I would like to thank Bethany Strulowitz for sharing her students’ insights about their feeling regarding student dress codes.
Indeed, it is somewhat surprising to hear that no students argued that being required to dress according to the school norms was simply too controlling. At the same time, the arguments that school dress codes are not explained honestly or that they lack consistency indicate a lack of clarity on the part of the school that needs to be addressed.
1. Yes, schools must be able to explain why there is a need for a dress code. While this may involve talking about core spiritual values, those aren’t the only things going on when students are asked to dress a certain way. Oftentimes dress codes serve other purposes that are also important – a show of respect to the school as a place of learning, making sure that one student’s dress does not embarrass another, etc. Let’s remember that even non-Jewish and non-religious schools will often have dress codes.
2. Consistency is not all that it is cracked up to be. I hope that male teachers are not the ones responsible to commenting on the appropriateness of the female students’ clothing (something that in our day-an-age might be construed as sexual harassment). It may not be that some teachers “don’t care how short my skirt is†but that they recognize how inappropriate and embarrassing it would be for the student to hear about it from them.
Like many issues in school, if a school develops a relationship of mutual trust between faculty, students, and parents, many of these conversations can be carried out in a positive manner and lead to successful outcomes.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2018 07:18AM by mlb.
