A school board in Florida thinks it's time to institute a dress code dagnabit. Nothing weird about that, right? School boards have been instituting dress codes for centuries. But, see, this dress code is for the parents, not the students. School board member Rosalind Osgood feels like it's a fool's errand to try to tell kids to stop wearing things like baggy pants, short shorts, and curlers in their hair when that's exactly how their parents are dressed when they pick them up. "Parents need to lead by example," she said. A fairly difficult sentiment to argue with, but I think Osgood is forgetting something.
While it's an interesting idea (that will doubtfully ever go through), I'm not quite sure how much of a difference it would make if mothers and fathers were, in fact, forbidden from dressing like teenagers when they showed up at school. Because, like kids, the parents would then revert to their old behavior when they weren't on school grounds. I agree that it's utterly ridiculous to expect children to adhere to certain rules that their moms and dads blatantly disregard, but this is an extremely thought out plan. And, with the risk of sounding rude, a complete waste of time.
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Many are up in arms about the notion of even thinking about trying to institute something like this on parents, and while, like I said, I don't think it would ever work, I do see where the school board is coming from and their well-meaning intent. I certainly don't think parents need to get dolled up to drop their kids off at school in the morning -- certainly no makeup and coiffed hair required. But think about it: Doesn't it seem ridiculous for a girl to get sent to the principal's office for wearing super short shorts when that's exactly how her mother dropped her off that day? It seems crazy! But I really don't think the school is going to be able to do anything about it. Sure, they can send out a memo, but what's going to happen? Are they going to send Mom to detention? And what if the principal runs into Mom off of school grounds and she's dressed that way?
It's a valiant effort, Ms. Osgood, and one that, in a lot of ways, makes sense. But I think you ought to use your energy for something that actually will make a difference with students, as there are far too many loopholes in this particular plan.
Do you think parents should stick to "school dress code" when dropping off or picking up their kids?
