Should schools regulate what students wear to classes?

Two Gateway High School seniors recently wore traditional Arab head scarves to school as a sign of their Middle Eastern heritage and identity. Administrators said the scarves were disruptive to class and the seniors were told to either take them off or leave school. Should schools restrict what students wear to classes?"

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 No, parents should be responsible for their children's attire.

 While I can't get too worked up about this (at least they were covering something up!), I'm a little tired of this "identity" stuff. I'm of Scottish descent but I don't think I could (or should) have gotten away with wearing a kilt and carrying a Claymore to school.  In fact, I once had to wear a turtle neck as it was all I had clean at the time and was ordered to get a spare tie out of my locker as the rule was "ties at all times".  Don't think it scarred me too badly.

 Yes schools should restrict what students wear to school. A uniform appearance reduces one of the major distractions found in schools. Since everyone looks the same, there is less peer pressure on having the 'in' clothes. Parents win because purchasing a set of uniform clothes cost much less than the traditional school clothes.

There is  an appropriate way to dress for work, for a funeral and for camping in the woods;  it should be no different with school.  Children go to school not just to learn when the Magna Carta was signed (do they still teach that?) but how to conduct themselves socially -- and dressing is part of that.  Schools should demand a certain minimum level of acceptable dress, in much the way that my employer does. 

The problem with leaving this up to parents is that many have abdicated their roles as role models;  they want desperately to be "friends" with their spawn, so they never want to demand anything from them, lest their "friend" get angry.  The halcyon days of "You're not leaving my house dressed like that," are, I fear, long gone, but I wish they weren't....

 While I agree there should be some sort of dress code in public schools I do believe some take the code too far. For example  my son is in 6th grade.  He is allowed to wear skulls on his shirts and shoes and such however once he gets to high school that is no longer allowed.  Why?  As my son says, we all have a skull and just cause he wears a shirt that has one on it does not mean he follows Satan. 

And I remember when I was in school skirts could not be more then 4 inches above the knee but the cheerleaders were allowed to wear their skirts which were what 12 inches above the knee.  Goodness I remember they would measure or skirts and shorts to make sure we were not breaking the law. 

For goodness sakes its only clothes.  I think we shoul be more worried about what kids are learning and how they are learning then what they wearing to school. 

I think the dress code should be no cleavage showing, no short shorts, no short skirts.  But thats it.  Oh and how about if the kids come to school dirty in the same clothes for a week we make them go home. 

Yes we should be more concerned about what they are learning.  I think that's one of the points of a dress code. 

Yes, absolutely, there should be dress codes in schools.  Someone has to set some boundaries for these kids.  Some parents make poor choices or don't care.  I'm so sick of this politically correct world where no one wants to offend anyone and since when do kids (aka CHILDREN) get to set the rules.  There is a way to allow them some freedom of expression but with set boundaries.  That's not asking too much or hindering their expression.  That's asking them to respect authority and abide by rules, which they will have to do all their lives...at least they should do all their lives.  Give me a break.  Yes to dress codes.

Definitely.  Starting in first grade.  I do believe that a couple of the city schools already have dress codes, one of them being Milliones Middle School.  Uniforms are the norm in schools  in most countries , be they public or private. 

When kids wear uniforms, they are less likely to worry about having or not having the trendiest clothes because everyone else is wearing the same thing.  The focus is more on the academics and not the clothes.  The poor kids look just like the rich kids. The initial output for uniforms may be scary, but you are only paying that cost once.   The private school that my daughter attended had a uniform second hand shop that took donations of gently worn uniforms and resold them to the students at a price that was 1/3 the price of new, alleviating some of the expense.

Uniforms cut down on laundry and the age old refrain of I don't know what to wear becomes obsolete.

Another thing that I see uniforms doing is allowing the students to belong to a group that focuses on positive ideals in lieu of the negative ideals that gang membership has.

The era of free spirits and "finding yourself" is over. School attire today is nothing more than a fashion show. A girl from Pine Township said to my daughter, "I like what you're wearing." And when my daughter smiled, she then added in a sarcastic note, "No, not really."

I'm also in favor of uniforms. It levels the playing field among the poor and the "think they're" wealthy.

Upper middle class parents are idiots. They tend to give their kids whatever they want, without consequences or responsibilities, and the kids think it's their right, rather than a privilege, to have nice things in life.

Schools are about learning, not fashion. As for the "RIP Israel" T-shirt, the response of the parents was all too typical: Support the kid rather than take that shirt and throw it in the trash where it belongs.

 I am an middle class parent and I am not an iodit.  My son does not get whatever he wants nor does he have things handed to him. 

That young girl should not have said that to your daughter, but that is a reflection on her and her parents teaching her manners. 

I live in a school distrcit where there are no gangs and colors are not a reflection of gang colors.  I think we should allow our children to have individuality and what they wear shows exactly that.  There should be rules but not to the extreme that they all look alike. 

Whether you are upper, middle, or lower class everyone should teach their children how to respect others opnions and feelings.

 I see no problem with schools determining what is allowable attire. The school and the state should monitor all schools and make a statewide clothing restrictions. They should have every student wear the same thing and if they don't, then they should be expelled.

Is that what is needed... NO

The problem with those two seniors is they need to find something to do. The Arab head scarves are a slap on the USA. If they say they want to wear them for thier religious beliefs then lets bring back prayer to the school system. If they can disrupt the teaching because of their beliefs then why is a silent prayer in the morning at school so bad.

I'm tired of people who spit on the constitution and then want the protection it provides. Our founding fathers new that freedom of religion is an important part of a free world. They were pretty smart when it came to the future and now that we have allot of people who, have never read the constitution wanting to change it for their own personal beliefs is wrong.

We need the fear put back into our kids before they all think it's ok to do whatever they want!!!  

 If there is one thing kids today need it's discipline!

Yes, schools should regulate what students wear to classes because dress codes have become too permissive. Business casual attire for all students should be the standard, and it would help students dress for success.

Mr. Handyman:

After reading your particular post, I had to respond.

While I agree that the standards we expect from our kids should be raised, I don't think the two Gateway Seniors are the problem nor do they "slap" America in its face.

If you watch TV and believe what it tries to enfluence, then you would expect that all Arabs and Muslims are terrorist; if you read on your own, and earnestly seek the truth, you might find that Islam is not a religion of hate.

Imagine if you or your kids practice the Islamic faith, and had to suppress what you feel is right for any length of time?

How can you say that your tired of people that "spit" on the Constitution when what you are actually promoting is denying someone else's religous freedom?

Zipcodes, landmarks and nieghborhoods effectively separate people of differant cultures, and demographics--physical barriers breed mystery, baseless comtempt and hate. This fear has not helped our society grow so I dissagree with promoting fear. Instead I teach my two kids that everyone in your own race is not necessarily your friend, and not everyone of a differant race is your enemy. Therefore, judge each person individually. As a coach of a racially/culturally diverse track team, I interact and respect all the kids I come into contact with. By this example, I hope the kids grow up and promote tolerance and peace not fear.