School Dress Codes? Opinions? - Page 2

[Shann]

Hmmm....looks like I'm in the minority here. I hate school dress codes ---always have, always will---so I am extremely glad that my kids go to a school that doesn't have one. I like my kids to be free to dress however they want, so this is perfect for us.

[applejuice]

I do like dress codes.

As a parent, teacher, and as a student I like them for all of the reasons already mentioned.

[myjulybabes]

I'm on the fence on the subject. I went to private Catholic schools from kindergarten til I graduated high school, so I'm quite used to a dress code, even uniforms. And I really didn't mind them. It was actually pretty weird to get to college and have to figure out what I was going to wear every day. OTOH, who wants to push conformity on their kids? It's a fine line I think between what's appropriate and not a distraction to the other students, and stifling one's individuality.

I guess I'm in favor of a loose dress code. Just some general guidelines, but nothing super restrictive.

[ibahippiemama]

Well, I went to a all-girls Catholic High School. I really liked our dress code that we had. Hair could be dyed, but not really outragious colors. You could have more that one hole in each ear, but you could only wear one pair at a time. Skirts had to be pressed and had to touch the floor when kneeling. Sister always said that she was teaching young ladies, not street walkers.

The dress code at my kids school sometimes makes me really POed. Getting written up for not having a belt? Kind of silly if you ask me.

love and blessings
angie

[Flor]

I love that there are so many pro-dress code posts here! As a former punk rocker, dh thinks I am insane about this issue, but I am a teacher now and am tired of the "Pimp n' Ho Parade" as was stated earlier! Lol. If people were reasonable, dress codes wouldn't be necessary but if you could see what the 12,13 and 14 year old wear around here! I feel there is too much emphasis on their clothing. They judge everyone, put them into their little box, based on their clothing. There are other, deeper, ways of expressing self than "punk" shirt you bought at Ross. Plus, I am just offended by the hoochie girls on the back of their t-shirts. Do I need to see a 12 y old's clevage while teaching literature? I try to tell them that you don't have to wear all your clothes to school. I have short shorts and tank tops but don't wear them to school. Learn some manners, kids!

[the_lissa]

We had uniforms in high school, and I loved it. We had four different styles of sweaters in two colours, a sweatshirt, a rugger, two colours of turtlenecks, long sleeved and short sleeved oxfords, two different colours of golf shirt, pants, shorts, kilt, knee highs, tights, etc etc, so it wasn't was a mirror of everyone else. I liked it because we had variety, i never had to think about what to wear, and clothes weren't a status symbol, even on civvies days.

[Greaseball]

The variety sounds good. But, are the girls allowed to wear pants? Some girls may be self-conscious if they are overweight or starting puberty and may be more comfortable in a sweatshirt and pants than in a blouse and skirt.

[the_lissa]

Yep, the girls were allowed to wear the pants or shorts and sweatshirts. Half of my girlfriends only wore pants. I wore pants about half the time.

However, boys weren't allowed to wear kilts! A friend of mine wore his gf's kilt in the last month of high school and got sent home. It is pretty ironic since a kilt was originally a man's item.

[the_lissa]

We could also have dyed hair/piercings/etc.

[huggerwocky]

I am against dress codes.I don't need strangers imposing moral values onto my child.It's noneof their business whether the hair is pink or not."Distraction" is a very subjective value and doesn't mean anything.

But, I am all for school uniforms!

[nepenthesea]

I'm pretty anti-dress code, and it's one of many reasons why I will probably homeschool in the future. If my kid wants a blue mohawk, and if I'm okay with it, I don't think the school should be able to say anything about it.

Of course, I am an ex-punk/goth/freak type, and was usually the one being sent home for violating a dress code. The dress codes were always selectively enforced, though. I would be sent home for wearing jeans with holes in the knees, while a cheerleader would be wearing a sleeveless shirt, which was against our dress code, and she wouldn't be looked at twice. I also like how they ban a student from wearing a pentagram and the star of David, but let them wear crosses. Well, a pentagram is for me what a cross is to most people, so that's discriminatory. Hell, when I was a freshman, in 1988, my school banned PEACE signs, and sent kids to ISS for wearing or drawing them.

My husband also has issues with dress codes. He attended the high school in the town we live in, and he sued them because they wouldn't let him keep his long hair. He was even on the Jerry Springer show, talking about it (pre-circus sideshow days). He still has long hair, 13 years later.

I realize that dress codes are kind of a small issue, but I guess that's why it irritates me. It's such a small thing compared to things like teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and violence. If my school would have spent the time on those issues that they spent on looking for me everyday, writing me up, putting me in detention/ISS, sending me home. etc. they could have had a positive influence on a more urgent issue. Dress codes are usually one more way of trying to make us into conformists and corporate cogs. They specifically target people who look different. They don't go after the cheerleaders, who wear shorter skirts than anyone (and both of my sisters were cheerleaders, so I know this from personal experience). At the school here, not only can you not have long hair, but you also cannot wear black trenchcoats (post-Columbine, of course). Never mind that you could carry a gun in any jacket.

[angelpie545]

Ok this will get probably get me a bunch of flames- but all think all dress codes are ridiculous and oppressive. I think that no one has any business telling any other individual what to wear. Period. The government and school administration should not be concerned with what the studnets wear at all. They should be concerned with education. America has the freedom of speech and expression. For a public school to ban a certain form of dress violates the freedom of expression. There is no two ways around it. No matter how you word it, it still violates someone's freedom, in my opinion. If some of the schools out there focoused on education as much as they did what their students are wearing than our school system as a whole might be better- at least in my area. In my high school, there were so many ridiculous dress codes- and no one followed them- so they tried to enforce them- no one listened- so eventually they gave up. Focous on the children's education. Forget what they're wearing.

[kiahnsmum]

Not sure what I'll do if ds school ever had a dress code, this week he went dressed as an army man in full camo, last week it was a magician and when i hid my make up he just used felt pen for many of his disguises! :LOL
We are christians so im not gonna let him buy a t-shirt that says F*** you but clothing is definitly one way kids express themselves so i think dress codes are a little oppresive, most high schools in my area have a uniform it is the minority over here for high schools not to have uniform so i guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

[TiredX2]

I would support a dress code in the form of a (paid for by the school) uniform.

I would not support any input on hair/makeup/piercings beyond health & safety (PE would be an obvious example).

[Losgann]

My kids have dress codes here from pre Kindergarten til 9th grade. I like it for the fact that the poorer kids aren't ostracized as much for their clothing, (in the younger grades anyway) but I think kids can still tell whether their parents buy their uniforms at Sears or the discount store.

My kids can wear any shirt with a collar as long as it is red, navy blue, light blue, hunter green or white. Pants must be slacks, no excessive pockets and navy or khaki in color. Shirt must be tucked in at all times. Other that that, it's okay. I've seen a few boys with long hair but not many and I did see a girl with pink dye in her hair the other day but it's rare. I don't know if it's against the dress code or not as my kids aren't interested in those types of things yet.

Cons: it costs at least $200 a year if not more for uniforms PER KID. And that's hoping they don't grow out of them 6 weeks before school is up for the year like my ds this year. :LOL

Much more laundry! I have my kids change out of their uniforms as soon as they get home to make them last longer. My dd in pre k I can get away with 2 wears as she's only in them 3 hours a day but next year will be full days.

Pros: I and the kids always know what they are going to wear in the morning so no outfit wars. My dd is VERY opinionated and loves to coordinate her own very imaginative outfits, so uniforms are a huge help in this case. She gets free reign with socks and shoes.

We aren't well off, so my kids aren't going to be wearing too much Old Navy or <insert other expensive brand here> What they are wearing isn't even an issue with the other kids.

I'll end my rambling now! :LOL

[Marsupialmom]

I am no fan of dress codes but I do not object to ones that are for safety reasons. I know many schools have ban extremely baggy pants, not just because of the underwear showing but the boys cannot safely walk up steps.

[obeyacts2]

I believe in uniforms!!!!!! Our school system just overhauled its dress code BTW. No belly shirts, sagging pants etc not to mention the gangster clothes. I have seen kids picked on way too much over clothing and snpbbery. Uniforms would stop thiis......not to mention the gangster crap. Here, some schools are going with khaki and white, because blue is a gang color (as is red) . Looks like a bowl of oatmeal :LOL . School is a job, just as we go to work, our kids go to school. We both need to dress appropriately. Creative expression is for after school and weekends.

Laura