What if students were allowed to wear anything they wanted to school? Are the dress code regulations necessary?
Dress Restrictions
Most schools have regulations on how students dress. The intent is to keep students safe and focused on academics. Teachers have enough on their plate to motivate learning without having to monitor which slogan is affecting who today.
Baggy pants and bandanas could be interpreted as gang dress. Dressing as a gang member intimidates other students and spreads fear instead of focusing on academics. Pants with large pockets are often restricted because a weapon or drugs could be carried in them. Certain colors are often banned if gang colors.
Coats and bookbags are often only permitted in lockers. Again, guns and drugs could be in coat pockets and bookbags.
X-Rated
Dressing seductively is a great distraction to the opposite sex. It only makes sense to put restrictions on what can be worn to school. Sexual thoughts are already frequent in middle school and high school. Most students do not need visual aids. The imagination is active enough. Schools have banned MySpace.com during school hours because of the suggestive content and predators lurking. MySpace has tried to make the site safer but students still make themselves vulnerable by being on MySpace.
T-Shirts
Clothing with reference to cigarettes or alcohol are usually not allowed. Television restricts commercials on these subjects so it doesn't make sense to allow students advertise in school. T-shirts from Hooters are usually not permitted because of the reference made to waitresses. But a new craze is emerging and it is not making administration and law enforcement very happy. The t-shirts say "Don't Snitch."
This latest trend tells students at school to not cooperate with teachers, principals and police. So, you witness vicious harassment--don't snitch. You witness a gun in a locker--don't snitch. You see drugs in the lunchroom--don't snitch. You overhear someone talking about a bomb--don't snitch.
Only Wrong If Caught
This new craze in t-shirts leads already confused middle school and high school students to believe that they must stand behind their friends at all costs. Doesn't really matter if it is morally wrong. You stand by your friends even if they could blow up the school, shoot your friends, or die of a drug overdose. The worst thing you can be is a snitch and cooperate with the police. Police rely on citizens to assist them in investigations. No leads, no arrests, less safety.
The Damage Has Been Done
Even though these t-shirts are no longer being produced, other companies have copied the slogan and sell on the black market as knock offs. But, more and more schools are saying "no" to these slogan t-shirts.
Uniforms
More and more public schools are switching to uniforms. This custom used to be reserved for private and Catholic schools but public schools are finding some positive results. When students wear uniforms to school, no one can tell who has more money. The latest expensive jeans can't be shown off along with the designer polo.
The results have been better attendance because students always have something acceptable to wear. Studies uncovered the fact that some students were missing school because they didn't have "cool" clothes to wear or the one pair of jeans that was "cool" was too wet to wear to school. And, since students are not distracted by who is wearing what, students focus better on academics and their own business.
How we dress does matter. Even entrepreneurs that work out of their home feel their workday is more productive when dressed appropriately rather than working in pajamas.
Copyright article 2006. Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
The copyright of the article Dress Codes and School in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Dress Codes and School must be granted by the author in writing.
I THINK THAT DRESS CODES SHOULD BE BANNED FOR LIFE B-CUZ PEOPLE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO EXPRESS THERE SELFES BY WHAT THE WEAR IF THEY DONT EXPRESS THERE SELVES THEY WONT HAVE SELF CONFIDENCE!!!
SO WE SHUDNT B TOLD WAT TO WER
MIDDLOE SKOOL STUDENT
May 1, 2008 6:42 AM
Guest
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we shuld b abl 2 wear wut we wunt 2 cuz it is only fare if u dont have the muney and sum1 makes fun of u then punch them n the nose
May 2, 2008 6:29 AM
Guest
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if everybody dressed da same no 1 wuld b able b themselves and datz nt fair to them cuz wen u take away the way they dress u take awy thier freedom
free spirit
May 5, 2008 7:29 AM
Guest
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Students should dress respectfully in school. They should be allowed to wear what they want, but to a certain extent. Students should not be allowed to wear mini skirts or wear their pants around their knees. Those looks are sloppy and do not show self respect or self confidence. Also, no business wants to hire a man who wears his pants down to his knees and shirts 4 sizes too big. That is not a presentable look. If you want a good job, then you need to dress properly, it shows self respect. There's many reasons to why schools have dress codes, its not to "hinder our individuality" its to promote a better life style and self confidence. No one is taking away anyone's "free spirit" or "freedom". If you want a good education, and a well paying job, you need to dress for it. School is merely preparing you for the future. Whether you choose to take that opportunity or not is your choice.
May 5, 2008 1:43 PM
Guest
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school uniforms should be in schools because then we would not have a problem with what kids wear and how they wear it
May 13, 2008 6:51 AM
Guest
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they should be gone forever! their lame and pointless and when you dont get to dress the way you want your not showing how you feel and your personal style!
May 13, 2008 8:14 AM
Guest
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Judging from the poor spelling and grammer from students that oppose a dress code, there could be a benefit to wearing uniforms so students could spend less time looking at their attire and more time learning spelling and grammar.
May 15, 2008 10:57 AM
Guest
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Oh, and guest from May 13 at 8:14 AM... you spelled "grammar" wrong.
Jun 8, 2008 4:51 PM
Guest
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I go to a public uniform school, and have for the past 2 years. I went to public schools that didn't have uniforms and, mainly for grade 7/8 you could tell that people were treated differently depending on what they wear, if you didn't wear American Eagle or whatever then you were treated badly/ignored, and the people who did were treated better by other students. But at the school I go to now where we have a uniform people are treated ruffly the same, although people are still treated differently if they wear name brands (they break uniform policy).
I think uniforms are a good idea (to an extent) but I think students should have the right to be creative with them, for example get to dye them, cut them....., that way students are more creative and can express themselves with that they wear without having the set back of students having expensive name brands that not all students can afford.
My school use to allow that before we changed principals and it worked out well and most people were in uniform and were able to express themselves, now the new principal is trying to crack down on the uniform with not allowing people to be creative with the uniforms so more people are out of uniform trying to be creative with non-school clothes while at the same time are bringing back the name brands that the schools uniform is suppose to stop.
And the other problem with uniforms are that students hate having to change out of them after school since everyone hates them, so some people choose not to wear uniform pants and have a school shirt covering their non-school shirt so they can be out of uniform after school, while others bring non-school clothes to school so they can change in the bathrooms after school, and sometimes even at lunch if they really feel like it, or change into uniform when they get to school. This makes the students late for class which interrupts their, and the other students learning.
So there are two sides to the subject.
and they people who commented on May 1st and 2nd really need to learn not to use msn talk all the time.
