3 posts tagged “kids”

So this afternoon Middle Miss and myself went downtown to the Queen Street Mall looking for school shoes. This is akin to finding the Holy Grail as they must be a very specific type of shoe - black leather, lace-up, < 3 CM heel height. You would think in a place where all children must wear ugly footwear, that plenty of stores would keep a good supply. Not so.

Queen Street Mall is a shopper's paradise - all kinds of yummy stores, mini 'malls - designer boutiques, shoe stores galore.  But we did not find "them" and my daughter is not gonna go to school until she has the 'right' shoes on her feet, on account the school policy makes a breech of footwear sound a lot like committing first degree murder. Our first visit to the school involved us overhearing a kid getting suspended for breech of some dress code rule or other.

I'm Canadian - we don't wear school uniforms - I'm not opposed to uniforms - in fact I think they are great for a few reasons - but I also think kids can and should be allowed to personalize them with other things - hair, jewelry, funky socks - whatevah.  As Canadians, we don't tend to 'sweat the small stuff' - education is of a high quality but it takes place in a much more relaxed atmosphere. Aussie is promoted as the land of laid back - I'm not seeing much evidence of this when it comes to the education system or anything bureaucratic (not that this is an Aussie-only thing).

Now, Missy says she's not gonna flaunt school policy - no dying hair, no make up, no conspicuous jewelry blah blah -- good on her -  but I have to tell you, I read/listen to all this 'RULES' shit and it makes MY ass twitch. It makes ME rebellious. If it was me, I'd probably wear whatever I wanted on my feet - damn the torpedoes - and I would be the girl sitting in the naughty chair in the detention room too. I realize I am not the person who has to go to a new school, in a new country.

I celebrate my daughter's common sense and her ability to think strategically - to work out how to get the best result for what she wants - which right now, is to go to school and not have a bunch of crap thrown at her for being 'different'. She's a smart chick. So.... because of my daughter's infinite good sense and desire to avoid trouble ... I will be heading back to the Queen Street Mall again tomorrow morning to find the Holy Grail of ugly shoes. Sheesh - can't they at least have a uniform shop like in the UK - where you can get all the trimmings in one handy location!?