..."and the sign said longhaired freaky people..."

...need not attend

Published on March 9, 2005 By Gideon MacLeish In Politics

e school's dress code.

Several of the high school boys came in; all had hair that was easily as short or shorter than "Beatles" haircuts of the 60's, asking the school to change its policy, which currently only allows hair "above the collar, abovuse their hair exceeded the collar length.

It still surprises me that, in this day and age, so many still judge a man, as Johnny Cash once said "by the cut of his clothes or the length of his hair".

Comments

ParaTed2k

on Mar 10, 2005

I was completely against dress codes and "uniforms" in schools, until...

Until I joined the Army and saw groups of people from every conceiveable background, become friends. Getting to know each other on more even ground than choices of clothes seemed to allowed cowboys, punks, rappers, metal heads, and everyone in between, to get past those labels and be friends. Of course, it didn't always work, we can all think of exceptions. ;~D

I was out of the whole civilian scene when "dress down" and "casual" fridays became so popular. Therefore, I didn't get adapted to it, it was like, one day everyone was expected to dress "professionally" then (even though it was a decade later..) bam.. one day a week they didn't have to. I don't know what others noticed about those fridays (and just the fact it's "Friday" probably plays a part in it also), but it seems that professionalism takes a dive on the "dress down" days.

Whether it is a military or paramedic uniform (or just a dress code), it seems that when we dress specifically for work, our minds seem to stay more on doing our work. There does seem to be a psychology to being in a uniform. Even if that uniform is just the specifics of a dress code.

If High School kids are expected to dress differently at school than they do on their own, I think that "psychology of the uniform" would better help them stay on task.

Of course, just as every rule can be abused, if left unchecked, those rules can also be abusive.

Gideon MacLeish

on Mar 10, 2005

Para,

What you are suggesting is, in essence, a fascist state. You chose to go to the military, which was a fine and noble choice. But you CHOSE it, as did others.

Forcing children to grow up in institutions, as our schools are fast becoming (as bureaucrats try to mandate school attendance at ages as young as 3), removes from them individuality and choice, two things that SHOULD BE the cornerstone of a healthy republic. Is it any wonder that, after 13 years of institutionalized schooling, young adults have little trouble adapting to incarceration? It's called "institutionalization", and it's a GOOD thing for an authoritarian, socialist state, but is anathema to liberty.

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