Stress code or Dress Code: That is the question

By: Melanie Zimmermann | Hickory Daily Record
Published: November 13, 2008

When the school my daughter attends implemented a dress code, there was a lot of grumbling. She grumbled about having to dress "nice" everyday. I worried about the school system squashing individualism. A lot of people felt the school system was trying to tell them how to raise their kids.

The kids have adjusted to the new dress code. Many of them demonstrate their individuality by accessorizing. I began to like the dress code, as did my daughter. She found creative ways to follow the dress code but still look like an individual. Then it happened - the Dress Code became the Stress Code.

On Tuesday, the kids were out of school, and I received the first of several e-mails warning parents there would be a dress code crackdown on Wednesday. The students would be checked at the beginning of each class and would have 30 seconds to correct the dress code violation. If the student couldn't, or wouldn't, comply, then they were sent to the office. This was announced at the faculty meeting on Monday.

Several students were sent to the principal's office Wednesday for various violations, some as minor as not wearing a belt.

This crackdown was brought on by a school board official who visited the school unannounced, took photographs of the kids who were not complying with the dress code and then e-mailed the photographs to the principal. The main issue? Students were wearing hoodies to class. Hoodies can be worn into the school but cannot be worn to class. The hoodie must be left in the locker.

When I first read the e-mail, I was pretty upset. I felt like the school board official was spying on our kids.

I understand the importance of setting the rules and enforcing them, but if the kids have to constantly look over their shoulders for covert activity, how are they supposed to pay attention in class? Isn't that why the dress code was instituted in the first place? And shouldn't it be up to the administration to remedy the infraction instead of the school board?

I know the principal at this school, and she supports all the students under her watch. Their education and well-being is her top priority. Some of the faculty will be attending the next school board meeting to express their concerns over this action. I think I might attend, too, and ask that we turn the Stress Code back into the Dress Code.

Do you have a dress code opinion? I want to know. E-mail me at mzimmerman@hickoryrecord.com.