Dress Code Compromise
An Alternative to School Uniforms
By Daniel Muniz

On the surface, dress codes for schools represent a huge waste of time and effort for teachers and administrators to enforce. Ensuring compliance is labor intensive and time consuming while detracting from the goal of providing a quality education. However, not enforcing the dress code certainly diminishes the learning environment especially if the clothing is offensive, obscene, sexually revealing, or just downright tasteless.

In the real world where rules and standards are the norm ordinary people have to adhere to them on a daily basis so being in a school environment is not really any different. But what does make the situation starkly atypical is that in the workplace, it is a simple process for an employer to articulate to the workforce that this is the dress code that everyone must abide by if you want to remain employed. As a result, such rules means end of story.

Unfortunately, kids are not that easy to deal with.

Adolescents are rebellious particularly if they have never had any structure in their lives while growing up. Indeed, some kids may even revel and delight at the opportunity to push the envelope in an effort to challenge authority or to gain acceptance from their peers. And when sexuality is involved, there are some who enjoy the attention and the validation they get from flaunting their bodies regardless of how degrading it is.

In addition, some students may even be encouraged to break the rules by their own parents.

An increasing number of educators say that more parents are out of control and that some parents actually seek confrontation and conflict instead of wanting to work within the education system. Some adults may even see the defiance of their offspring as a means of living vicariously through their children. Consequently, these parents are just as childish and immature as their own kids in which they too may also revel at the opportunity to challenge authority regardless of how perverse their satisfaction may be.

Ironically, the same parents who egg their kids to break dress codes are oftentimes the same people who still have to adhere to the norms and rules of their own workplaces.

The proposal that keeps cropping up is for a school to require students to wear uniforms. Uniforms are a simple across the board solution that provides a single standard. It also eliminates the questionable grey areas where kids try to circumvent the dress code.

Unfortunately, so much ink has been spilled on the pros and cons about a school district adopting uniforms that the issue is really stalemated across the country. Perhaps the biggest objection is that school uniforms are too draconian as a solution to such a trivial but pervasive problem. Regardless of all of the obvious benefits, uniforms make every kid look like the twelfth egg in an egg carton or the third slice in a loaf of bread. Although there are plenty of parents who want schools to maintain a level of good taste and responsibility for dress codes, they are not exactly thrilled at their children losing their individuality for their personal appearance.

And in all honesty, I have to admit that I tacitly agree with the critics on that perspective although I would still support the uniform because I agree with the overall objective of removing needless distractions. And as a responsible parent, I want to do my part to work within the school system because their success ensures my child’s success.

However, there is a workable compromise which is to implement a school uniform but to include a range of colors. Instead of the drab white collared shirt and stale khaki slacks, keep the required style the same but allow for any solid colors. The same style makes the dress code easier to enforce but it also lets the kids keep their own individuality with any solid color they choose. The entire student body no longer has to look like the twelfth egg in an egg carton while still maintaining a standard that eliminates distractions.

Now many critics would not be pacified because a uniform is still a uniform. Yes, that is true but a compromise also means that both sides have to give ground in order to meet somewhere in the middle.

There is no way that a responsible parent or the local community can support clothing that is offensive, obscene, or sexually explicit and our education system cannot waste its time and resources battling the grey areas and the fringes. Of course this compromise is not perfect because they never are but both sides have to give ground in order for a school district to provide a better learning environment.

Today, we live in a sleazier culture that encourages and thrives on bad behavior.


 

Any opinions or views expressed herein belong solely to the author and does not represent any employer, organization, political party, governmental agency, or any other entity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the site owner or its participants.