We didn’t think anyone would actually come right out and say such a thing in 2019. And for good reason, since it’s a bunch of dangerous misogynist nonsense.
Recently a spotlight was shone on the inner working of the Chilliwack school board after journalists reported on what some trustees had to say about the district’s dress code, specifically as it relates to girls.
Trustee Darrell Furguson was quoted as saying that modesty is important, since girls in clothing that is too revealing would be a distraction for the boys. It’s up to them, he said, not to be that distraction. Yikes.
Trustee Heather Maahs said the dress code will help keep girls safe from the “pimps” preying on immodestly dressed girls at Chilliwack Middle School. Oh boy.
So according to Furguson, boys aren’t responsible for their own thoughts and subsequent behaviour. Notice we’re concerned only about the boys’ education here. Should girls also not speak in class lest they interrupt the boys and distract them by their mere presence? Is a girl in a pair of short shorts and tank top going to be an accepted excuse for poor concentration and work ethic as a boy goes throughout life?
This is a time when boys and girls are both learning how to navigate the world. It is entirely natural for middle and high school students to start to navigate their own sexual thoughts at the same time. It’s a normal part of life, after all.
We really hoped we were past the point where girls are being taught that they are responsible for the “impure” thoughts of boys. Isn’t it past time to teach that boys are responsible for themselves, and hold them to that standard? That’s how we’ll create a world of wonderful adults.
It’s painfully easy to see how this kind of thinking translates into, if a woman is sexually assaulted, asking “what was she wearing?” as if anything she could wear would somehow make her at least partially responsible for such a horrific crime.
As for Maahs’s concerns, that is a police matter. If there are indeed predators recruiting middle school girls into prostitution at the school, we sincerely hope the authorities have been called in. Banning the students from wearing spaghetti straps is the least of the worries in such a case.
This kind of revolting, backwards thinking doesn’t belong anywhere near our education system.