress a certain way,” he told Global News.
He’s right and he should say it!
His post started a new hashtag campaign: #imwithkaris.
“If you are a teacher working with children and youth, and are distracted by your students body then you should probably be looking for a new line of work because, to me, that speaks volumes about your character!” Dannielle Port said in a post using the tag.
Others shared how they were told to dress in school, and the impact it had.
“THIS STUFF STAYS WITH YOU! We were all not more than 16-years-old, and this teacher told us that the most important thing about the way we express ourselves is to make men comfortable,” user Sarah Summers recalled shared with the #ImWithKaris tag.
Boy, do I remember those days.
Some students dressed in similar outfits to protest how she was treated.
“In support of Karis Wilson, Ivy & friends are wearing similar outfits to school today,” mom Charmaine John wrote on Facebook.
I love a little bit of rebellion, don’t you?
The Kamloops Sexual Assault Centre also shared a statement on the matter.
They said their organization, “… is saddened and frustrated to hear that another Kamloops student has had their access to education compromised by archaic and misogynistic dress code standards”
Karis’ fellow students found the situation unacceptable.
They staged a walkout in protest of Karis’ treatment. They carried signs reading, “My education is more important than what I wear,” and “I am a young lady. If you are sexualizing me, you are the problem.”
Karis and her dad joined the protest.
The media were there to cover the protest, too. The whole situation has made headlines around British Columbia, where I happen to live! I can personally tell you that no one is impressed with that school right now.
The school board is aware of the issue.
“Whenever a parent is concerned about their child at school we want to work with them for the best outcome for the student,” Superintendent Dr. Terry Sullivan said.
But they didn’t add much more.
“We are also concerned about these allegations and are treating them seriously,” Sullivan told Global News . “The incident is currently under review. We will not comment on the incident specifically.”
h/t Global News
