School dress codes are very popular among educators as a way to take the argument of fashion and potentially offensive expression away in favor of concentration of education and learning while within the school’s facilities. There are strict dress codes with complete uniforms that cannot be deviated from and there are relatively relaxed dress codes that serve as guides for students and families to make their own choices.
For those families who attend schools with relaxed dress codes, they still allow for a maximum of freedom in choosing what to wear and how to look but with guidelines that assist students in staying away from clothing or styles that will detract from the educational focus in the classroom.
The Dress Code With Compromise
Many schools began a dress policy stating that there should be “No Offensive Slogans or Sayings” but they soon found themselves in a virtual war with students and parents who approved the wearing of a T-shirt with a questionable saying and responded by saying it wasn’t offensive to them in particular, so it should be allowed. Soon after, schools changed the rules to state that T-shirts were allowed, but no sayings, logos or pictures on them. Many people saw it as a compromise.
The Dress Code Without Compromise
If you keep in mind that school uniforms are intended to create an equal and orderly atmosphere with a reduction of distractions imposed by clothing and fashion choices, you can see how occasional compromises can be healthy and needed. In one Texas town recently, the school dress code is receiving national attention, and a lack of accepting any compromise has landed one little boy in classroom purgatory with no end in sight.
A 4-year-old boy has been suspended from his pre-K class in Texas since late November because the school says his hair is too long and violates its dress code.
According to the district dress code, boys’ hair must be kept out of the eyes and cannot extend below the bottom of earlobes or over the collar of a dress shirt. Hairstyles “designed to attract attention to the individual or to disrupt the orderly conduct of the classroom or campus (are) not permitted
Taylor Pugh has been separated from his class and sent to the library to study with a teacher’s aide since Nov. 24. Here’s background on the story.
The school board did offer a compromise on Monday where the boy could braid his hair and pin it up. But the parents rejected it because the mother says her son likes his long and the braiding would make his scalp bleed
The purpose of the dress code – in this instance, the part of the dress code that pertains to personal grooming – clearly state the allowable length of hair. The school appears to have offered a compromise to allow the child to keep his hair length, however, it had to be braided or otherwise pinned up out of his face during class time. The family, ultimately, has refused the idea.
The beauty of choosing an education for your child is that if you do not agree with the policies of the school, be they educational philosophy, religion or dress code, you are free to seek out an education or your choice somewhere else.
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