Should kids in public schools be allowed to choose what they wear?

Question

Right out I'm saying this-- I don't think kids should be wearing revealing clothes at all, that's not what this question is about. It's about the fading individuality in some public schools today. I don't promote mini-skirts and tube tops for 10 yr olds, so let's get that clear.

Should kids be allowed to have:

--Any color of hair, even green or blue?

--Any hairstyle, including mohawks?

--Any religious insignia, from a cross to a pentacle to a Star of David?

--Any piercings they wish, even if not "normal piercings, one in each ear"?

--Any color of clothes, even black?

--Any style of makeup, even if a boy wants to wear it?

Point in case-- me and my best friend all through school were the goth/punk kids. Seven piercings in me, lots of black, collars...the whole shebang. Yet we also got the highest grades of our classes, and excelled and exceeded every expectation.

So should kids be told how to dress when our tax dollars are paying for their education?

Answer 1

i think if you want your kids to grow up as a normal healthy non conforming adult you should not allow there schools to beat individualty out of them by punishing someone for wearing something they dont like as long as they arent walking around with there vaginas hangin out i mean its whatever. Plus its bs ne way b/c the cheerleaders could wear WTF ever they wanted no matter how S****y b/c they were cheerleaders.its all a matter of status with the teachers. Its not about keeping minds on school its about keeping people from being who they want

Answer 2

I think kids should be able to have this freedom to a certain extent.  I also agree no mini skirts or tube tops.  Most schools have a dress code and they enforce it for some.

I would be okay with any color hair, even though I wouldn't let my kids dye their hair any unnatural color.

Any hair style would do.

Any religious insignia, that's their religion no one can take that right away.

The Piercings are touch and go with me.  While i don't care what kind of Piercings a person has i don't want to have to look at them.  Any in the ears is fine, and any that you can easily cover up.  Other than that during school I don't think you should have any others

Don't care about the color of clothes.

Any style of make-up.  If girls can wear make-up then why shouldn't boys be allowed?

I don't believe in uniforms.  When i was in school they talked about making us wear uniforms until most of the school had a walk out.  They stopped talking about them soon after.

Answer 3

I think kids should be able to have their hair how ever they want it, wear whatever religious symbols they want, and have whatever piercing in that they want.

My husband once got sent home because his contacts where too bright. WTF?!

He has bright eyes, and any contacts look "bright" on him.

How I dressed in school, had nothing to do with my grades. People just have to blame THEIR children's failing grades on something other than themselves.

Answer 4

I go to a school where we chose what we wear. Im currently in year 11, I think rather trying to force kids to stick to a status quo and getting them to wear certain clothes will only supress them and cause them to rebel.

I honestly think its actually good for kids to get through like the "punk/emo" stage while there young. As for the S****y ten year olds, i think its the parents fault. seriously if your kid is wearing mini skirts and g-strings before 16 your need to disaplene (sorry im terrible at spelling) them.

Answer 5

I disagree with you.  A lot of this stuff is distracting and I see no need for it IN SCHOOL.  What you do out of school is your business.   Apparently, some people can't understand 'reasonable' and they have to make stupid school codes because of that.  

Your parents have the option to homeschool you. Then you don't have to conform to any standard except the educational one.

Answer 6

push for uniforms -it's much  healthier for everyone and kinder on the pocketbook.

Answer 7

I think individuality is important, and if a parent doesnt want theire children arond a different type of person then they should pay for a private school, online classes, or home school. unless the atire someone wears is too outragous for school, in that case I think the other children should have the right to learn without being distracted. but hair and piercings and whatnot have never hurt anyone

Answer 8

-Yes.

-Yes

-Yes, as long as it isn't insulting another religion.

-Yes

-Yes o_O

-Yes.

It's sad when public schools make families who may not have any money buy a whole new wardrobe because wearing a polo shirt and khaki's -obviously- will stop all violence and make the slackers work...

Answer 9

I think the purpose of education is to learn. Anything that distracts you or others from learning or the teacher from teaching should be avoided. That being said, anything that is not distracting should be ok.

As a teacher, here is my opinion:

--Hair color should be natural (or close)

--Hairstyles should be decent. Mohawks should be combed down so others can see past them.

--Insignias are fine, so long as they are not demeaning to other religions, and the clothing they are on is "normal". (i.e.  I would not condone a young man wearing Robes like Jesus would have in the New Testament, or coming to school dressed in only a fig leaf like Adam in the Old Testament)

--Piercings are fine if they are in the ears, or sometimes nose. Any piercings not visible are fine. Tongue piercing, lip piercing, etc. is distracting

--Clothing color should be up to the child. Wearing all black is very rarely distracting, and as long as there are no chains or weapons attached, should be fine.

--Makeup is acceptable so long as it is not distracting. I would be against either females or males, for example, painting their entire face purple. If a young man chooses to wear makeup, that is his perrogotive, but if he makes it a big deal amont the other boys or girls in the class, then he should be asked to remove it. But a boy wearing makeup not to get goofy reactions I would have no problem with.

I think your question is legit. Some of my best students are the "goth" kids, and they are a delight to teach. Then again, some of my worst students are the same type of kids, and they are awful. I think you have to look at the kid, and decide where you want to draw the line. And I think a lot of it depends on the age group you are teaching or in and the values of the community. (I teach in a very religious small town, and so we are much more conservative than larger cities would be).

Answer 10

this cause is beacause the school wants to be nice and neet, i am it dosnt really matter it dosnt hurt the kid, it would be better for ur kids to get friends becuase they would express themselfs by clothing

Answer 11

Yeah I understand why miniskirts and tank tops and stuff but they should be able to do whatever they want to their hair! crazy stuff.

Answer 12

totally i think kids should be allowed to express themselves freely in an appropriate way. i mean there have to be some rules like obviously if kids had it their way we'd all be at our desks wearing pj's. but yes. in general definitely.

Answer 13

You know I would love if uniforms were the rule.  I think it would ease a lot of problems.  Mostly children that are not financially well off wouldn't have to worry about their clothing (one less thing) but you make a good point.  One more thing for me to ponder

Answer 14

I beleive kids should be able to be individuals, but I see a lot of schools changing this practice. I agree that we all need to have our individuality but some things in schools are extreme any more.

Like kids killing other kids because they have the 100.00 shoes that  other kids parents can't afford.

kids refusing to go to school because they are made fun of and bullied because they dont wear the name brand clothes.

But people thing uniforms sovle this problem but they don't. Because they have name brand ttype uniforms and the type you can get from a walmart ect.

I think the hair and piercings are basically because schools are trying to keep a certain imaige and these kids are looked at as the bad seeds.

There are so many school of choice so schools want to make the parents feel like they have the best school by making them all the same so the bad kids don't stick out they look just like the good ones...

It is a society thing as well that if you are not a certain way you aren't suppose to fit in that crowd....

Too much goverment on all aspects of things anymore, except where goverment should be....

Answer 15

--Any color of hair, even green or blue? Yes

--Any hairstyle, including mohawks? Yes

--Any religious insignia, from a cross to a pentacle to a Star of David? Yes

--Any piercings they wish, even if not "normal piercings, one in each ear"? Yes

--Any color of clothes, even black? Yes

--Any style of makeup, even if a boy wants to wear it? Yes

I agree that school uniforms do not do anything to enhance the learning environment. It's merely a way to strip students of their individuality and distract the focus on education.

In my city, nearly all of the schools require uniforms. Some of the most dangerous schools in my city require uniforms, so the theory of "it helps kids learn" is utter c**p.

Answer 16

I do not agree with school uniforms. I don't think that inappropriate clothing should be worn. They need to deal with the problem kids and their parents not punish everyone. I really don't think that they should limit a persons hair style or color of clothing or any of that. If boys want to wear make up why not?

Answer 17

I work in a middle school (5th and 6th grade) and I say so long as something isn't "sexually distracting" it's fine.  No b***s hanging out (yes, 5th graders have b***s) or no super short skirts, then it's fine.  No profanities or obscene language on a tshirt, that kind of thing.  Piercings and hairstyles?  Nah, not distracting beyond the first day the kid comes in with them.  We had a black boy in our class this past year...he had an afro til about 1/2 way thru the year and then shaved his head.  It was only "distracting" for the first few minutes of the day.   Now, as a parent, I can see how uniforms would make things simple.  Yes, they cost money, but ZERO arguments about "can I wear this to school?" in the morning.  I figure so long as it's "age appropriate" (which can mean different things to different people, I guess) it's fine.

Answer 18

The only reason why I accept the uniform thing they are doing now is because of all this gang BS they are shoveling out to everyone. Kids are getting beat up for wearing a certain color...that is friggin ridiculous!! As for what you are saying I agree with you...I wore the huge pants and band shirts and have piercings and my hair has been every color known to man when I was younger and I was one of the top 3 in my class in high school(and elementary and middle school for that matter) as were my buddies who also dressed that way...it was the chiks in the little shirts and tight pants and shorts and the guys drooling over them that ended up repeating grades and what not...so I don't see a problem with how kids dress(in the sense you were talkin about) If thats the case then some of these teachers should seriously be told what to wear and what not to wear and stuff like that because there were plenty of teachers of mine in high school that wore see through blouses and skirts that were a little revealing and also one of my teachers has PINK hair..yes I said PINK...so why would they tell kids not to do it but allow the teachers to do the same exact thing

Answer 19

i think kid should be able to dress any way they want