One school is giving a whole new meaning to the term "make-up class." Mount St Mary's Catholic High School in Leeds, England, is facing some harsh criticism for offering makeup lessons to its 14 and 15-year-old students. The school claims the purpose of the class is to "teach children how to make a good first impression and also boost their self-confidence," but some of the parents think it's neither the time nor the place to learn about beauty routines.
One mother of a younger child that attends the same school says, "It's totally inappropriate. Advising on make-up is something that should be done by parents at home, not a school." Another mother said, "It's far too early for 14-year-olds to start worrying about things like make-up. They're just children." Hmm, that might be wishful thinking. There are certainly plenty of 14-year-olds who are actively worrying about make-up, but that doesn't mean the school should be encouraging them to feel like they need to wear it.
The hour-long lesson is given by a professional make-up artist who teaches the girls how to apply the right makeup for various social occasions. The teachers don't see anything wrong with it, though, since they say they're just trying to prepare the girls for the working world and for important events like college interviews. Sue Coluccio, the school's deputy head teacher, says,
I'm a maths teacher and wouldn't expect a child to be able to solve an algebraic equation without being taught first how to do it. It's so that they're wearing appropriate make-up instead of three-inch thick foundation. We've had no negative feedback and students had to have permission to stay behind, so we have to assume parents are supportive.
Whoa, hold up, if you've got girls showing up with three inches of foundation on their faces, maybe they do need a little bit of basic instruction.
School criticised for make-up lessons [Telegraph]
Image via Petrenko Andriy/Shutterstock.