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For years it has been impossible for a party of children to leave their school unless they are dressed like navvies.
Michael Gove used to dream of putting every child in the country into a blazer, but it is the hi-vis jacket that has triumpjed.
I sometimes have lunch at the cafe at Leicester's museum. and even there the visiting school parties all wear this garment.
It is, I suppose, a reflection of teachers' fears of being blamed if anything happens to a child in their charge and of wider society's belief that something terrible will befall a child who is left unsupervised for even a second.
But I suspect it has also led to the rise of the Gilets Jaunes.
The country is becoming a nanny state. Fear of 'something going wrong' hovers around every corner.Plus of course the money for sueing and the increase in selling of papers bad news achieves. We are scared of taking any risks in life although that is one way to learn a lesson quickly. I sometimes wonder if another war was threatened we would 'appease' cos people would get hurt..A 'nanny state' can be seen as a weakness by those who 'have it in for us'.
ReplyDeleteI am umming and arring about children in yellow jackets. It is a joy to me to see them out and about.
ReplyDeleteI'd make a compromise with parents. If you take your children shopping in hi-vis vests (mum. dad and urchins), we'll treat them that way on school trips.