It’s not that she gave her teachers any lip that got this ninth-grader in trouble.
It’s what the student at Notre Dame High School has pierced in it. Did you hear the one about the 14-year-old Catholic school student saying she has been barred from math class because of her new lip stud? No lip!
To ban a bright teen from a class on the first day of the new semester for having a barely-visible lip piercing is either not a very Catholic thing to do or a very Catholic thing to do. It depends who you talk to. If it’s 14-year-old Mikaela Gunning-Pereira’s mom, Paula, with the microphone, it’s a disgrace. But if it’s certain teachers or administrators at Notre Dame, on Malvern Ave., it’s simply pure violation of dress code policy.
It’s a good debate. On one hand, it’s difficult to imagine in this day and age any teacher being offended by a simple facial piercing. On the other, the Catholic school system has standards of attire and a lip stud does not fall within those guidelines. You’d think there would be a simple solution or compromise. Instead, it looks like there’s going to be a showdown in the east end over a piece of $75 lip jewelry.
“She will be going to school, weather permitting, Wednesday with her (piercing) and if they don’t allow her I will be contacting a lawyer,” Paula said Tuesday night. “She is going to attend her math class and if they question her, she is going to tell the teacher: ‘I am here to learn.’ ”Paula feels her daughter has been “singled out” because of previous comments over her two-tone blond and black hairstyle.
“They say it’s policy, but is one lip (stud) worse than those short skirts where you can see their undergarments?” she asked. “I was picking her up from school (Monday) and I saw a girl with six piercings in her face. ”If this is true, one wonders if these rules are being applied across the board or just in specific classrooms?
TCDSB spokesperson Mary Walker did not return my calls. But she did tell Sun reporter Victoria Gray students are given the guidelines of what dress is appropriate. But this is not all that is at play here. What also should be investigated is the appropriateness of teachers commenting in any way of a female student’s appearance and putting their future in jeopardy because of their own personal dislikes.
Is it lawful for a teacher to decide to ban a student from a particular class? “Mikaela is a good student who gets and who wants to be a veterinarian,” said the mother of three. “I won’t be letting them deny her a math credit over something that does not affect anybody else.” Victoria quotes Mikaela as saying a vice principal told her: “I’m not going to let you walk through the halls with that thing on your face.”
Sure there are rules but this isn’t the army. It’s not like she had a knife or gun. There must be bigger problems at that school than this to focus on? Maybe they will get it sorted out Wednesday. My feeling is the school’s job is to teach and let Mikaela and her mom decide on what she has on her face.
The hypocrisy of it is, apparently in the rules, one nose ring is okay. A lip stud doesn’t seem much different to me. And, as has been tested many times for religious jewelry and dress, we don’t discriminate in Canada. There must be bigger problems at that school than this. My feeling is if nose rings are okay, a lip stud should be allowed and the teachers should mind their own business and teach.
However, there are plenty of people in this newsroom who think I am wrong and this girl should follow the rules. It’s your turn to lip off!
It’s what the student at Notre Dame High School has pierced in it. Did you hear the one about the 14-year-old Catholic school student saying she has been barred from math class because of her new lip stud? No lip!
To ban a bright teen from a class on the first day of the new semester for having a barely-visible lip piercing is either not a very Catholic thing to do or a very Catholic thing to do. It depends who you talk to. If it’s 14-year-old Mikaela Gunning-Pereira’s mom, Paula, with the microphone, it’s a disgrace. But if it’s certain teachers or administrators at Notre Dame, on Malvern Ave., it’s simply pure violation of dress code policy.
It’s a good debate. On one hand, it’s difficult to imagine in this day and age any teacher being offended by a simple facial piercing. On the other, the Catholic school system has standards of attire and a lip stud does not fall within those guidelines. You’d think there would be a simple solution or compromise. Instead, it looks like there’s going to be a showdown in the east end over a piece of $75 lip jewelry.
“She will be going to school, weather permitting, Wednesday with her (piercing) and if they don’t allow her I will be contacting a lawyer,” Paula said Tuesday night. “She is going to attend her math class and if they question her, she is going to tell the teacher: ‘I am here to learn.’ ”Paula feels her daughter has been “singled out” because of previous comments over her two-tone blond and black hairstyle.
“They say it’s policy, but is one lip (stud) worse than those short skirts where you can see their undergarments?” she asked. “I was picking her up from school (Monday) and I saw a girl with six piercings in her face. ”If this is true, one wonders if these rules are being applied across the board or just in specific classrooms?
TCDSB spokesperson Mary Walker did not return my calls. But she did tell Sun reporter Victoria Gray students are given the guidelines of what dress is appropriate. But this is not all that is at play here. What also should be investigated is the appropriateness of teachers commenting in any way of a female student’s appearance and putting their future in jeopardy because of their own personal dislikes.
Is it lawful for a teacher to decide to ban a student from a particular class? “Mikaela is a good student who gets and who wants to be a veterinarian,” said the mother of three. “I won’t be letting them deny her a math credit over something that does not affect anybody else.” Victoria quotes Mikaela as saying a vice principal told her: “I’m not going to let you walk through the halls with that thing on your face.”
Sure there are rules but this isn’t the army. It’s not like she had a knife or gun. There must be bigger problems at that school than this to focus on? Maybe they will get it sorted out Wednesday. My feeling is the school’s job is to teach and let Mikaela and her mom decide on what she has on her face.
The hypocrisy of it is, apparently in the rules, one nose ring is okay. A lip stud doesn’t seem much different to me. And, as has been tested many times for religious jewelry and dress, we don’t discriminate in Canada. There must be bigger problems at that school than this. My feeling is if nose rings are okay, a lip stud should be allowed and the teachers should mind their own business and teach.
However, there are plenty of people in this newsroom who think I am wrong and this girl should follow the rules. It’s your turn to lip off!
