Reply #12: What I always find

[SheilaT]

hilarious, and quite wrong-headed, in all the debates surrounding what kids may or may not wear in school, is the claim that the right to express themselves is being somehow infringed. \

My sons attended a secular private school, which in the early 90's had a fairly rigid dress code -- shirts with collars for boys, shirts/blouses tucked in both sexes, etc. There was, during that time frame, a lot of discussion about the possibility of uniforms. I recall one of my older son's classmates then proclaiming bitterly that if they went to a uniform, then the only way he could express his individuality would be through his hair. I laughed out loud at him, pointing out that my son -- who has an auto-immune condition, alopecia areata, which has rendered him totally bald -- would not even have that means of self expression.

The really amusing thing of all the dress code protest to me is that the high school students remain blissfully unaware that many jobs in the adult world require a far more restrictive dress code than whatever is currently in force in high schools.

As I like to tell kids, if their own individual and unique personality does not come through no matter how they are dressed, then, well, what a shame.