I Can't Wear This?!!

Adam and Eve had it easy before the fall. They had no dress code to worry about....

As long as there are clothes I suppose there will be dress codes, and as long as there are dress codes, there will be disagreements about what is appropriate to wear. The truth is, as long as there are schools, dress code will always be an issue. Not that this is entirely fair, mind you. We do not exist to make sure that students wear what we want them to wear; however, you just can't get around the fact that, in a school at least, there must be some guidelines for what can be worn, and it is up to the school and the parents to enforce those guidelines as consistently as possible.

As we work through some "dress code issues" at our school, I thought it might be helpful to share the following thoughts:

1. It is absolutely impossible for everyone to agree on the dress code. There are just too many ideas about what is proper and what is not. We can have healthy dialogue on the topic, but we will never agree. The only thing we can do is to agree to live by the code and how it is interpreted by the administration.

2. Yes, consistency is important, but.... A police officer does not stop every speeder. That's impossible! However, it never works to argue that "the car ahead of me was speeding, and in fact was going even faster than I was!" The bottom line is, you were speeding and deserve a ticket. If a student violates the dress code, then there are consequences, even if yesterday a student got away with wearing the same thing. This truth leads us to a related thought...

3. Teachers can't catch every infraction. Enforcement of the dress code is not our most significant concern, and you really don't want it to be either! Teachers have lessons to teach, and they don't generally look for dress code violations, but when they see them, they report them. That means that sometimes we miss something, especially when you consider that...

4. There are a lot of specifics in the dress code. It is hard to remember them all! However, we will certainly be guided by the three major themes of our dress code: modesty and moderation, cleanliness and neatness, and appropriateness.

5. We need parental support to make it work. When the school needs to enforce rules or carry out discipline, support from home makes all the difference! Help your child understand that even though you may not agree with a school rule, you believe it is very important that it is obeyed. Not only will this help our school day run more smoothly, but more importantly will teach your child a life lesson in social responsibility! And one more thing, whenever possible, take a look once in a while at what your child wears to school in the morning - you might be surprised!

This is not the Garden of Eden, and I'm certainly not advocating a return to Adam and Eve's dress code (before or after the fall!). But I do encourage you to read over our dress code and make suggestions that might help us improve. (You can read the dress code in our Student/Parent Handbook.) Just keep my points above in mind when you tell us your ideas!