Are dress codes and school uniforms old-fashioned?
Carl Bosch has put in 10,114 days as an educator, with 61 left to go.
Dress codes are modern little throwbacks to an era when modesty and demure clothing were automatic and generally popular. We struggle every day in middle school, especially as warm weather approaches, to keep things … how can I say it … covered.
Part of the dress code is easy. You can’t wear shirts that espouse beer, marijuana, or the used-to-be popular “coed naked” series. (Whether it was lacrosse, soccer or Frisbee, we didn’t care, “coed naked” was out.) Another simple part concerning boys was the admonition to “pull up your damn pants.” (Without the damn added in.) We simply don’t want to see any young man’s undershorts no matter how cool they are. Fortunately, this is hardly a fashion trend in my school so we barely have to deal with it.
But now we come to the girls. No spaghetti strap tops. (I really have no interest in the bra straps of 7th graders.) Nothing too low cut. “Please report to the principal or assistant principal.” (They both happen to be female and can handle those kinds of issues more directly.) No jeans with too many holes and rips, but who exactly determines how many rips is too many? And our biggest problem: short shorts and short skirts.
The rule of thumb, or better yet, fingertips, is that when a young lady puts her arms down at her sides, the shorts or skirt must reach the bottom of her fingertips. This is a somewhat arbitrary scale of measure. Some girls have arms like Michael Phelps and would have to be wearing Amish skirts to qualify. More shoulder raising and arm shortening goes into play when admonished to “put your arms down at your sides” then a poker player trying to hide a straight flush.
There’s also the problem of maturation rates for twelve, thirteen and fourteen year old girls. Some look like they’re still watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and some look like they’re trying out for the Rockettes. Let’s throw in that most men on the staff are loathe to mention anything about skirt length to any young lady for fear that they’ll be talked about on Facebook as being salacious. There’s even a fashion now in skirts that appears to be nothing more than a full body sock. It’s kind of stretchable. When the student is sent to the office they do a quick stretch job and the offending skirt meets the regulations. By the time they’re back in class the skirt has ridden back up to high noon. What’s a Math teacher to do?
These are the styles of the day that are pushed by our culture, advertised everywhere and meshed with the finely honed promotion of teenage sexuality. It’s difficult when the school is trying to hold to a higher standard than society at large and the home in particular. Clearly, there’s been erosion in the last few decades of formality in dress everywhere. Blue jeans used to be frowned on in schools years ago. People don’t dress for the theater, or church, or holidays. How can we blame our daughters, nieces, and girls everywhere when they simply don’t see the problem? They think we’re being old-fashioned, hyper conservative and downright stupid.
The fact is clothing can be distracting from the task at hand. Any task. Don’t try to tell me that a fourteen year old boy is not ogling the girl in the desk across from him. I know they are, because they’ve told me. I haven’t even mentioned the money factor that goes into clothing. Whoever can afford those UGG boots, the Abercrombie & Fitch top or anything from Juicy Couture takes on large significance, especially for those who can’t afford them. (Honestly, I’m really nitpicking here, but do I want my thirteen year old in anything called Juicy Couture?) And does what you wear play into social culture and groups? You bet it does.
Here’s my rule of thumb. Don’t buy anything for your children—especially daughters—that are truly designed for a 20 year old. Pay no attention to the ads on television, the print pressure, the mall window displays. Let’s leave it at that.
Or perhaps schools should have uniforms.
Photo credit: Flickr / KingTyrone
I went to school in the UK, so had a uniform for my entire school career (from 4 up to 16). It was fantastic. Not once did I ever have to consider the social implications of what I was wearing- especially during those awkward adolescent years. Having spoken to a friend about her experiences of going to school in the US (and the resulting social divides caused by differences in clothing), I am a huge advocator of school uniforms for everyone.
I was in Catholic school from 1-12 grade. We had to buy uniforms from an a specific uniform provider, so everyone had the same stuff. I was a lower income student on scholarship in upper-middle class schools the entire time, so all of my uniforms were hand-me-downs from earlier students (free!) but no one would have ever known the difference (in fact, I remember girls trying to wash their new uniforms over and over again so they’d look softer and broken in.) I never thought much about it at the time, but now that I have to decide what to… Read more »
I went to Catholic school for 12 years and had some horrendous uniforms, especially in high school, with thick polyester and Christmas tree plaid skirts. I hated them then but looking back, I didn’t have the wardrobe problems of my friends trying to pick out what to wear etc. I see the kids now in the same uniforms and it makes me smile.
“The fact is clothing can be distracting from the task at hand. Any task. Don’t try to tell me that a fourteen year old boy is not ogling the girl in the desk across from him. I know they are, because they’ve told me. I haven’t even mentioned the money factor that goes into clothing.” I went to a school that had a uniform policy, and let me tell you that none of this was diminished by the uniforms. The middle class boys and girls had brand new uniforms, and and the poorer kids ended up with hand me downs.… Read more »
I think dress codes are great for kids. Kids are in school to learn, not show a fashion. Gets them ready for the business world which has a dress code.