Topic: School Dress Codes
started by: Warbux
Posted by Warbux on Sep. 07 2003,9:00 pm
DRESS CODESI applaud the administration of our school district, and especially the principals of the High School and Southwest Junior High School. It is time, indeed, to enforce a dress code for the students. Thank you! So I may be considered a crotchety old curmudgeon and certainly “not with it”. I asked my grand daughter the other day if the latest generation had just rediscovered their belly buttons, or what was the big deal with showing off the midriff? I think the dress code as outlined in the paper just recently was very well thought out. I think it is just a tad too bad that it cannot be carried out through some of our 19 to 25 year old young ladies who apparently did not learn their dress codes when they should have. Frankly, it is embarrassing to me at times. And on occasion I am more than a little ticked off by the young ladies who look at you with that “Don’t be looking at me” aura. Give me a break! Most of them are not Playboy centerfold materials and should just plain behave themselves. As far as that goes, we can easily get along without the Playboy Centerfolds, too!
Posted by rosebudinal on Sep. 07 2003,9:07 pm
Agree, in the last 2 yrs or more dating back to the over the hip oversized boy pants, I have seen way to many cracks. Northernly and female southernly ( and a few northern there too). YUK!!!! I have a tendency to tuck upwardly on my shirt as I look at the cleavage. They generally get the point. Guess thats their inew in your face attitude LOL
Posted by minnow on Sep. 07 2003,9:43 pm
Hogwash..the tight hotpant shorts and cut offs we wore in the 60's and 70's were far more reveling than todays fashions. Baggy pants? Give me a break!These rules are not in place not so much for the young girls, as they are for the adult men who can't control themselves. Look men are men and nothing can really change that. If any man says the sight of young females transforming into women isn't arousing...he's, of course lying. It's deeply ingrained in our genes and we can't help it...and also must NEVER admit it. The rules are in place to help protect adult males more than anything!
"Frankly, it is embarrassing to me at times. And on occasion I am more than a little ticked off by the young ladies who look at you with that “Don’t be looking at me” aura. Give me a break! Most of them are not Playboy centerfold materials and should just plain behave themselves. As far as that goes, we can easily get along without the Playboy Centerfolds, too!"
See......
Posted by Spidey on Sep. 07 2003,10:02 pm
| Quote |
| These rules are not in place not so much for the young girls, as they are for the adult men who can't control themselves. |
wow ... didn't know you thought so little of men. I disagree with the above sentence completely. I think men can control all urges. Men are not stupid non-controlable walking penises.
| Quote |
| If any man says the sight of young females transforming into women isn't arousing...he's, of course lying. |
of course!!! Because "you" say so? How insulting! Not all men crave looking at young girls ... some actually like women .. you know ... the ones that are already "transformed".
This mentality dates back to the neandrathol. Play dumb, act dumb, and pretend you can't control yourself because your little minnow rules who you are.
The dress code is long past due. They are in school to learn. Socializing comes second. They can "be who they are" after school if their parents allow it.
And as far as the parents thanking the school ... good grief. The school should be slapping the parents for not taking the initiative themselves.
Posted by LisaMarie on Sep. 08 2003,9:09 am
One of the girls was complaining because now they can't wear little strappy tank tops because their bra straps would show, and you can't have underwear showing. Well, if you really want to get around that rule - don't wear a bra! 
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 08 2003,9:32 am
Spidey,As to being in school to learn, I 100% agree. However you said that socializing comes after school. Part of the high school experience is socializing. It teaches kids to get along with all different types of people, kind of like in the real world.
I don't think it is appropriate for girls to bend over and have their thong hanging out, but give me a break a bra strap!! Boys have been aware of bra straps since girls started wearing them. Walking through the halls in Jr. High trying to snap them.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 08 2003,9:51 am
The message to children..."You will just have to put up with silly and unjust rules your whole life so get used to it"Enter one Gabe, who conspires to make those dreams a adult realty!
What about dress codes for the boys? I don't want those married adult females getting any ideas..especially when they have to go home to their fat husbands.
Posted by 1adam12 on Sep. 08 2003,9:54 am
I would guess that boys can't wear miniskirts or expose their midriffs, thongs or bra straps, either
Posted by GEOKARJO on Sep. 08 2003,3:35 pm
I think the kids don't have to much to complain about I remember our dress codeGirls will wear dresses, skirts,
Girls will not wear hot pants, Shorts, jeans, or slacks
Boys hair will be one inch above the collar and not touch their ears
No sideburns and clean shaven if necessary
Shirts will be tucked into trousers and a belt shall be worn suspenders are an acceptable subsitute
Posted by rosebudinal on Sep. 09 2003,10:11 pm
My goodness, aren't we offending these kids, not looking out for their sensitivity??? How do we expect them to grow and become independent if they can't express themselves? What in the world has happened to our district?
Could it be possibly turning into a malcontent society?
Posted by Ole1kanobe on Sep. 10 2003,12:39 am
Regardless of what 'rules' adults make, kids are still going to emulate exactly what they see on tv, so if we highlight girls showing a T-back on tv, of course girls are going to want to mimic that, remember, as soon as the hormones kick in, everyone wants to be accepted, regardless of what they have to go through.Any women here remember having to get your dad's pliers to zip up your pants? it might not have been fun, or comfortable, but you knew that if you wore those pants, the likelyhood of you being accepted greatly improved versus wearing a 'nice, lady-like' outfit.
In the end, it all circles back around to the issue of most (not all) girls that age needing to be accepted by boys.
Posted by 1adam12 on Sep. 10 2003,8:42 am
The school tries to juggle several issues. They want the students to be able to express themselves, otherwise they'd be in uniforms. But they also need to keep an environment condusive to learning. They need to emphasize decorum, good taste and self-respect. Not to sound like a fuddy-duddy, but some of the clothes are ridiculous, especially being worn by 12 and 13-year-olds. I don't think the girls Ole is referring to were that young. Some of the girls wearing these clothes also subject themselves to further ridicule by other students, becasue they simply do not have the bodies these clothes were designed for (imagine minnow in a speedo 
). Instead of being themselves, they are trying to fit into the phony images they see on TV.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 10 2003,8:50 am
My cousin is a student at the HS. I asked her about the dress code the other day. No bellies and tank top straps must be 3 finger widths wide.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,8:58 am
Good point 1adam12. I really dont know where I stand on this issue. My guess is that the school will probably take it further than they should, at the same time the kids will try to push the issue as far as they can go. Not that I would suggest uniforms, but I worked in the catholic schools in Austin for 5 years when we first moved here. They of course wear uniforms, the thing I liked about the uniforms was that a kid whos family needed financial help just to attend and couldnt afford all the best new styles, looked like everyone else. No one got teased because of what they wear. At least when I was in school you could pretty much tell the different classes the kids came from by what they wore. You knew a poor kid was poor, and they got teased for it. As a student, I would hate the uniforms, as a parent, I dont think I would mind them so much. I have worked in schools for the past 15 years, all I can say is, just wait till you see the face, and the hurt of a third grader that is crying because they are being made fun of because their family cant afford the latest style.
Posted by jimhanson on Sep. 10 2003,9:07 am
Isn't it strange that kids are "trying to express their individuality" (give that one a Garage Logic Foghorn! 
) by emulating what they've seen on TV--or EACH OTHER--they end up ALL LOOKING THE SAME! They could just as well be wearing look-alike uniforms.George Carlin had the best take on it. "Every kid wants to gross out his parents--to see how much he can get by with--to look weird. The PROBLEM is, all of these kids parents grew up in the '60's--talk about weird, they've done it all! There's NO WEIRD left--there's nothing a kid can do to gross out a '60's parent--so kids are stuck with USED WEIRD!
Posted by Spidey on Sep. 10 2003,9:22 am
Uniforms isn't a bad idea. The only kids that would really hate it would be the very wealthy ones who would miss being able to show off their parents fortunes with disigner clothes. How bad would it be to have all kids start out the school year on the same "level". The schools need more structure and discipline. Rules are a fact of life. Some of these kids get none of that at home.
One less thing for kids to have to worry or think about.
Oh, and someone suggested that I posted something pertaining to the fact that I didn't think there should be socializing in schools. I never said that. What I said was socializing comes second. That doesn't mean I don't believe it should exist in school. But so far that's all the talk is about is fashion and how much skin they can show, or how many bra straps can hang out.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 10 2003,9:42 am
As for uniforms, I think they would be great in Jr.High because it is a crucial age where I think the teasing is more severe.As for uniforms in HS, no way!! We are supposed to be preparing kids for the real world when they get to HS. In the real world when they go to college they won't be protected from ridicule. I don't think wearing close to nothing is appropriate and those morals should have been instilled long before kids get to HS by the parents. Individuality is what makes the world go round. If we all dressed alike, what would make the world interesting. HS is not the place to have a uniform dress code.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,9:42 am
It seems with the uniforms at the catholic schools I worked at that the girls kind of get the short end of the stick. The boys just had to wear kaki pants, with a red polo shirt. The girls had to wear the red polo, but with a green and red plaid skirt. It was a catholic school though, but what would be wrong with having school color clothing, like kaki pants and a polo shirt? Pants or a skirt for the girls? Jims right though, uniform or not, they already pretty much dress alike. Sadly, my idiot son is one of the ones going around with half his ass and boxers showing, no belt. If he wants to look like an idiot in public, fine. My rule is this, not at school, and not when you go anywhere with me. Although he has slipped one by now and then and made all the way to Applebees with his "Porn star in Training" shirt on. Kids? We surely werent this stupid when we were that age, were we?
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,9:50 am
Tiger, I agree with you about uniforms at the high school level, just not your logic for it. If we are preparing them for the real world, we better get them in uniforms. Anyone out there ever had a nice job where you could wear anything you like? Every job I have ever had, either had a uniform, or some kind of dress code you had to abide by. If we are preparing them for the real world, how bout telling them they will spend the rest of their adult working life taking orders that they might not like, and being told how they should look for the public. Tiger, like I said, I agree that it would be a tough sell at the high school level, But like I also said, if preparing them for the real world is what you want, then uniforms is the only way to go.
Posted by Mamma on Sep. 10 2003,10:02 am
Do the teachers have a dress code? I can remember when my kids were in high school in a small town, the teachers dressed almost like the students. I had a hard time telling a teacher from a student. I have seen teachers going into the school in t-shirts and jeans....and it wasn't just the men. If teachers want to be seen as professional people, why don't they dress like professional people? As for the student dress code....it's about time. I think if more parents took a look at their kids before they went out the door it would help.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,10:19 am
Mamma, you are so right, it should start with the teachers. How bout starting with at least a shirt and tie for the males, no jeans. But then you would have them complaining to their union. Maybe the kids should join a union.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 10 2003,11:06 am
I've been thinking outside the box lately. That maybe kids should be split up during junior high by sex. Let's face it...most of school is getting up every morning and hanging out with girls all day. My mind was rarely on anything even closely related to studying. I think boys and girls would learn much more if they were separated for say, 2-3 years maybe 12-14 years of age.Up until about 10th grade school is but a babysitter.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 10 2003,11:08 am
Hoosier,The only job I had where I had to wear a uniform was at a factory while I was in college. Hospitals have uniforms but I can't think of another profession that would have a uniform. As far as a job with a dress code put in writing, never had one. I learned from my parents at a young age what is appropriate behavior and what is not, including what is appropriate attire in certain settings. Someone going to work in a professional atmosphere, I would hope would have the common sense to know what is and is not appropriate.
Mamma, I too think teachers should dress as professionals. When I think bach to HS though the only time my teachers wore casual clothing was on Friday's. Many jobs have causual day on Friday's. I think parents should be setting the example and the blame should not be on the teachers. And another question, why would parents pay any more attention to their kids just because they are in a uniform? If they aren't looking and paying attention to not only the clothes but the actions of their children why would they just because the kid had a uniform on?
Posted by Spidey on Sep. 10 2003,11:30 am
There isn't any reason the high school couldn't have uniforms. They don't have to be uniforms that make them look like 1970 wanna be's ... how about pants, shirts, skirts, shoes, sweaters, jackets .... all in different shades and tones. All can be similar and identifiable. I agree with Hoosier about becoming an adult in the real world and dressing appropriatly. If these poor little darlings think it's ruff in school ... wait til they get out in the real world!
As far as the teachers go ... I think they should all dress in a professional manner. After all, they are teaching the children. We really need to get back to respect, professionalism, rules, law and order.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,11:32 am
Wow, Tiger, have you not been around much? Do you want me to list here all the jobs that require a uniform or have a dress code? I cant think of any, other than maybe working on a farm, that you could dress however you like. Look around, their are uniforms all around you. Fast food, police, firemen, custodians, plumbers, electrician, pizza delivery, waitress, lawn care, boy, I could go on all day. Uniforms are all around you everyday and you just havent noticed it. I am 41 years old, starting working when I was 15, only had one job in that whole time that didnt require a uniform or didnt tell me how to dress, and that was the first one, on a farm. I know, that is just my experiance, I am sure you were just talking about yours, but I believe if you take a look around you, you will find that wearing a uniform for work is the way it is more times than not.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,11:40 am
Mechanics, Pepsi drivers, Coke drivers, Beer drivers, some truck drivers, the cable guy, Tv repair. Still coming up with em, the list is endless.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 10 2003,12:07 pm
ok Ok!! you are right but I thought we were talking professional jobs not convenience store clerks etc. You did have a few jobs up there that require some post secondary training. Most of my jobs have had verbal dress codes. Example, business casual. I know that a tube top is not appropriate in my field. Give people credit, most know when to wear what in the workplace and do not need there employer to babysit them telling what they have to wear. Back to uniforms in school, maybe if we did jazz things up a bit like Spidey said it might not be a horrible thing I just think if we want a diverse world we need to allow people to think for themselves.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,12:22 pm
Thats not my point, I agree people dont always need someone to tell them how to dress, but the fact is, once you get out of high school, that is exactly what is going to happen. And as far as the jobs that I listed, almost all are capable of making over 50 thousand a year, except pizza delivery, waitress, and fast food. You may not realize it, but your pepsi and beer delivery drivers make dam good money. Qualified machanics are capable of making 6 figures in the right town. As far as proffesional jobs go, if they require you to wear a suit or tie, isnt that a uniform. Uniform, the same as others.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 10 2003,1:24 pm
I beg to differ on the beer delivery salaries. I have two friends I can think of that deliver beer and needed a second job to get by.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,1:30 pm
Maybe in this town, I know of beer drivers right now making 70,000 a year. I also drove a beer truck for 7 years in my home town, if you wanted to work at it, you could make 50 easy.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,4:34 pm
Anyway Tiger, we are getting way off topic here, LOL. Back to the point I was trying to make, my guess is that at least 8 out of 10 kids that come out of AL high, will have to wear some type of uniform when they enter the work force. Or they will have to abide by some sort of dress code. I was trying to say that if we are really preparing them for the real world in HS, then maybe making them wear uniforms isnt so bad of an idea. At the very least, this dress code will prepare them, just the fact that most will have to spend their adult live living by rules they might not like. They better get used to it is all Im saying. If this dress code has them upset, they got a long way to go to be ready for what awaits them after graduation.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 10 2003,5:29 pm
I don't think the issue with the dress code is with the HS students. My cousin and her girlfriends still find ways of dressing in style. They are just not allowed to wear skimpy tank tops or show their bellies, which I think is fine. You can express yourself without looking like trash. I think people think the middle school dress code is the problem. there again I think uniforms are ok at this age. as I said in a previous post, this is the ae where the taunting and teasing can get vicious. And I also think Spidey might be onto something with adding fun color and maybe even logos to the uniforms if they are going to be forced to wear them. HS is supposed to be fun and exciting and full of change. It shouldn't feel like a prison. Don't take all their freedom away.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 11 2003,8:02 am
Tiger , I agree. I dont have any clue what a girls uniform might look like, but the boys could be something like kakis and as AL HS. polo shirt, in red, white, or blue. One thing we have to think about though when we talk about mandatory uniforms, is that not all parents could afford it. I even seen it at the catholic school, the school had to help some families with the purchase of uniforms. But anyway, this is a dress code issue, not uniforms, we will worry about that when and if that time comes.
Posted by i_am_back on Sep. 15 2003,8:50 pm
Being a recent HS graduate (class of '97) who has been employed at a professional job in an office environment for 5 years now, I have heard talk of dress codes in schools since I started HS in '93. At that time I saw nothing wrong with the way the majority of students dressed but things were already being cracked down on. The elimination of wearing a simple baseball-type cap inside the building, wearing a coat in the halls during the school day and other items such as the length of skirts worn by the female students.I realize that the baseball cap issue can be regarded as a form of gang prevention (a small problem in the outstate areas, but none the less, still a problem), the coat issue is one of security as it can be used to easily conceal a weapon, and of course, the length of a skirt can be distracting.
It seems that when students go on to college, they are given those freedoms. Living just minutes from the U of M, I see all types of dress and it is accepted. College students are given these freedoms and being beyond the rules of their parents I feel that they deserve these freedoms.
Common sense will dictate their dress once they are done with college and will directly correlate to what type of job they get. However, I am still able to get by wearing jeans and a polo-type 2 or 3 button shirt most days and even - oh my god - a t-shirt sometimes.
As for HS students, common sense tells them what is acceptable. Most HS students feel the need to belong to a certain group or clique. They dress to fit into that particular group and most times that dress is acceptable. Schools that I know of already had policies in place in the mid-nineties regarding offensive t-shirts and other innapropriate articles. Talk of uniforms in schools just goes against our already dying freedoms. I can just imagine our half-assed, slow witted, possibly mildly retarded president Bush telling school-age students that uniforms in school are to prevent terrorism and part of his so-called patriot act. Until then, and even after then, teens will continue to dress comfortably, after all, even tucking in a shirt for long periods of time is uncomfortable when the majority of the school day is spent sitting. Students will use common sense and those who don't are usually dealt with in one way or another.
Posted by Ole1kanobe on Sep. 15 2003,9:37 pm
I know in AHS, they had dress codes for years, although enforcing them was a different matter. They tried the thing with turning an offensive t-shirt inside-out, but then some students said that they were being made to 'stick out', so instead the school would send them home (if they lived locally) to change which lead to the child sometimes not coming back at all. They also tried having the parents pick their child up and bring them back, but some of the dual income household parents didn't like that because they had to take time off of work to make sure their child made it back to school.It would be easy to say that parents should have taught their children better or something, but back in the fifth grade I rode bike to school with the neighbor boy who's mother did check what he wore to school every morning, but he would always have a shirt in his backpack that he would change into about a block away from home (both going to school and coming home from school). the nice little Polo shirt would be replaced with a Metallica t-shirt; why? So he would 'fit in' and be 'cool' when he was at school.
The pressures of peer's (I am guessing) has only gotten stronger over the years.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 15 2003,10:19 pm
I wear Adidas and Sean John velvet sweat suits and da bling bling on the side....Soprano-ish. I'll dress anyway I like in my own office. How dare they insist teens dress like old foggies...they have the whole rest of their lives to do that!
You're only a teen once and stupid administrators need to stop micro managing kids fashion choices. What are they trying to prove anyhow....it's typical Albert Lea.....stoopidity.
Posted by Mamma on Sep. 15 2003,10:33 pm
ok...now I just have to know where this business of yours is. Just give me the town or city. I would love to see you leave the office ............nothing like a man in a velvet sweat suit to set the old heart to beating quicker. .....and a hat on the side?.....hey.................are you black?....I may have seen you in the casino in the cities.......no wait....you are younger than that. Oh...I don't think they want them to dress like old foggies, just not like hookers and pimps. There are some clothes that just are not acceptable in public and especially in a learning environment.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 15 2003,10:58 pm
Bull...the real world is full of distractions. We help children the most by helping them succeed in spite of these distractions....not by making distractions, subjective in nature, against the rules. This environment rewards followers and arse kissers...not individualism, creativity and leadership.It creates a world where guys like Ron Gabrielsen succeeds and guys like Jim Hanson get gagged. That's not what we want.
Posted by Trent on Sep. 16 2003,2:34 am
Here is an interesting idea... If a student didn't want to go along with the dress code, they could go to school naked. There is nothing that states how much skin needs to be covered. I do not advocate any student doing so, but this is not against the dress code as far as I know. There would be no bra strap, thong strap, or other showing. All they would need would be a band-aid over their belly-button.
Posted by Dustin Petersen on Sep. 16 2003,11:18 am
One time when I was in school, my friends and I all bought these really cool sweatshirts with monsters on them. We were all supposed to wear them to school, but I was the only one who got away with it. Then Miss Landers sent me home to change, and I was the only one who got in trouble.Oh wait, never mind -- I guess that was on an episode of "Leave It To Beaver."
Posted by jimhanson on Sep. 16 2003,12:42 pm
GRADE schools now have "cover-up" Tee shirts available for kids to wear in case kids come with a shirt that doesn't meet code.
Posted by Bubba on Sep. 16 2003,4:48 pm
I would like to see school uniforms. You know something like: a) dress blues; b) class A's; and c) fatigues. You know, the appropriate clothing for all occations. I guess if we did institute such a change we would have to let Wal-Mart know a couple of months in advance so that we would have enough of those clip on ties for the kids.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 16 2003,6:33 pm
Spoken like true meat packer mentality...punish diversity and individualism. 
...typical Albert Lea...
Ya...dat's da ticket...
Posted by Bubba on Sep. 17 2003,9:02 am
minnow, if I have packed meat or not isn't the issue here. We send our kids off to school for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 1/2 months a year, for 12 + years at great expense. At the end of that period of time we should expect something; like a reasonably educated person who can function and be productive in society. Knowing how to dress for specific occations I would consider as falling into functioning in society. I also see appropriate dress as aiding our educators in creating the order needed to perform their main objective of educating our young. Now if you don't like the idea of dress codes, what's wrong with uniforms?
Posted by bitORlogic on Sep. 17 2003,11:47 pm
I can see some possible problems with uniforms.One, who is going to pay for them? If the school does, that's more taxpayer money that's needed. The students or the students' parents? What happens to the poorer families for whom such a uniform is quite costly? And more than one uniform per student would be needed, unless they are expected to wash a single uniform nightly (or, worse, wash it every other wearing).
Secondly, uniforms (unless they are very strict) do not remedy the problems that dress codes have. For example, if you allow students to wear jewelry, you have to create rules for what kinds of jewelry are allowed. Whatever the decision, it will be at least somewhat arbitrary and will probably breed resentment. There are deeper concerns as well - if you allow students to wear a small cross on a necklace, you also have to allow students to swear a small pentagram on a necklace, or a comparable symbol. Unless the uniform rules prohibit jewelry of any kind, such issues are going to come up just as they do for dress codes.
I do not have a problem with dress codes in general, although I think nearly all of them are too strict and usually sexist. (For example, most dress codes I've heard of prohibit men from wearing dresses or skirts. Older codes usually prohibited men from wearing earrings as well, although I suspect newer ones allow this.) I definitely see the utility in a set of rules for regulating what students wear, but great pains should be taken to ensure that students' rights of expression are not watered down to the point of being useless.
Just my two cents.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 18 2003,9:31 am
You are right that dress codes usually affect one sex more than the other, however it is usually the females who are affected. And the jewlery thing, give me a break, when's the last time you heard some adolescent saying, "you are such a bi##h, you are wearing diamond stud earrings!!!" I imagine the majority of kids buy their jewlery at claire's in the mall. They might have one nice piece of jewlery. I have never heard of jewlery as being an issue with the way kids treat eachother.
Posted by bitORlogic on Sep. 18 2003,3:02 pm
I never claimed it was an issue with how they treat each other. I said it was an issue with fairness and rights. There have been cases (not in Albert Lea that I know of, but in other parts of the country) where a student was barred from wearing a Star of David or a cross even though comparable jewelry was allowed, and it took a lawsuit to resolve the issue.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 18 2003,4:01 pm
That sounds like an issue with school policy and it needs to be changed. We live in America and if someone wants to honor their faith with a symbol around their neck it is fine in my book. The school is the one with the faulty system creating problems.
Posted by Tiger on Sep. 18 2003,4:01 pm
That sounds like an issue with school policy and it needs to be changed. We live in America and if someone wants to honor their faith with a symbol around their neck it is fine in my book. The school is the one with the faulty system creating problems.
Posted by ALTiger on Sep. 19 2003,11:15 am
It was mentioned that most dress codes are or women/girls...but I offer this insight. I do not want to see a guy walking down the hall with his jeans 'sagging' so low that I can see a big chunk of his boxers. This is almost as bad a seeing a thong sticking out of a girl's jeans. Some people may not see it this way, but the wording that says no underwear may be seen, affects guys as well as girls. The problem is no one realizes that guys also need a code.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 19 2003,2:03 pm
A smart and pretty teenage girl could sue the district claiming the rules are sexist...which they really, in truth, are. Are the same rules being applied to the males as well? They're rules designed to make teenage girls unattractive to the opposite sex and are far to subjective and arbitrary. Old people trying to dress teens never works, the teen girls themselves should have some input.
The same rules that apply in real life society should also apply to kids in school. No need to control a females dress unless you yourself have a dirty mind. The whole thing is an exercise of putting up with stupid rules. They even tell the kids that they will have to put up with being told how to dress their whole lives so not to complain.
Bull, you grow up and set the rules how your generation sees fit or you live by your own rules like I do.
Posted by just looking on Sep. 20 2003,12:44 am
I agree children should dress appropriately, their parents should be encouraging this. As far as uniforms and the expense, what would 3 pairs of khaki pants and 3 polo shirts cost (you would have to wash once in the middle of the week and once on the weekend) probably far less than I saw people spending just before school started to attire the kids for school. Welfare and poor parents still spend money on clothing and 3 sets of uniforms would probably be far less than they currently spend, and the child raised by a family of less means would not have to beg for name brands to fit in at school because they would all be wearing the same thing. Would this be a good thing, maybe yes, maybe not. But the cost of uniforms should not be the issue - (is the school going to pay for the uniforms, get real - they have to buy clothes for the kids anyway) I am not for or against uniforms - this could be debated all day, just wanted to point out that everyone is already spending money on clothing children, and my opinion is uniforms would be less expensive than the clothes they want to wear.
Posted by Mamma on Sep. 20 2003,9:27 pm
But then again Minnow...if you played by the rules and followed a little of what society is doing you wouldn't have so much money....but maybe you would be a happier person. You said yourself that the only thing lacking in your life was someone to share it with. Maybe you are doing something wrong.
Posted by ALTiger on Sep. 21 2003,4:40 pm
I worked at a clothing department. Most khaki pants are around $40, but can be found sometimes around $30...so I'll use $35 average. A polo shirt runs anywhere from $20-$75. On average, around $30/per (some are less expensive at Wal-Mart and Shopko, but other clothing stores don't really sell for under $30). Using the formula that a student would need 3 shirts and 3 pants, that comes to $198. [$35 * 3 + $30 * 3 = $198] It is possible to spend less than that, but not much less. It is far easier to spend more than that (especially if the child 'needs' a name brand). Unless a specific brand pant and shirt are required, I don't see this detering any of the 'self-esteem' issues that come from having non-name-brand clothes. People with money will still have names on their clothes that people who watch their wallets a little tighter won't have. One problem I see is that it is easy to see the families that shop and spend hundreds of dollars on 'back-to-school' clothes, but the families that use hand-me-downs and second-hand shops will need to find the initial money to equip their children. That is a lot of money (over $200 after shoes are factored in - this does not even count school supplies). Just some math for everyone to think about.
Posted by just looking on Sep. 22 2003,1:48 am
I should have looked before I posted last but here is what I found after taking a look through my recycling papers, back-to-school sales and it seems that at Shopko/Target/Walmart pants that are khaki in color maybe not official khakis were less than $20.00 and polo or 3 button shirts with a collar were less than $15.00. Leaving a set to less than $35.00 for a total of less than $105.00 for 3 school uniforms. I should get out and shop more but I tend to run out and grab what I need and leave. I would think that $105.00 to dress a child for school would be a fair price and never having to wonder what they were wearing an even better benefit.
Posted by GEOKARJO on Sep. 22 2003,11:28 am
Let's see the hitler Youth wore uniforms and schools catering to the the parents, children who have, and reformitory schools. I believe we would only create more rebellion. It would have been nice if they would have issued the dress code at the end of last years school year so the parents would have spent money more wisely.
Posted by jimhanson on Sep. 22 2003,12:10 pm
Hitler Youth membership was optional, not mandatory. It isn't right to equate wearing uniforms with Nazi's. Catholic schools and military schools have been wearing uniforms for years--and nobody is the worse for it.Far from rebellion, it might make kids feel like they are a PART of something--something they may not be getting at home. Most people that wear a uniform--whether police, firemen, military (even, it could be argued, gang members)--feel PRIDE in wearing the uniform--it makes them feel like a direct participant. There is still room for personalization--backpacks, jewelry, etc. within the framework of the uniform.
Posted by Liberal on Sep. 22 2003,12:31 pm
Anyone advocating a uniform in our public school system better think twice about the consequences of such actions. I would move out of this town before I would ever force either of my daughters to wear a uniform in a public school and I'll bet I'm not the only person that feels that strongly about it.And Geo. is right to equate wearing uniforms with the Hitler youth. The whole point of the Hitler youth uniforms was to make them feel like they were a PART of something--something they may not have been getting at home...
Posted by jimhanson on Sep. 22 2003,3:03 pm
As I said, Catholic schools and military schools have been doing it for a Century or two--doesn't seem to have hurt them!Gang "colors"--what is that, A UNIFORM!
This is yet one more reason for school vouchers--send your kid to the educational institution that YOU feel is best!
Posted by Joan on Sep. 23 2003,12:37 pm
Bah Humbug:) We're not wealthy, but I'm not wasting money on clothes from Shopko or Wal-Mart. Seams and buttons that need to be resewn colors that run and fade. No thank you, I'd much rather buy once and have things last.As for the dress code. When I was in HS the styles were similar to those today, not the boxers and thongs but for outer clothing. Rules were implemented at school, we learned to follow them and I really don't think it's had a huge impact on the way I grew up. If anything you learn the difference between appropriate and inappropriate.