WWP Rd 13, Chunky Pages! closed, send July 25!

[Feywalker]

Kera - That is incredibly well said.  I think it was assertive (not to be confused with *itchy or pushy, cause it's not), to the point and very well thought out.  I would hope that when my daughter goes to school there are parents like you.  I say post it.

[Radmom]

I agree with Edel, you should post it. My kids go to public school and we live in a metro area, they must wear uniforms. While the uniforms have saved me money because I do not have to keep up with trends for the year. LOL There is a bias in a uniform. My son would love to wear
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii139/o0gi3b00gi3/Picture1-3.png
They would never let him. So why is it fair that his sister can wear...
http://aliceboutique.com/images/Gothic/P1010014.JPG
To me it seems unfair. Last year they were allowed to choose from 3 color collared dress shirts. Normally, these kids are pretty slick on getting "around" it a bit. Such as buy Old Navy collared T's which are not Polo shirts....but I digress and go back to the fact the kids rallied and are now allowed to wear ANY color shirt. WOOT...LOL But it still has to have a collar and it still has to be light dress type shirts.

I also agree with

While I am grateful, I will still question, poke and prod, and do all that I can to be sure that our daughters have every choice, option, and opportunity available to our sons.

I have lived and will always live by the moto of question everything. I am actually pleased to say for as much as I hear parents complain about the school my kids go to, because it does need lots of improvement... I hear constantly if more parents took the time to sound educated about their complaints things would get done around here. However, shouting to shout is not helping. I always talk to them with respect, but I also let them know in exact words, I am an educated individual, and you can be sure that I gather information from all sides before I come and table this motion.  
In the end, post it, and she can feel a bit of her own back at her. To me she reminds me of the PTO that sucks up to teachers so her kid looks perfect. God, I am grateful my kids are out of that age group. LOL Mine are middle school and HS now, and teachers don't deal well with those kinds of people in my area after a certain age.

Good luck!

[DanniQuee]

I agree with all of the above and add my thought that you should submit that, Kera. It's very well written, very clear and does not point fingers. I feel that the thoughts that can be construed without finger pointing are the ones that need to be posted most, as they are a rare commodity.

Your school seems to want to throw back to the 50's and I agree with you that it's important for your daughter not to feel lessened by anything, even if that something seems trivial to the school board.

[nataluna]

i don't know a lot about gradeschools or kids, but the principle seems right:  pants and shorts ought to be an option to all.  

just for the record, i think kilts should, too.  

my south-american dh has a kilt and he's not even of any known celtic heritage, unless the spanish side of his ancestry were somehow galician (it would be hard to know because he has very common last names)...  but he won't wear the kilt out of the house because (against history) it's still not commonly accepted around here as male clothes...  especially ironic cos in this region there is a high percentage of scots-irish ancestry, so they should recognize it as male clothes.

ETA:  there are many unfairnesses in education, against any gender and against different types of brains, etc.  ... and yes they should be fought.  especially inside the minds of the teachers and administration, which is where the power lies.  wrong choices we make can really hurt people's chance at success.  (i say this as a college teacher, knowing i need to fight wrong things inside my own mind)

[audio]

I agree with what everyone has said. You're response is much more mature, thought out, and  than the woman who disagrees with you.

[Kerallyn]

Thank you ladies for the encouragement.  I did post it and someone finally made a reasonable reply about it, though still no one from the uniform committee :p

[Windoverireland]

Kera, may I say something? As a teacher in a public school I have a view to share with you. In all the years that boys have come to school in shorts, I have never had to send them to the office because they revealed too much. May I say that is not the case with girls. On a daily basis, the minute it gets warm, I see the following: Shorts so short they embarrass me, cheeks sticking out (butt cheeks that is), see through shorts where i can tell what is written on their underwear, no underwear and the ability to see public hair shadowing, tight, so tight i get an anatomical outline, wiggling butts with words written on them that are lewd and suggestive. I am raising my first boy, and i try to be sensitive to the male perspective. I have had upstanding, polite, and well educated young men say they can't concentrate and are embarrassed for the girls. Parents who are called about their daughter's apparel are insulted that we don't think they look cute. I'm not much a fan of skirts or dresses for the same reason. I personally think that jeans and solid colored tees with sneakers are just fine. I'm tired of boobs and butts and knowing the underwear my students do or don't have on.
I'd love a world where there were no differences between the sexes, but there is and girls don't have to sit in class with a hard on because the guy next to her has all but come naked to school. Schools have a hard time getting to education past all the bull that comes from homes. I want my parents involved in education, not fighting about modest clothing, moral behavior, and ethical standards and I teach in PUBLIC school. Wouldn't it be nice if parents were concerned about their children cheating or bullying or being intolerant, but they're not. It's the petty stuff like apparel that has their concern.
And parents get so mad when teachers say anything about their precious children. Mine is told that school is for educating, not social. Sports don't come first. Teachers are to be respected. Homework before anything else. AND she will not leave my house looking like a 42nd St. hooker! I expect from my own daughter what I don't get from others and I still teach.
Maybe just maybe the shorts issue shouldn't be seen as male female but something else and maybe if you're all really set on starting something new and wonderful you should meet in person and talk about what really matters.

Sorry for the rant you caught me on a sore subject.
Good Luck:)

[audio]

I also agree with wind. I just graduated high school, so I know all about girls comming to school looking like they have no close on at all. I've known alot of girls who get treated like meat by men, and like it, because of how little they wear. THey care more about being sexy so young and having guys find them attractive that they don't care about what they really come to school for. Also the male teachers (and female teachers) can get distracted by it as well, I'm not saying that they are perverts, just that it can be very distracting, and even I have trouble looking away when it's all showing.

I've also noticed lately, around my town and an amusement park I went to this weekend, that younger and younger girls are dress sexy and wearing makeup. I'll go to the mall and girls that are 11/12 look like they are 16/17/18. (But when I go to the mall people think I'm 14 when I'm actually 18, and I still wear clothes that cover my body but are still appropriate for my age group, and I still feel attractive. I just have a huge ego and lots of self-worth so I wouldn't stand for someone, even myself, putting me down)

But if at the school you're kids go to there is a uniform they can still wear shorts but they can be long shorts which come down mid thigh or to the knee, and they can be a bit loose, but not baggy. I think girls can dress is a way that they still feel attractive but still have self-respect.

[nataluna]

yeah i did briefly wonder about the "indecent" shorts, too.  have seen enough of that in my classes.  i just assumed that uniform shorts were long, for some reason.  a certain inseam or type of shorts could be specified.

and yeah, bullying is important and i doubt a dress code changes it any (even if everybody gets to wear shorts, it's not going to stop some people from thinking that some other people aren't real people and don't deserve respect).  plus, if anything, it's probably worse the higher socioeconomic level the school is (although that's probably just my lower-middle-class prejudices coming out).

[Radmom]

I agree with what Wind has stated, as all of but one of my kids have both gone to private AND public schools. When it came to the shorts my kids were allowed to wear shorts during the warmer climates, but it had to be regulation uniform shorts. So basically, the shorts were unisex.
http://www.ossforestville.org/images/School_Uniforms/Boys/Boys_Navy_shorts.jpg
From my previous images you can tell I don't allow short skirts. My house as a strict policy of your privates are meant to be private and not on display. I also do not allow words on fannies. I think it is down right vulgar, especially on the 8 to 12 age. I mean really, why do I want to read "CHEER" on my daughters bum???
I personally like uniforms, and wish that American schools were more like schools in England or abroad. We are so far behind education wise it is sad. Even by American standards we are behind. Do we sound as educated as the settlers? I do not believe so.

I can pretty much say, that no matter how you bring the motion to the table you probably will not win. When a private school sets a policy, (especially on uniforms) it keeps it until you can prove without a shadow of a doubt that it is infringing on some Constitutional right. LOL

I do still however, believe all parents should be truly involved with their child's education, and not just the petty stuff. Keep involved, know your rights and when to enforce them and when to hold off for awhile.