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And when I woke up, it was 1961.
Children suspended from school for wearing shirts with first amendment printed on them.
Since I don't have any kids, I had no idea of the bullshit contemporary kids are dealing with at school. Parents are being advised to read their kids Emails, text messages, and online journals. Why don't they just bust the locks off their diaries and open all their goddamn mail? Would it be too much to ask for these people to simply TALK to their children? Apparently it would. Someone should tell them that spying and violating privacy is not the way to form trust or bond with a kid. In 20 years, they will still remember that you had no respect for them and their things/space.
But I digress. It seems that PUBLIC school districts are banning T-shirts with logos, wearing hats or headbands, size limits on brand names on clothing (despite many school selling ads to be hung in hallways) all kinds of crazy shit. Some schools are banning jeans and T-shirts altogether. Am I missing something? What the hell kinds of students don't wear jeans to school? I realize that there are some very expensive jeans out there; but overall, denim jeans are cheap, durable, comfortable pants. They are also made of natural fibers, which are good for us. Is making kids uncomfortable supposed to make them learn better? Such idiocy!!
I can remember my mom's husband telling me that he wasn't allowed to wear jeans to school. He said they told him the rivets would scratch up the desks. I laughed and laughed, glad I didn't live in such a "Leave it to Beaver" time. I spoke too soon, apparently. Why are the school dress code rules suddenly the same as they were when my parents went to school?!?
I'm pretty sure our dress code rules in school (public school, my years in Catholic school are a horrible, bullied blur) consisted of the following:
No shorts or sweatpants.
No open toed shoes.
No crop or halter tops.
and I'm pretty sure we were required to wear socks.
I honestly can't think of anything else, except once in high school a gay guy got sent home for wearing a long T-shirt that school officials called "a dress."
Did I leave anything out?
Seriously, why are schools implementing these absurd rules? Do they realize that not all kids get a whole new wardrobe every school year? We certainly didn't get one, although I seem to think I was in the minority in my town. Couldn't schools maybe concentrate on education and not what a kid has printed on his T-shirt (or F shirt if both of his arms are on the same side)? Couldn't they work toward keeping kids in school rather than sending them home for arbitrary reasons that are probably about appeasing easily offended parents.
I could understand if they didn't allow profanity or pro-drug shirts. But what they've said in Lincoln Park is that the only logos or writing kids can wear on a shirt is "pro school spirit," sports teams and shit apparently. So it's okay to wear garish clothing if it's a school fundraiser, but not if you simply want to express yourself. Clothing is one of the primary ways that kids rebel, and it's really, really important to let them do it so they won't seek out other, more extreme forms of rebellion. I can tell you that when everyone is forced into a uniform, hairstyles can get damn ridiculous. I guess the 80's had something to do with that...but still.
Anyway, the ACLU is looking into it. They seem to think it's unconstitutional. I can't tell if it's that or if it's just gross and absurd. Myself, I'm going to blame The Conservatives for this crap--just because I don't like them. ;-]
Since I don't have any kids, I had no idea of the bullshit contemporary kids are dealing with at school. Parents are being advised to read their kids Emails, text messages, and online journals. Why don't they just bust the locks off their diaries and open all their goddamn mail? Would it be too much to ask for these people to simply TALK to their children? Apparently it would. Someone should tell them that spying and violating privacy is not the way to form trust or bond with a kid. In 20 years, they will still remember that you had no respect for them and their things/space.
But I digress. It seems that PUBLIC school districts are banning T-shirts with logos, wearing hats or headbands, size limits on brand names on clothing (despite many school selling ads to be hung in hallways) all kinds of crazy shit. Some schools are banning jeans and T-shirts altogether. Am I missing something? What the hell kinds of students don't wear jeans to school? I realize that there are some very expensive jeans out there; but overall, denim jeans are cheap, durable, comfortable pants. They are also made of natural fibers, which are good for us. Is making kids uncomfortable supposed to make them learn better? Such idiocy!!
I can remember my mom's husband telling me that he wasn't allowed to wear jeans to school. He said they told him the rivets would scratch up the desks. I laughed and laughed, glad I didn't live in such a "Leave it to Beaver" time. I spoke too soon, apparently. Why are the school dress code rules suddenly the same as they were when my parents went to school?!?
I'm pretty sure our dress code rules in school (public school, my years in Catholic school are a horrible, bullied blur) consisted of the following:
No shorts or sweatpants.
No open toed shoes.
No crop or halter tops.
and I'm pretty sure we were required to wear socks.
I honestly can't think of anything else, except once in high school a gay guy got sent home for wearing a long T-shirt that school officials called "a dress."
Did I leave anything out?
Seriously, why are schools implementing these absurd rules? Do they realize that not all kids get a whole new wardrobe every school year? We certainly didn't get one, although I seem to think I was in the minority in my town. Couldn't schools maybe concentrate on education and not what a kid has printed on his T-shirt (or F shirt if both of his arms are on the same side)? Couldn't they work toward keeping kids in school rather than sending them home for arbitrary reasons that are probably about appeasing easily offended parents.
I could understand if they didn't allow profanity or pro-drug shirts. But what they've said in Lincoln Park is that the only logos or writing kids can wear on a shirt is "pro school spirit," sports teams and shit apparently. So it's okay to wear garish clothing if it's a school fundraiser, but not if you simply want to express yourself. Clothing is one of the primary ways that kids rebel, and it's really, really important to let them do it so they won't seek out other, more extreme forms of rebellion. I can tell you that when everyone is forced into a uniform, hairstyles can get damn ridiculous. I guess the 80's had something to do with that...but still.
Anyway, the ACLU is looking into it. They seem to think it's unconstitutional. I can't tell if it's that or if it's just gross and absurd. Myself, I'm going to blame The Conservatives for this crap--just because I don't like them. ;-]