Tube tops, tight pants, ripped jeans, short skirts and even pajamas are now acceptable attire at Alameda city schools under a new dress code adopted by the school board over the summer break.If adults were to wear certain types of clothing at school (in the workplace), it could be considered a form of sexual harassment. I don't know why we'd teach teenagers that it's OK to wear such clothing at school.
Heads covered by hoodies also are allowed as long as faces are visible, as are comfy yoga pants, sweats or soccer shorts — and if underwear is peeking out the top of waistbands, that’s fine too.
Students will now have nearly unfettered freedom to wear almost whatever they want as long as they have a top, bottom, shoes and “clothing that covers specific body parts (genitals, buttocks, and areolae/nipples) with opaque material,” according to the new policy.
Approved on a trial basis for this school year, the new dress code is among the most permissive in the Bay Area, leaving it largely up to students and families to decide if shorts are too short or tops are too revealing.
District officials said they expect teachers, parents and guardians to have a range of reactions once school starts and policy goes live. The school board will review feedback and consider in the spring whether changes need to be made, said spokeswoman Susan Davis.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Letting the Inmates Run The Asylum
While I guess it would be easier to have essentially no dress code to enforce than any dress code, I still wonder if this isn't doing a disservice to students:
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Failing to enforce appropriate dress and conduct code signals that schools are not serious about education and do not deserve respect. Learning appropriate dress and conduct is an important step on the path to successful adulthood, since employers favor employees who dress appropriately, are punctual and reliable, who treat others politely, and do more than the minimum. Teachers used to stress to kids that school was kids’ job and should be taken seriously and the pre-60s dress codes reflected thst.
The dress issue extends to college internships and graduate jobs, from what I have read. I know that my DD’s boss, at her college internship, told her that she was one of the very few who dressed appropriately from day one. Since interns often went from work to class, business casual stood out in the sea of shorts, tank tops, t shirts and flip flops - and many interns disliked that. TAs, who taught their own sections and held office hours, had no special dress requirements, but her supervising professor and other TAs noticed that she looked more professional than most - and some copied her look. Dressing like she was not heading for a picnic certainly never hurt her.
One of my former students got into a business program at a (relatively) nearby university. She told me that the business students are expected to attend class in "business casual", and if some bigwig shows up for a talk at school, they're expected to arrive at the talk in "business dress".
The dress code at my school, probably like the one Alameda ditched, isn't burdensome. It's the very minimum that will help you avoid a sexual harassment claim if worn in the workplace.
The fact some people try and argue that dress code is sexist are very wrong if I showed up to school in a tiny tank top and short shorts I wouldn't get away with it because I'm a guy the fact of the matter is teenage girls decided to dress, generally, more reaveling than teenage boys. There should be no debate about sexism in dress code.
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