So, a high-school student in Jacksonville, shortly after transferring from a school district in Seattle, ran afoul of the school's dress code policy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/05/new-kid-at-school-forced-to-wear-shame-suit-for-dress-code-violation/ The parent described it as a "shame suit". I have my own opinions (and likely anyone who knows me can figure them out)...
First of all, I'm surprised people think this is anything new. The majority of Baltimore City PS are uniform schools (polo shirt/khaki or navy bottom) and most schools, have been using Uniform Violation outfits for years. At my school, it used to include a t-shirt and sweat pants but our students LOVED wearing the sweats and some wouldn't wear their uniform on purpose. Now, the outfit is a t-shirt (that says "Uniform Violation") and a pair of khaki scrubs. We tell the kids, either follow the rules or pay the consequence and put on the scrubs. It is that simple. Personally, I think the parent is being ridiculous here, but I'm used to parents wanting to defend their child's right to break school rules and behave any way they want. In my district, a copy of the district's and the school's Code of Conduct is sent home at the start of each year which clearly outlines dress code policies.
I find it amusing that the mother is furious that her daughter was humiliated by being seen in a shame suit. And to show the world how mad she is, she makes sure the photo of the girl in said suit goes viral.
I agree with this. My school has "Dress Code" t-shirts (which are neon-colored) and shorts (standard PE-type shorts) that students must wear if they are caught violating the dress code. I certainly have never gotten the impression that either the goal of these clothes was to humiliate students or that the students actually felt humiliated wearing them. Our students are told about our school's dress code from even before they start their first day. Letters are sent home, information is printed in the handbook, and there are even little commercials on our morning announcements. No student or parent should have any question about what is appropriate dress and what isn't. At the same time, there is a small part of me that feels a little iffy about some of the terms of our dress code. No spaghetti strap tank tops because they might be a distraction to the boys? I guess I don't feel like it's the responsibility of any girl to ensure that the boys don't get worked up.
Our school does PE clothing too. There is nothing special about the PE clothing. No saying on it to indicate it is because of a dress code violation. Just PE clothes, which some kids wear anyway on PE day. I believe for the most part it isn't shameful to the kids because it doesn't stand out by having a saying "dress code violation" or being an obnoxious color so that everyone knows you are wearing the t-shirt of shame.
Agreed. Not here for any young woman getting shamed and singled out for what she chooses to wear. And God forbid a teenage boy sees a female student's knees or shoulders How ridiculous. The fact that the shirt looks neon and says "DRESS CODE VIOLATION" in big black letters is the problem. Not only does it shame the student but I'm guessing it's more ~distracting than the black skirt she was wearing.
Ain't that the truth. To avoid classroom distraction they make a child wear something that will get the attention of more kids. Bright as a nightlight!
Our school does school T-shirts. Organizations donate them to the discipline room, and sometimes when faculty leave the school they give their old shirts away, as well. The students just look like they have school spirit, and have no attention brought to them for their choice of clothing. At the summer program where I work, we did away with all discipline that could be conceived as embarrassing in any way, including the giant shirts we used to put on dress code violators.
Her outfit seems very appropriate. We have school t-shirts and sweatpants for students that violate the dress code. It's not meant to embarrass anyone.
My kids school has a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that say "My principal loves me" They only wear the item needed to replace the part of their outfit that violated the rules (like the pants if the skirt is too short) My kids loved the outfit, and so did their friends. Sometimes students would erm, "forget" to return the items at the end of the day. Not my kids, they couldn't leave the house if they were in violation of the dress code.....since ours is relatively straight forward and I didn't ever buy them anything that would violate it. (ie, no alcohol or drug promoting shirts, no swear words, skirts had to cover down to the knees, no spaghetti straps or tank top straps for boys or girls, no shirts that showed the stomach....etc)
I teach at an elementary so dress code violations are usually parent issues. I am not sure what the policies about sending kids home at upper grades as my kids have never violated the dress code. We do wear uniforms at this school. I for one never send a kid home or call parents for violations. I tell parents at the end of the day your student can't wear that, or needs to wear this. I need those kids at school as much as possible. We have a low attendance anyway so I am not busting anyone's chops, parents or kids. That is just me. My principal can call if she wants too, but I am not.
I agree that if a student knowingly wears something that is out of dress code then they should be made to wear something else. I've never heard of a shame suit in any schools that I've worked at though. As far as this particular shame suit, the school could do better than ugly bright red sweats and a neon shirt.
It would be one thing if it was a gym outfit or just oversized school gear. That's something I have seen, especially to cover up bared midriffs. The wording on the cover-up clothing, as others have said, is even more distracting than a belly shirt ever could be. Give the kid an XXL shirt with the school logo and all would be well.
I have little patience for students who don't dress appropriately, but there's plenty of ways of solving the problem that don't directly involve intentionally shaming the student.
Why does it shame the student? Why can't we expect students to follow dress code rules? Once again, I work at a school that uses these outfits every day and the students are not shamed - trust me. Also, the outfit itself is never a distraction.
Does your school actually use these outfits? Mine does and trust me, the outfit is not a distraction in the least. The student's response to having to wear the outfit can be a problem although at my school, most students don't even care anymore if they have to wear the Violation outfit.
Exactly. From what I see everyday, the students themselves are not embarrassed. It is the parents, who do not agree with the school rules, that want to make a fuss and big deal out of these issues.
We tried having the students wear spirit shirts, old jerseys, etc. when they were out of dress code. The idiots making that decision didn't realize how unfair it was to everyone else who had to actually BUY tees to show school spirit. We ended up with kids who would intentionally dress out of code so they could get a free shirt. Made sense to me. Then we went to students having to return the shirts or else they'd get a fine attached to their account. We ran out of shirts but got them back in droves months later when the kids couldn't get prom tickets or yearbooks because their accounts were overdue. The next year we went to plain tees and sweatpants. Not as many students trying to wear the more comfortable clothes then. The year that we did the best was when the kids had to wear HUGE (like 4X) tees in bright red and white. The school colors for our rival school.
If they parent doesn't like the dress code, home school so dress won't be a problem. Follow the dress code or pay the consequences.
That's a little harsh, especially considering this was a new student who might not think the difference between three inches and four inches is that big of a deal, especially to be BRANDED a dress code violator.
If you're wearing clothes that you have to be aware are, at the least, toeing the allowed/unallowed line, it would behoove you to know exactly where that line is. Though I say that, again, with the belief that the punishment really doesn't fit the crime here.
This is how I see it. C'mon- if the school issues clothing without words, the other kids still know. If I were in charge, I wouldn't waste the extra money to get them screen printed. But I'm not in charge of anything.
Blue, you know I love you girl... but if you ever tried to stick me or my imaginary child in that awful neon shirt I would be really upset. It's so oversized and ugly. I personally would feel embarrassed. Besides that, one of the points of having a dress code is NOT to draw attention to the student. Also, her violation of the dress code wasn't extreme. Skirts look and measure differently on different body types. Easy mistake to make. I could understand reprimanding her if she came to school in ripped up daisy dukes but the length of that skirts doesn't seem noticeable... Then again, I'm pretty anti-uniform. I feel like a lot of the rules shame young women into covering up their bodies. Or, in this case, an extra large neon shirt that screams "look at me!". I wonder what our good friend Hester Prynne would say about this... (I'm kidding with the above comment but you never know around here)
I agree with the parent: every year we go over FERPA and HIPA rules, and are reminded that we cannot display discipline, conduct, test scores, grades, etc. that identify a student. So, no conduct chart on the wall using student names, no writing student names on a board when they are bad, etc. This does seem to be a violation of that, or certainly against the spirit of it.
All of this just really bothers me because of the reasons they give for the dress code... it "distracts" other students. I just believe that's such a cop-out. I'm struggling with how to express what I'm thinking, but I'm going to try. At the heart of this issue is that when a girl wears a certain style of clothes she possibly brings negative/inappropriate/unwanted attention on herself. That in and of itself is deeply disturbing to me. How you respond to what I wear is about YOU not about me. But even if I were going to accept that reasoning, then I need someone to explain to me why it's totally acceptable/positive/appropriate for most high school cheerleaders to wear the uniforms they do not only to games but also to class on game days. Those skirts and tops are WAY outside the limits of the normal dress code. (And before some of you say that the cheerleaders at your school don't have uniforms like that, please let me suggest that your school is probably in the minority). Part of me feels that the message that we're sending here is horribly hypocritical and sexist. It's okay for girls to dress provocatively when they're performing for a crowd or "sanctioned" by the school, but not when they're sitting in class and make a decision on their own to express themselves?
When we have students who aren't following dress code, we ask them to change (most have gym clothes at school), borrow something from a friend or we give them an oversized tee to put on. I have no problem with this, but I don't agree with "advertising" that they are dressed the way they are because they broke the rules.
