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This blog appeared in the Friday, January 18, 2008 issue of the Palladium Item. In case any readers of this web site missed it there, here it is. We’ll keep it here about a week and then try something else. Your comments are always welcome.

How did we all get so worked up about uniforms in Richmond Community Schools? In a few short weeks, we seem to have raised it from a non-subject to some dastardly plot to end civilization as we know it. A thundering majority of parents and students have lined up against it based on one of two extreme opinions: Either uniforms is a terrible idea and should be fought tooth and nail, or uniforms is a silly idea and why don’t we talk about something more important?
I agree.
The only problem is that we’re talking about the wrong thing. There isn’t a one-in-a-million chance (my opinion) that the local schools will order uniforms for students. Just as a practical matter, real uniforms would be too much of a radical change, they mean everybody would wear exactly the same thing, they would cost families extra money, and their experience in other schools has been doubtful at best. Most important, I don’t think the school board is even talking about real uniforms; they’re talking about a dress code.
There’s a world of difference between uniforms and dress code. A better dress code makes sense. Actually, it’s too bad it has to be called “code.” It’s more a matter of sensible expectations. A similar school district, Anderson, has one. Indianapolis just put one into practice. The nay-sayers predicted there would be a student explosion when it was enforced. There wasn’t. They had to send a busload or so of students home the first week, but when everybody realized it was for-real, any furor died down.
Why have any dress code at all? Well, most dress codes have always been a list of “don’ts.” Now, the trend seems to be toward more “do’s.” Indianapolis, for instance, specifies plain colored shirts and blouses of different hues. Boys must wear slacks that fit them, not these oversize monstrosities that drag over their feet, and they must be pulled up to their waist. Just sensible ideas. I don’t remember what all they tell the girls, but the main idea is: Look nice but don’t try to put on a personal exhibit. Girls seem to think they have to show the boys how they’re put together. The boys already know; girls don’t have to keep showing more skin. Oh, they protest, you’re going to restrict our creativity. Tough! Find other ways to be creative.
Having a sensible dress code is not meant to stifle individuality. It’s meant to set an atmosphere that school is a place for learning, not showing off. Every line of work has a dress code, usually not specified, just accepted, whether you’re in business or a pipe fitter. When you go to church, you wear better clothes, not because you have to. It’s a matter of respect. Wearing sensible or non-provocative clothes to school is a matter of respect to what school should mean. After all – to put it bluntly – who’s running the show – the children or the adults?
Would a dress code cost families more money? No, just the opposite, especially for those of modest means. Who doesn’t know of a teen girl, maybe from a single parent family, who can’t wait to get enough money to go out to the mall and buy the latest fashion – usually cheaply made and overpriced? Sometimes, it’s an early phase of “keeping up with the Jones.” Often, young girls from poor families buy the new stuff to show they can keep up with girls from families who can afford it. A dress code helps to remove that unhealthy incentive. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I say it’s time to go in the direction of specific standards and reasonable requirements – for the benefit of the kids and their learning process.
No, it won’t change everything for the better in our schools. No one thing does. But it has a good chance of improving the learning environment – and that’s a start.

–Vic Jose

Vic Jose :: Jan.22.2008 :: Uncategorized ::

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