We’ve all seen them everywhere. For some, the words “dress code” don’t really ring a bell. For others, like myself, these words conjure up images of my closet for 12 years of my life. I’ve always been at a school where polo shirts, khakis, and crew neck sweaters were the norm. In the Guilford County School system, where I lived, it was called “SMOD,” which stood for the Standard Mode of Dress. For those that know me, this article can seem a bit hypocritical due to the fact that in my day to day life I still happily sport button downs, collared shirts, and khakis, but I do it on my own time and it doesn't impact my education any longer. To disclose, I can understand uniform in private schools because parents pay and have chosen that particular school for students. For public school children, many have no choice.
This photo above comes from WREG.com, and shows a girl being sent home for showing her collarbone. Sexy...if we were Amish, right?
In a mission statement from Guilford County Schools, it is stated,
"The standard mode of dress (SMOD) has been implemented in several of the district’s schools to help alleviate peer pressure associated with fashion while preventing some behavioral problems. The SMOD varies for each school, but it typically consists of a collared or polo-type shirt paired with khaki, black or navy pants, shorts or skirts. The pants must be fitting in the waist, and skirts and shorts must be at least knee-length. The SMOD also calls for closed-toe shoes."
“Dress Codes level the playing ground for students with less money.”
Actually, in my personal experience of attending schools that required uniform my entire life, the claims of “alleviating peer pressure associated with fashion” is completely untrue. In fact, in every school I attended it created a competitive environment. The coolest kids always had the $80-$100 Polo, Vineyard Vines, Lacoste, and Brooks Brothers shirts whereas some of us "poorer kids" were left with hand-me-downs from older cousins and whatever cheap collared shirts Target sold over the summer.
“Dress Codes make everyone feel better about themselves, because all of their friends are wearing the same thing.”
The funny thing is that the dress code made me hate my body as I was growing up. In middle school, as I was “developing,” I had to wear weird flare, knee length khakis with tucked in polo shirts with belts and only closed toed shoes. I was the “fat kid” at my middle school, which amped up my discomfort in boxy style collared shirts tucked into sausage-packed style pants. Once when I didn’t tuck in my shirt, I was punished because my violation of the code was “distracting” to other students. Ouch.
“Sometimes your clothes can be distracting to others’ education.”
As I got to high school, leggings were banned, jeans were banned, and all of your shirts had to have a visible collar. I began to realize what SMOD was really about. I felt like most of the rules were implemented more towards women, and I began to feel like I had been very over sexualized. Apparently, my leggings are way more distracting to my education than administration pulling me out of class for hours at a time and sending me home for violating the rules. If I wore anything that made me feel comfortable, it was distracting to other students. It seems as though when dress codes are implemented, they become the main focus of the school day, instead of a student's factual education. I wanted to wear shorts when it was warm outside, and I have longer legs. Hardly any shorts met the "finger tip" length requirements for me because, go figure, I'm made differently than some other girls. How about instead of making me feel bad about my body for all of my educational career, you could just assume that some guys have enough decency not to be distractedly aroused by my shoulder or knee cap?
I get it.
School is an educational environment. There has to be some rules, or it just doesn’t work. However, it’s quite easy to implement simple strategies for appropriate dress such as no excessive cleavage, nudity, or butts allowed. The end. No kid is going to get into Harvard just because they wore sh*tty polo shirts from Goodwill for an entire twelve years of their life as opposed to t-shirts. Dress codes subject kids to wearing things that ironically distract them from their school day by making them uncomfortable. A student can still look “business casual” or “appropriate” for school even if they’re not under a set of strict guidelines. Stop stripping students of their ability to express themselves and let them breathe. I still appreciate these clothes. In fact, I wear a lot of them to my office now. I'm much more comfortable with my body now that I'm older, but when students are in their years of growth and change and puberty, they should be allowed to be comfortable at school. After all, they’re just kids.
