There are pros and cons of our education system here in Mecklenburg County. Each school system has times where they are above and beyond and also the times where everyone is turning against each other. Which is taking place now between our teachers and administrative against our teens and parents.

The great things that happen in our education system of public schools include our extracurricular activities, especially sports. Our volleyball, soccer, and softball teams have made it to regional play the last couple of years. Our girls and boy's basketball team is phenomenal as one of their seasons were undefeated and headed to VCU to play in championship games. Our clubs such as ecology, FFA, and more have placed in the past couple of years at conventions and competitions.

The bad things that happen in our education system is mainly our education. If you ask most parents about their child who just finished their freshman year of college, they will say something on the lines of "They were not prepared." Students with 4.0 GPAs, scholarships, etc in high school, do not always have the greatest time in college with their academics. As a student myself in college, it was a major adjustment. Sitting in class with other students from other schools who took the same classes as me, they were more educated.

Our school here in the county, is awful when it comes to maintenance. Pipes burst which puts the children out of school at least two days of the year, since it has happened every year since I was there. The AC and heat rarely works, in the winter time it is mainly kids who have layers of clothing on and they are still catching the flu and pneumonia...which puts kids out of school for another week or so. Lockers are so old and broken that barely any of them can actually open and shut without having to tug or jerk on them. In the past couple of years we have gotten new uniforms for athletics, only because parents want the best for their children to sell donuts and boston butts for them to have new ones. Yes, we have great staff who work hard to keep our school up and running, but that does not help when it is falling apart.

Another problem is the cell phone policy now. When I was in high school we had the privilege to have our cell phone with us at lunch. Teenagers are not even allowed to do that now. If my child was in school and a teacher came up to them with their cell phone IN their pocket and asked for it, I as a parent, would make an appearance at a school board meeting. The world is becoming a very scary place and it is very hard to let children go to school without knowing that they are safe. Currently, our schools have a monitor that beeps the person in, but how do you know the person that is beeping in and is allowed in the school? They could have a weapon and run into the school at any point in time, if the bell rings while the visitor is in the hallway...that could be it. Someone could be harmed. Any teenager could go into school with a weapon on them and hurt someone permanently that they are only mad at temporarily. This is why security monitors and metal detectors should be placed before going into school.

Wow, do not even get me started on the dress code. Instead of shaming a young lady of their body that they are working hard for, teach young men that women are not sexual objects. I attend a college that does not have a dress code policy, yet men are still able to learn while I am wearing a big T-shirt and leggings or a dress that shows my shoulders and knees. Uniforms? For what? To make a parent pay for both uniforms AND regular clothes. Regular clothes are needed outside of school because as soon as a child gets off of the bus I am positive they are going to take off their uniform. Uniforms DO NOT let teenagers express their fashion abilities. A ton of teenagers go into cosmetology and fashion design after graduating high school, so how are they going to be recognized for wearing a polo and khakis everyday?

Yes, many private schools have uniforms...but also, we do not pay to go to that private school. If a private school wants to wear khaki pants for the rest of their school year, then that is them. Many parents have more than one kid, keeping up with one is hard enough as is as they are all learning different levels of homework. So keeping up with three to four different uniforms and making sure they are all washed and dried is going to be more difficult than having six different pair of jeans and over fifty t-shirts. Not everyone is fortunate to have a washer and dryer in their home, so the laundromat costs the ones who are not able to afford it. Also, children who play sports and get home very late, they do not want to stay up washing and drying more clothes than they have to, to make sure they have what they are needed to wear.

All of our lives we were to taught to stick up for ourselves because things occur, such as bullying. Now, that teenagers are sticking up for what they believe in AND have valid reasoning on why they believe in it, they are put down for it? Yet last year they were taught about sticking up for themselves? MANY teenagers wear the same clothes over again and it is very upsetting for someone who wore the same clothes they wore one year that they are not allowed to wear them the next! Life is ALL about being feisty and not sitting down and shutting up when people expect you to. Let the teenagers speak because I am pretty sure their words need to be said and listened to.

There has never been a student to tell me that my clothes are distracting to them, it has always been a teacher. Yes, the teacher is doing what they are told to do, which makes the student go against the teacher...but what if the teacher agrees with the student and is only keeping their job so they will not get fired? Think about it like that.

Also, volleyball and cheerleading uniforms do not fit the dress code. Yet the SAME people that are seen in school are the ones to show up to the games and they are not yelling at them about how their uniform is distracting. No one ever came up to me during my high school years to tell me that my spandex was too short or that I was appealing to them because of what I was wearing. Yes, young men get sexually appealed to the uniforms, but do they throw themselves out there on the court to get the girls attention? That is where sexual attention comes in because some are not taught it.

Many students are also very upset that they have worked extremely hard to have their GPAs high enough for them to have a letterman jacket during their senior year and now they are not even able to get one due to financial issues. What ever happened to fundraising? The class with 3.5+ GPA's could easily raise money for everyone to get what they deserve. This is a big accomplishment for those who earn their jacket and it should not be taken away from them.

Many students have taken writing assignments of SOLs and has had the topic of uniforms, which students can list all day long on why they think they should not be approved. Listen to their comments instead of avoiding or ignoring what you do not want to hear.

Our education system needs a ton of work, but nothing is going to get done if everyone is fighting over what they should wear. It is only turning everyone against each other and also having people ask why does it matter to people who are my age. Reason being, if I do decide to stay here in the future, I highly doubt it so my children will have better opportunities, my children will be attending these schools so therefore my input should be suggested. Also, my younger sisters are all attending public schools and it is sad on how much they do not look forward into waking up in the morning to go to school.

Stop being old school because it is 2016 and listen to the problem from a young adult's perspective.