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Thursday, September 01, 2016

Students in two Frederick County schools claim dress code promotes shame among girls

On Wednesday morning, as a dozen Urbana Middle School eighth-graders prepared to enter school, most wore baggy yellow T-shirts that read in marker: “I am more than just a distraction.”
 

They were among students in two Frederick County Public Schools who claim their respective schools’ dress codes unfairly target girls and promote a culture of shaming them.

School district administration said the dress codes, which individual principals have wide latitude to determine in their respective schools, are in place to ensure a safe, nurturing learning environment, free of distractions.

Urbana Middle welcomed a new principal this year, Peter Daddone from Montgomery County Public Schools. Girls at the school, interviewed on Wednesday, said Daddone has taken an authoritarian approach with enforcing the dress code, making them wear ill-fitting yellow T-shirts to cover up dress code violations.

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The girls make some good points. The reason muslims women cover completely is to prevent the males from lusting over them. I say males should learn to control themselves.

Anonymous said...

BS dress cofe is 100% positive fed up seeing these young girls dressing up like hookers ALL public schools in Md need to be in school uniforms my 2 daughters are.

lmclain said...

7:54.....maybe the government can initiate a mind control program to stop people from "lusting".
Then we could have them move on to greed, cravings, and wild imaginations.
What a perfect world we could have.....
How about an easier method, like having parents tell their children that they are CHILDREN and once in a while, sometimes, there are rules to follow.
Stop trying to go viral on Facebook and start paying attention to the task at hand, which, in school, is LEARNING, not beginning some child's immature and silly "protest".

Anonymous said...

I'm all for womens' rights, but when I see pre-teens rocking shorts that are smaller than what the college girls' are wearing while heading to the frat party, there is something wrong with this picture. Come on parents. You can do better. And where is dad in all this?

Anonymous said...

100% Uniforms for all public schools when i grew up people where killed or robbed for jackets and sneakers.

Paladin said...

Dear Readers,

I would like to chime in and share and reflect upon this post. I agree with the above comments and offer the following. While individual rights should be protected with students (i.e. free speech) it is very important to recognize that we are dealing with children. It is a parent's responsibility to ensure that their children follow the rules, rather than seek a means to manipulate a situation to their own personal benefit. In almost three decades of work in the public schools, I have seen drastic changes in fashion that indeed do distract from the learning environment, and the vast majority of discipline situations I have worked on with students reflect either social media (bullying; shaming; liable and slander, etc.) along with flagrant violations of the dress codes.

It is important to remember that school is an institution of learning, not a fashion show. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that parents have encouraged their children to disregard the rules and hide under the umbrella of their individual rights. To this end, parents should be reminded (along with their children) that the rights of the individual DO NOT supercede the rules of society. I do support children having some say in issues like this, but they are just that - children. Further, I can also say that teachers/administrators/school staff have a responsibility to correctly model the stated dress code. Unfortunately, too many times I have had to address staff with regard to this, and almost always had backlash from them or their unions/association (after having counseled staff and in some cases sent them home for either revealing/inappropriate dress). School staff must also adhere to the dress code and reflect professional attire. To this end, a simple school uniform solves this problem, is financially prudent for families, and takes away the 'me' mentality allowing for the pursuit of academic success.


Regards,

Paladin

Anonymous said...

Parents ??

Anonymous said...

My daughter goes to a elementary school in dorchester in a small town i have seen girls wearing 2" Heals in school whats up with that principle ?.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
I'm all for womens' rights, but when I see pre-teens rocking shorts that are smaller than what the college girls' are wearing while heading to the frat party, there is something wrong with this picture. Come on parents. You can do better. And where is dad in all this?

September 1, 2016 at 9:09 AM

I agree 100% but have you ever tried buying clothes for kids. That is all the stores sell is trashy clothes. I can't stand it.

Anonymous said...

I REFUSE to buy my daughter ANYTHING that I feel is inappropriate. If it's not in her wardrobe, then she can't wear it, we don't fight, and the school doesn't call. That is MY job as a parent to stop it BEFORE it gets to school property. One teacher actually THANKED her for coming to back-to-school night dressed appropriately.

And yes, if you shop at "trendy" stores like Hollister, GAP, American Eagle or even Target the styles for females are SHORT shorts and skirts, bralettes, spaghetti tanks, tears/holes in denim, "low-rise" jeans, "hi-rise" shirts, skinny jeans, and see-through or cut-out tops. The only thing I will purchase for her against my better judgement (*ahem*) is SHOES.

Be a parent and not a "friend". Take the time to shop with them and ask yourself "If my son brought home a girl dressed like this, how would I feel?" Don't like it, then DON'T BUY IT!!! They can wear it when they can buy it and are living under their own roof.

SOME teachers are just as guilty. Uniforms take all ambiguity away about what is appropriate and works well in private schools. Less laundry too!