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Old 08-17-2007, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Eagan, Minnesota
751 posts, read 1,167,657 times
Reputation: 151

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Can anybody describe what high schools in Collin County are like, or maybe in other parts of Dallas as well? I moved to Texas from Greenwich Connecticut to a suburb of Houston when I was 16, and it was a true culture shock .In Connecticut, we had a lot more freedom, we could leave the school during our open blocks, there was a smoking area for students, no restriction on dress code etc. Our Texas high school did not allow kids to wear hats, baggy pants, handkerchiefs, girls could only wear certain things, boys had to shave, I remember our principal walking down the hallway telling kids to go to the bathroom and shave. We always referred to teachers as "sir" and "ma'am" and the way my Texas high school ran its detention program, it was pretty much like a "little prison", they had a super redneck guy that was the "warden" of the detention program and he was very mean. It was way more structured that anything I had ever experienced, and the whole thing about saying the pledge to the Texas flag was just WEIRD!!! Another thing I noticed about my high school in Texas is that a lot of teachers were also coaches, which to me, it was almost insulting Anyways, I do not regret my experience in Texas, I feel like structure can be good sometimes..but it was so different from high schools out East.. Any experiences?
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Old 08-17-2007, 06:42 PM
 
Location: DFW, TX
2,935 posts, read 6,694,253 times
Reputation: 572
I know here in Wylie there is a dress code. They also forbid visible piercings, unnatural hair colors, crazy hairdos, etc. It's for all grades 5+.

As a parent I think it's a great thing. School isn't a fashion show, it's about learning.
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Old 08-17-2007, 08:02 PM
 
141 posts, read 684,597 times
Reputation: 74
I think it's like it is here in Texas most everywhere now. I went to high school in Hilliard Ohio and we also had a smoking area outside. Guys could wear long hair and even earings. We could wear shorts, even cutoffs.
It was a very small school district though and I graduated in 1977. There were no serious problems at our school either. it was an all white school, well except for one family. Everyone got along. I think the big change came in the 1980's with all the gangs in the schools. Older suburbs became more diverse and problems came with that. People have been trying to figure out how to get a handle on the problems ever since. My kids didn't have uniforms at there school here in Rowlett Tx. they are graduated now. I imagine in the near future most schools K-12 will have uniforms and there will be lots of disipline. With serious drugs so available now I can't even imagine small towns being as relaxed as mine was. It's a little sad that it is such a prison environment now. I just assumed even schools up North and East are like they are down here now.
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Old 08-17-2007, 08:09 PM
 
Location: Keller, Tx
443 posts, read 1,560,630 times
Reputation: 288
Quote:
Originally Posted by lukeache View Post
Can anybody describe what high schools in Collin County are like, or maybe in other parts of Dallas as well? I moved to Texas from Greenwich Connecticut to a suburb of Houston when I was 16, and it was a true culture shock .In Connecticut, we had a lot more freedom, we could leave the school during our open blocks, there was a smoking area for students, no restriction on dress code etc. Our Texas high school did not allow kids to wear hats, baggy pants, handkerchiefs, girls could only wear certain things, boys had to shave, I remember our principal walking down the hallway telling kids to go to the bathroom and shave. We always referred to teachers as "sir" and "ma'am" and the way my Texas high school ran its detention program, it was pretty much like a "little prison", they had a super redneck guy that was the "warden" of the detention program and he was very mean. It was way more structured that anything I had ever experienced, and the whole thing about saying the pledge to the Texas flag was just WEIRD!!! Another thing I noticed about my high school in Texas is that a lot of teachers were also coaches, which to me, it was almost insulting Anyways, I do not regret my experience in Texas, I feel like structure can be good sometimes..but it was so different from high schools out East.. Any experiences?

Thank goodness for Texas schools! Kids need discipline, not baggy pants and smoking areas. Connecticut schools should be ashamed for allowing kids to run amuck like that. Btw, how should a detention center be run? With cookies, milk and an xbox 360? Schools like the ones you mention give education a bad name.
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Old 08-17-2007, 08:12 PM
 
58 posts, read 249,310 times
Reputation: 30
The schools around Dallas range from great to horrible...you cannot stereotype a whole district (as people tend to do), so you have to be educated about the specific school your child will attend. In DISD, there are fabulous schools--and this includes many schools that are not "magnet." The dress code has become very strict, but that is due to gang problems in the schools. All DISD middle schools have uniforms, and it's likely that the high schools will have uniforms in the future. For many, it is a safety issue: leaving the gang colors out of school. As for the atmosphere of the schools, you will just have to visit...they can be vastly different just a few miles from one another. If you have any questions regarding specific schools in Dallas ISD, just let me know.
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Old 08-17-2007, 08:17 PM
 
Location: Keller, Tx
443 posts, read 1,560,630 times
Reputation: 288
Greatschools.net Check it out, it's a pretty accurate reflection of what your student is getting into, plus they have parent reviews. Thats all I have to say about the subject.
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Old 08-18-2007, 01:05 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,678,014 times
Reputation: 5787
When I was growing up our schools did have smoking sections - that no longer exists I believe in any high school in the Dallas metroplex.

School uniforms/dresscodes - in the Garland ISD and I know many others in the area have had many of their schools go to uniforms. It is voted on by the parents. I believe a few high schools in the DISD have uniforms but not in the suburbs. Elementary and middle schools/jr highs may have them. I wish my kids did. Dresscodes are strictly enforced. No flip-flops in elementary schools, no tank tops, spaghetti straps, no baggy jeans and NO underwear showing, one hand width on the chest area is as far down as necklines can go for girls, no excessive jewelry, boys can not have ears pierced, no colored hair, no hats or bandanas on the head, skirts/shorts fingertip length. T-shirts can not have obscene words, gestures, promote drugs, drinking, smoking, etc. They are pretty strict on that and I don't have a problem w/it at all.

Courtesy - you better believe it.

Reassignment school - your there for a reason. Running prison style, fine w/ me.

Coaches as teachers - they are required to be certified to teach a subject. This means that our coaches are also qualified to teach. This has been the longstanding way for many decades.

My daughters principal has said if a boy has on jeans that are hanging down to low she has a belt they can use.
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Old 08-19-2007, 10:43 AM
 
Location: Dallas, Texas
506 posts, read 2,139,983 times
Reputation: 385
My daughter's junior high principal had zip ties he kept in his office and, if a boy had saggy jeans and no belt to keep them up (and no parent to come pick him up from school for violating dress code), he'd pull that kid into the office and put a long zip tie through the belt loops and pull it tight. That'd keep the pants up the rest of the day. The next day the kid would have to return the cut zip tie along with a signed note from the parents. That principal ran a tight ship but the kids adored him.

We have NO problem with school dress codes. If parents weren't such idiots by letting their kids leave the house looking like some of them do, dress codes wouldn't be necessary. But we had dress codes even back when I was in school thru the '60's and '70's, too. For girls it was primarily no "bare mid-drifts" and for boys it mostly had to do with hair length. Nobody showed their underwear back then.....
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