I got into a debate with a high school friend on FB (I have since hidden his posts since I can't see his politics without raising my blood pressure) about this last summer.
I posted a link to an article about a girl sent home because she was wearing a sundress with spaghetti straps. Yes, she was out of dress code, but my point was that the dress code is overly restrictive and leads to body shaming for young women.
His argument was that men are biologically hard wired to look at women's bodies.
My argument was that why are we teaching our young women that they need to cover up instead of teaching our young men not to ogle.
I lost him when I asked "At what point does the man assume responsibility? When a young woman is on the stand being asked what she was wearing and if she'd been drinking?" He didn't see the connection.
I attended Catholic schools. Some has uniforms, some had dress codes. The idea was that school is a kid's job. Play clothes were for playtime, and club clothes belonged at the club. My high school's dress code was business casual, though the term didn't exist at the time: no jeans, collared shirts, skirts knee-length or longer, ties for boys.
When I worked at a public high school, the dress code applied to both sexes: no tank tops, no pajamas, no visible underwear, no pictures of drugs, alcohol, or weapons, fingertip rule for skirts or shorts, no shorts October to May.
I'm very tired of the argument that having standards for dress in school is automatically "body shaming". Is a dress code for boys automatically "playa hating"? They're not allowed to wear tank tops either. Like it or not, people are judged by the way they dreas. One day they will be in the working world, with a dress code or even a uniform. Their employer is not likelu to be swayed by cries of "oppression!" because they can't wear flip flops or leggings.
The biggest problem we had with school uniforms was the expense. The schools chose one exclusive provider, who charged as much as they could get away with. My sister's junior high class had a gym class crisis; the uniforms were so expensive many parents refused to buy them. School uniforms should include clothes that can be bought at any store, with pants for girls, and no wool in June (or at all for kids who are allergic) or thin cotton skirts in January.
My daughter went to a Catholic high school. When she started we bought 2 skirts, one in each style. They were also allowed to wear khaki or navy pants. They wore button-down shirts in blue, white, or yellow; we bought most of those thrift stores. The girls rolled their skirts and wore boxers underneath :) When the principal decided they were wearing their skirts too short, they all switched to pants. Boys wore khaki or navy pants, the button-down shirts, and ties. My daughter loved it because she never had to worry about what to wear. She is all for school uniforms! Her boys used to go to school in a working-class neighborhood in a fairly large city and the school had "uniform dress"...polo shirts or turtlenecks in solid colors of navy, gray, red, white, or pink, pants in khaki or navy (capris or knee length skirts for girls, knee length shorts for both sexes) or clean jeans without holes. Sweatshirts or sweaters in the colors of the shirts were also permitted in cooler weather. The kids always looked neat and clean and it didn't seem to meet with any complaints from the parents. Now they live in a different town and there is a complicated dress code. She says it's a PITA and mostly shames the girls, but whenever someone brings up the idea of "uniform dress" there's a lot of squawking about "expense" and "freedom of expression" which she never heard when she lived in a poorer neighborhood and there *was* uniform dress.
I so wish they would do that here. I have so many foot injuries and though I counsel the dangers of them, they continue to adorn the feet of almost all the girls.
How about the 18 year olds that are seniors that are held to the same standards and yet not when they go to college 3 months later?
We have to go back to society's lowest common denominator when making rules. Both ages are contained in a high school, therefore we must mandate for the dumbest of these. Why there are illogical zero tolerance policies.
Professional dress (or uniforms) seems to lower the attire-related distractions. I feel that it grooms children for a professional appearance. A lot of workplaces have dress codes as well.
It is "dress to impress" day here at my school and what are my two sons wearing? Dresses. They are definitely making an impression. I have extra clothes so they can change if they become a distraction. I think I am more concerned about it than their teachers.
It is "dress to impress" day here at my school and what are my two sons wearing? Dresses. They are definitely making an impression. I have extra clothes so they can change if they become a distraction. I think I am more concerned about it than their teachers.
Bat Lady
41 Posts
My daughter went to a Catholic high school. When she started we bought 2 skirts, one in each style. They were also allowed to wear khaki or navy pants. They wore button-down shirts in blue, white, or yellow; we bought most of those thrift stores. The girls rolled their skirts and wore boxers underneath :) When the principal decided they were wearing their skirts too short, they all switched to pants. Boys wore khaki or navy pants, the button-down shirts, and ties. My daughter loved it because she never had to worry about what to wear. She is all for school uniforms! Her boys used to go to school in a working-class neighborhood in a fairly large city and the school had "uniform dress"...polo shirts or turtlenecks in solid colors of navy, gray, red, white, or pink, pants in khaki or navy (capris or knee length skirts for girls, knee length shorts for both sexes) or clean jeans without holes. Sweatshirts or sweaters in the colors of the shirts were also permitted in cooler weather. The kids always looked neat and clean and it didn't seem to meet with any complaints from the parents. Now they live in a different town and there is a complicated dress code. She says it's a PITA and mostly shames the girls, but whenever someone brings up the idea of "uniform dress" there's a lot of squawking about "expense" and "freedom of expression" which she never heard when she lived in a poorer neighborhood and there *was* uniform dress.