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I am a Junior in Parkview highschool, and in my time there, I have noticed a number of things that were completely unreasonable.
For example, our dress code bans any clothing that is backless, spaghetti strap, strapless, and tops that expose the bare midriff.It also bans sunglasses, headcovers, bandanas (not to be displayed at all), shirts with snowmen on them, "tall tees," and a number of other things. I am not posting this just to say that I disagree with all of the dress code, but it has been made clear to me that some students have apparently been given immunity of theese rules.
The staff members of our school seem to have a very sharp eye when it comes to our dress code, and I see countless individuals getting in trouble for breaking it every day. However, one day during an assembly, I couldn't help but notice that there was a huger number of students who were part of the assembly that were breaking the dress code. First I saw the candidates for "Homecoming Queen," MANY of which were wearing, backless, strapless, and spaghetti-strap dresses. Next the cheerleaders came out, and I saw EVERY ONE of their stomachs. Then the "Vikettes" came out (group of female dancers in Parkview), and many of their stomachs were showing. I then saw 2 football players come out with sunglasses on, and another person with a headband on. All of theese people were in violation of our dress code, and none of them had gotten in trouble. Daily I see teachers pulling aside students from crowded hallways because they were breaking the dress code, and yet here were several people breaking the dress code while the vast majority of the school staff were watching them. I refuse to believe that it went unnoticed among the staff that that many people were breaking the dress code, and it seems to me that that students in extracurricular activities were allowed to do whatever they wanted, and the school authorites were not afriad to rub it in all of our faces.
A few days after the assembly, I decided to email one of my teachers about theese problems. In one of her replies, she claimed that she had previously brought the problem with the cheerleaders to the attention of those in charge, but said that here "...complaint fell on def ears..."
[RIGHT]I wonder why......?[/RIGHT]
Now I don't personally agree with our dress code, but since the dress code stands and is enforced, it should certainly be enforced equally on everyone.
[LEFT]Please repost if you have noticed anything unfair in any Springfield Public Schools...I need as much ammo as I can get so we can keep theese schools as fair as possible[/LEFT]
Among the many unjust things in Springfield's Parkview Highschool is the banning of "tall tees." I personally think tall tees look rediculous and would never wear one, but I can't bring myself to silently stand by while the people who do wear them have their rights stripped away from them. Teachers and Administrators of the school claim that tall tees have been banned for the safety of the students, and that safety is their top priority.
Lets look at how much safer we are with tall tees being banned. In the U.S., imagine how students there are who do not carry guns for every one student who does. Im not for certain exactly what the number is, but using common sense I have to say its at least as few as one armed, to tens of thousands of unnarmed students. Does it really seem right to strip thousands of students of their rights for a fraction that small? Better yet, are there not any routes that could have been taken that not only keep students much safer, but also allow them to wear more of what they want? Of course there are, im sure anyone can think of several.
Now for our safety being their top priority. After thinking long and hard about this subject, I began sending emails about it to a staff member of the school. I asked her why we couldn't install metal detectors, and get drug dogs in the school, and told her that would keep us much safer than banning tall tees would, and would allow us to wear them. In her reply she said that metal detectors were too expensive, and that banning tall tees was free. What this tells me is that safety is NOT their number one priority, but rather money. Millions of dollars were just put into building on to Parkview, and yet they don't even feel the need to ask the taxpayers if they are willing to pay for metal detectors to keep their children safe???
I don't believe the decision of what students can and cannot wear should be made by ANYONE other than the taxpayers that make the school's existence possible. Rather than asking us what we would rather have, they make the decision for us, and instead of doing what would keep students the safest, they do what is the cheapest. If a student has his mind set on bringing a gun to school, theres a good chance he will do it no matter what he can wear, especially since it would much more well hidden in his backpack than in any kind of shirt. Metal detectors at the school entrance would make it all but impossible for a student to bring a gun into the school, as well as get rid of this violation of rights.
If you want your child to go to a highschool with any kind of fairness and freedom, think seriously before sending them to Parkview, or any Springfield Public School for that matter
If you have ever been in Parkview and seen anything unfair happening, please reply to this post, and tell me of it. I need as much ammo as I can get to fight the beast.
Last edited by Marka; 11-17-2006 at 01:47 AM..
Reason: repaired code
I think children should have to dress appropriate while at school, and the school needs to decide what is appropriate. All schools have dress codes, often including: no strapless shirts, no shirts advertising drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes, no short-shorts or mini-skirts. I don't know that banning long t-shirts is really going to keep guns out of the school, but it's the school administration's decision. Remember that while the taxpayers do not directly set the rules, they do elect the school board members and also have the right to attend meetings to voice their opinions.
You did the right thing by emailing your teacher, but it didn't turn out to be effective. Why not email or write a letter to your school principal? Or you could write a letter to your local newspaper...although I would advise you to remain anonymous, or some of your fellow students might get mad at you.
Well I plan on writing to my principal, but it has become obvious to me that none of the staffs in our school have the ability to see past the authority that they have over us. All of them believe that the opinions of teenagers are worthless, they even felt the need to write in our handbook that no rules could be changed by majority vote of the students.
I didn't write the teacher to change anything, but to get some answers, and see where some of the school staff might stand on the subject. However, I have some info. now, and I will soon be emailing the principle.
Most of my friends already know what I am doing. I have made them aware that my ultimate goal is to eliminate the unnecessary parts of our dresscode, but it is going to take some time, and well thought out plans.
Its all about the country we live in. Most seem to have forgotten how this country is supposed to be because it has been screwed up for so long that people think that this is the way it't supposed to be. It is a PUBLIC school and ANYTHING put into or taken away from it should have a PUBLIC vote. I don't disagree with all of the dress code, but I don't believe that it should even exist without the consent of the people. We live in what is supposed to be a democracy, but when we enter a 'public' school, all of our rights as an American citizen are stripped away, and we a given lesser rights.
Why is it that everyone seems to think that it is okay for a few "experts" to decide what is best for thousands of people, rather than the thousands of people deciding for themselves. Those few experts aren't even in the school that they are making rules for, and are therefore not affected by them. It is insane for the taxpayers to be forced to pay for a school in which they have no say on what goes on.
We have soldiers putting themselves in situations where they WILL get shot at to protect the freedoms we are supposed to have, but we waste their effort by not even standing up for our own.
And "...dress appropriate for school..."? and whose to decide what is appropriate? The school board? I have already seen too much corruption, stereotyping and hypocrisy from them to stand by silently while they use their twisted beliefs to decide what is appropriate and not. I will tell you some more stories next time I log on here about some things that show how messed up our school authorities are. Not everyone has the same idea of appropriate, so there should be a majority vote amongst the people, the ones who make this school possible in the first place.
If you see something thats wrong, why not try and make it right?....even if there is little hope.
Last edited by Keith Damodred; 11-16-2006 at 07:47 PM..
I am gratified that even though you don't agree with a dress code (for that matter neither do I and I graduated high school in 1969) but are complying out of a sense that these are the rules and one must abide by them. My suggestion would be to bring up the problem with the school newspaper. Perhaps at the next assembly the newspaper's photographer could take a photo of the offending students and run it in the newspaper. That would certainly make all at the school aware of the infractions. That might make a difference. If the right school official sees that there are students breaking the rule they can make a decision to either enforce their rules as they now stand or consider if the rules are (a) unenforcible or (b) need to be changed. Good luck!
You raise two problems here. I agree with one and disagree with the other.
We agree that the rules should be enforced uniformly.
We disagree about dress codes generally. Keep in mind that I was the guy pushing the limits when I was in High School. But now in retrospect I realize that conformity to social norms is a lesson necessarily learned. You will have to do it to survive outside of the sheltered world of mom's house and the highschool.
Girls should not dress like tramps. Easy for me to say now that I have a daughter.
Guys should not dress like thugs. Wearing clothes that make it easier to hide things (weapons, drugs, stolen items) especially when it has caused problems in the past, is something properly prohibited within the discretion of administration.
Enjoy and take advantage of the free education you are being provided. Be thankful and try to keep some perspective.
This is an interesting debate, I too think there should be structure and rules, and the people that want to dress in clothes not appropriate are looking for attention and when force to change think its their right to dress however they want.
Unfortunately, the problem is much more complicated I am afraid. It is the mentality of people that think that they should be able to do what ever they want is the problem. A person that has compassion for others could realize that what they wear might be fine for them; others may use it to conceal weapons or distinguish a gang, and therefore understand to be fair they won’t wear it either. But that is too much to ask for everyone to think that we are all on this planet together and we should all look out for one another. It only takes 1 or 2 people to break the rules and then others don’t think it’s fair so they join in and there we sit. You might post this debate in Springfield’s forum.. I would be curios what others there thought.
It's not feasible for the people to vote on every single piece of administration or legislature that needs to be decided on. We'd be having elections every day. That's why we elect representatives, to make choices on our behalf. It is very important that a person take that into consideration when deciding which candidate to vote for, during an election. If this is an important topic to you, keep speaking out! let those in charge know how you feel. The officials who make these decisions need to know all sides of the situation, and they should make their decisions based on both the feeling of the majority, and also on good ethics.
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"Tall tees" in Springfield Public Schools
