Dress Codes In High School

Dress codes should not be enforced in high school they are not only destructive to the self esteem of the students who are singled out but also detrimental to the learning of all students. In many cases young women have been scolded, embarrassed and even sent home for their choice of clothing in schools all across North America. In most cases, teachers are given free reign to decide whether or not students outfits, particularly that of young women, are “too revealing” or “distracting” for other students. This behaviour exemplified by teachers not only perpetuates victim blaming in rape culture but also enables some young men to avoid taking responsibility for their learning. Dress codes in school have become counter-productive and should not

A gateway coordinator for Benjamin N. Cardozo high school in New York was quoted in W.e News saying “If a girl comes in half naked, it’s natural for boys to turn and look.” (Halkidis, 2014) Many individuals in authority at high schools share this view that is the responsibility of the female students to change her attire to accommodate for the male students. In addition I have heard and read several testimonies from young women in high school who have been sent home to change because of their “distracting” clothing. This gives the impression that the male students education is more important than the female’s and rather than having the male students practice self control and learn to focus on his work, which are skills that are arguably more important in the workplace than learning how to dress, the teachers send the girls home to miss a lesson and potentially fall behind in their

Fore example, In high school I was a full time student- athlete who maintained a part time job and balanced accelerated classes from grade 10-12. Balancing my extracurriculars, work and most importantly my schooling was more than a full time job. I had barely enough hours in the day to sleep, let alone pick out and outfit for school. Sweatpants and a hoodie were my uniform throughout high school and I’m thankful that, that was allowed because not only did it save me time and energy that was better spent on my studies, but it was also what I felt most comfortable and confident in. In addition, many of my fellow students worked full time jobs while maintaining exceptional averages may not have had the means to dress “professionally” or had the time or energy to go out and spend their hard earned money on a new outfit but how they conducted themselves represented maturity and intelligence better than any outfit ever could. Therefore, Individuals who say how you dress in high school is a reflection on work ethic and is necessary to prepare for professional endeavours in the future are sorely mistaken. My work ethic, and the work ethic of my fellow sweat pants sporting classmates, speaks for itself. How I present myself in the workplace is drastically different than how I do at school however I