Argument Post: Dresscodes

Each high school has a dress code and most of the time that's needed because high schoolers can be unpredictable right? Well as a student and having my mother teach at the high school I went to there was no getting away with anything. Well my mom having to know the dress code because she works there knew if my outfit was okay for school every morning. It was a special week at our school about drug awareness so we had dress up days the day that changed my view on dress codes toward my future students was mix and match day. We aren't allowed to wear leggings with out our shirts or dress coming past certain areas. My mother and I both agreed that if I wore leggings with shorts that would count fairly well within the dress code. My first class of the day my teacher told me I needed to change because my outfit, I'll admit I didn't, I went to my mom and told her I was told to change and she told me that I was okay. That sounds spoiled but I agreed and so did a couple other teachers in the room that she was in. Later that day I was in the student union because one of my teachers had to leave and no one took her class so we were out in the open area so the principle had easy access to us if something went wrong. I heard the office door open and looked, there was a girl who wore a dress that was entirely too short for the dress code and it didn't have sleeves, she had walked right passed the principle and nothing got mentioned to her. I was furious because I was within dress code but still got told to change but she could just waltz in pass the principle and nothing gets said! Well I later noticed that people who were known for having money, or were on sports teams and were actually good (starters on the basketball team, football team, cheerleading team, dance team ect.) they would get nothing said to them. As someone who wasn't very good at my sports, or didn't have much money I would get any little thing about my dress pointed out. My sister had the same experience with dress code. 

When I become a teacher and there is a student who is following dress code, like in my instance, I will not say that they have to change. I still don't understand that teachers logic in telling me that I was not in dress code. In the dress code it states "skirts, dresses and shorts must be of reasonable length, made of appropriate material and adhere to the following regulations:

a. reasonable length is when standing, the clothing reaches the top of the knee cap. The split of the skirt or dress must adhere to the preceding guideline.

b. No shirts or dresses without sleeves are permitted to be worn. 

c. No spandex shorts or tights may be worn as an outer garment. 

d. No frayed, cut-off, ripped, or threadbare pants (or shirts) may be worn. No holes are permitted in any type of pants. 

e. No tight-fitting or see-through clothing items may be worn. 

f. No pajamas are to be worn." (www.russellind.kyschools.us/docs/RHSDresscode.pdf)

Now with that stated the girl who wore the dress mentioned earlier she had an off the shoulder dress that would put her our of dress code because of the letter b after fore mentioned "skirts, dresses and shorts must be of reasonable length, made of appropriate material and adhere to the following regulations:". Now my shorts were not of appropriate length by themselves but with leggings that were not an outer garment I, my mother and several other teachers believed them to be appropriate and adhere to this standard of dress. 

As a teacher in the future I will send any person I believe to be breaking the dress code to the office, their families wealth not taken into account, I believe that is a form of privilege we do not need to teach students when they are in high school or lower. I want to treat everyone equally and if that means equal punishment so be it. 

source: Russell Independent School Dress Code, http://www.russellind.kyschools.us/docs/RHSDresscode.pdf