My Public School's Dress Code (if you need a laugh.....)

My hair would be unacceptable to the school. I have "chunky" hilites. So what do they do if a parent doesn't conform to their rules? If a father comes on campus and his hair is down his back are they going to ask him to leave? Or if a mom has on shorts are they going to remove her from the campus? I'm just curious how far they believe their power trip should go.

 

Wow... I think they are more strict than my very conservative private school that I went to! Yikes!!!

I agree that they should institute uniforms. It would make life easier for all involved.

 

That sounds very close to the dress code the high school I graduated from had.
Some of it I agree with, some I don't. I don't think it's the school's place to say anything about piercing. If a student wants to get their navel or tongue pierced & their parents agree to it, the school can't tell them no. I can see not allowing piercings in lips, eyebrows, or nose, because they're visible & if the student gets in a fight someone could rip them out. So, those would be a safety issue. I also don't think the school has any right to say boys can't have pierced ears. I disagree with the hair thing. Again, it's not the school's place to tell the students what color(s), length, or style their hair can be.
I agree with skirts/dresses having to be a certain length, and pants should be worn where they're meant to be. I've seen way to many girls in tiny little skirts (if you have to continuously adjust it to keep from flashing everyone, it's too short), or showing off their thongs above the top of their jeans. I've also seen too many guys walking around with their pants way below their butt (you should not have to old your pants up when you walk or run).
Most, if not all, of the grade & middle schools here have uniforms, but not the high schools. I looked up one of the high school sites & it's dress code wasn't near that bad. Apparently they're not as strict now as when I was in high school. I think the only thing the dress code posted has, that wasn't part of the dress code when I was in high school, is the part about shirts having to be tucked in. Ours didn't have to be tucked, they just had to be long anough to cover the midriff at all times.

 

Our school also had codes regarding hair styles. You need to understand the point I was making: people will always push the rules and try to find a loophole to get around it. So, the rules keep trying to specifically address those issues the next year. This keeps going on until you finally reach a point where you have a ridiculously long and involved list of rules--- in an effort to clamp down on any loopholes--- or you go to uniforms.

The simple fact is that people don't have to put their children in public schools if they don't want to follow the rules there. But if you're going to put your child in a school--- public or private--- you should obey the rules or work through the system to alter them respectfully.

I'm not saying what rules I'd make or not regarding dress codes if I were in charge of a school. Personally, I'd probably start out with uniforms and stay with it. It was unreal how relieved everyone was when we went to the uniform system.

 

I checked to see what our high school (we only have one in our town) had for its dress code, and this is the whole thing in its entirety:

That's it. Basically it's a) don't expose body parts or underwear and b) don't advertise bad stuff. I expected to see a bit more on there, surprised.

 

I saw a couple of replies about the school going to uniforms soon & how it must've gotten really bad for it to get to this point in the rules...... just wanted to let y'all know that these are the SAME dress codes (almost exactly) as I had when I attended this school district ('83-'92). The only thing that's changed is the 2" logo thing as best as I can tell.

So, I guess they just don't want to go to uniforms for some reason? I really don't know. But they've had the 'nazi rules' for quite some time.

Personally, I wouldn't have near as much problem with uniforms as I would things like hair & piercings. I mean... clothes are one thing --- you can change out of them when you're off the campus & wear what you want. But I've personally witnessed teachers & principals cutting a child's hair at school w/o notifying the parents they were going to do so.... and also forcing kids to remove new piercings and handing them over.... and they want to talk about health & hygeine? Last I checked, those are supposed to STAY IN & CLEAN for at least 6 wks to avoid infection.

If my kids want to pierce something, get a mohawk, or put pink highlights in their hair... that's between me and them & has nothing to do with education.

Another interesting note: Staff does not have to follow the same rules.

And the comment about the long hair yes, you should've seen the faces on the staff when we went on our little 'field trip to the elementary school' the other day --LOL-- all 3 of my sons and my husband have long hair.

 

My son has a shaggy hairstyle, not long, but longer than that school would allow. I see nothing wrong with the longer styles as long as they are neat. I don't have a problem with hi/low lights either.

 

I wouldd have LOVED to see the looks on their faces when they saw their hair!!!!!

I feel the same way you do. I would be totally fine with a uniform but not the hair and jewelry crap. If a school official cut my child's hair or took out a piercing I approved of I would sue the $@#&^%$# outta them just for the principal of the thing.

 

I have a question. If a boy wears a kilt to school, would they consider that a skirt?

 

A kilt is formal wear. I guess everyone would be wondering why someone would wear the equivalent of a tuxedo to a regular school day except for the sole purpose of drawing attention to himself.

I know at least one of the schools here in the DFW area of Texas allowed boys to wear kilts to prom since it was formal wear for a formal occasion.

 

One of the guys I went to high school with wore a kilt on a regular basis. I really couldn't say why, probably for attention. That's why I thought of it.
Historically, the kilt is not formal wear. It was everyday attire for some cultures. Because it is technically a cultural thing, a school really shouldn't be able to prohibit the wearing of one. So, I was just wondering if they would allow it or not, on a regular day (not just something formal like Prom).

 

Teach me to listen to a Scotsman. I have a Scottish friend who said it was formal wear. Oh well.

As for it being cultural, it's not something that one HAS to wear, so I don't think one could argue that a school would have to allow it.

It does raise a whole new interesting area of clothing issues, though. I mean, how far should one's cultural background get to be used as an excuse for wearing certain attire? I don't honestly think I'd have been keen teaching a girl dressed in a burka.

But, that goes to an entirely different topic. LOL

 

Hair-wise my son would have a problem because he keeps his in cornrows! When my oldest dd was in school she would have an awful time with reg for the length of shorts and skirts. She is blessed/cursed with my long arms so her "finger tip below the hem" ratio didn't allow her for much above the knee!

 

I just checked out an online site about kilts and the manly men who wear them [paraphrasing their line]. They were obviously taking a lighthearted approach to encouraging men to don the kilt for everyday attire again. The masculine designs they had were great! Who would've thought of camoflauge and a kilt? LOL

 

They were used for formal wear, but also as every day attire. Now, they are pretty much just formal wear. My dh is part Scottish & we've done a decent amount of research into the culture & history. They aren't strictly a Scottish thing either. They were also very common among Celtic men.
True, it doesn't HAVE to be worn. So, I guess I could see justification for a school not allowing it as a regular thing.
How do they decided what can & can't be worn when it comes to cultural attire? I would probably just make the students wear uniforms, instead of dealing with those kinds of decisions. Uniforms are just so much easier.

 

Camofluage & a kilt? Sounds interesting. what site were you at?

 

What I think is interesting about all of this is that something had to have happened for it to be made a "rule" Like somebody posted earlier parents are not making their kids dress according to the simple "cover up and nothing with bad words on it" type of code.

Our local school keeps adding more and more to it. I think a uniform would be easier.

They are trying to make everybody be the same and not unique, like little robots that all do the same thing, and have "the same chance". Which will not happen. There are always going to be somebody who is a nerd, a snob, a metal head, a redneck, poor etc. That is just the way life is, even in uniforms kids will find ways to make themselves different to stand out. That is what we all do as humans.
Ok so I got off topic a little bit. Sorry,

Aggie

 

I'm of Scottish ancestry myself--- hence the red hair. LOL I guess I've never given much thought to the kilts, though, since I'm a woman and it wouldn't matter!

Here's the site: http://www.kiltmen.com/ You'll find the camo kilt on the right side.

 

I dont think you got off topic at all. It is about conformity. Ps is all about conformity.

 

My red hair comes from a bottle. I am part Irish, though, which I've been told is quite obvious by my personality. The red hair just suits me so much better than the blonde (I was born with red, but then it changed to blonde). I probably wouldn't really know anything about kilt either if it weren't for dh. Since I'm not part Scottish, I probably wouldn't have studied the culture & history so much.

BTW, I love the site! It was quite interesting, and I really like the part where they were comparing women wearing skirts to men wearing kilt.