This intrigued me because I thought this principal had guts; there's no BAN, just the calling of attention to the way young high school girls are dressing these days. Where does it go from skin-tight leggings..showing every (and I mean EVERY) nook and cranny? Do you advise your girls to dress more modestly and how do they comply? And why do kids even have the right to comply OR NOT? Our folks had the last word; what happened? The worst thing we did as kids was roll our skirts up a bit the minute our mother was out of sight! Think this guy's WRONG? For teen aged boys today, there's no intrigue, no wonderment about a girl....she's just ALL THERE, you know? Sad.
here's the article:
Minnesota Principal Urges Students Not to Wear Leggings
By Eliza Murphy | ABC News Blogs – 5 hrs ago
Dave Adney, the principal of Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka,
Minn., has gained a lot of attention for an email he sent to the
parents of his students on Nov. 12 suggesting they support his "goal of
keeping things covered up."
The email was intended to alert parents to a recent wardrobe issue the
school has been dealing with during the colder months: Female students
were wearing tight, spandex leggings.
"As the weather gets colder we have noticed a fashion trend with our
young women," read Adney's email. "Many of them choose to wear leggings
usually made of spandex or another form of tight fitting material. In
past years this has not been a major problem since fashion norms called
for a long sweatshirt, jersey or sweater to be worn in conjunction with
the leggings. This fall another pattern has emerged and we are
requesting parent support."
Janet Swiecichowski, the executive director for communications with
Minnetonka Public Schools, said the principal's email was "nothing out
of the blue" because he often communicates with the parents. But
Swiecichowski said this one, in particular, has been receiving a lot of
positive reinforcement.
"It is a cyclical communication that the principal does. As seasons
change, we talk about the different expectations for student dress,"
Swiecichowski told ABCNews.com. "As winter was coming around, we
usually see students in longer sweaters and leggings. This year, they
seem to be wearing shorter tops."
And it's the shorter tops paired with the leggings that are really becoming the problem.
"This new trend doesn't seem right, it's troubling," Adney told the Star Tribune. "Cover your butts up - I'm just going to say it straight up. We're seeing too much."
The leggings are not officially banned, as of now, but the principal is
urging students to practice modesty when planning their outfits.
"There is no ban," Swiecichowski said. "The email was intended to
suggest to parents to talk to your teens about how they're dressing for
school - what you think is appropriate - and that modesty is usually a
good fall-back. When in doubt, go modest."
Adney's email concluded, "Some of our girls have chosen to wear
t-shirts with the leggings, thus exposing more leg and backside area.
This can be highly distracting for other students and I am asking your
assistance. If your daughters choose to wear leggings or other tight
fitting clothing please support our goal of keeping things covered up.
We encourage students to dress modestly and this trend is definitely a
move away from our general expectations."
Minnetonka High School is not the only one cracking down on clothing.
Last year, Pennsylvania's Catasauqua Area School District banned skinny
jeans, leggings, ripped pants, low-cut tops and hooded sweatshirts.
43 comments:
You say: "This intrigued me because I thought this principal had guts;".
I see a weak ineffectual administrator who is asking parents to tell their kids not to wear something the parents had not heretofore seen as inappropriate.
In other words, "pretty please, with sugar on top...".
Perhaps he could be persuaded to also ask Iran not to build a nuclear weapon.
All it takes is that one mom living vicariously through her daughter and the race is on.
The school is supposed to be preparing kid to be effectual in the workplace. If the young "lady" hopes to be a stripper or "sex worker", then what right has he to challenge the appropriateness of her dress?
The school should have a defined mission. All rules in the school should derive from that mission.
If the mission is to build the kids' self-esteem, let them dress however they want that makes them feel the best about themselves at the moment.
If the mission is to prepare them for a career, then the dress code should reflect that.
When my niece came to live with us, she got an job in an office after working fast food for a few years.
We were appalled at what she thought was appropriate for an office.
We convinced her otherwise.
She later described what a co-worker wore, similar to how she had intended to dress.
After a few weeks, the boss pulled her in, thanked her for her hard work and businesslike attitude and informed her that the other girl had been let go. It was implied that the attire had something to do with it.
The public schools had prepared neither of them for a work environment.
During the 1996-1997 school term in a small private school, I experienced the first time as administrator that I had to tell the TEACHERS how to dress properly. The administrative team actually had to issue a memo to the teachers, a memo that stated "no slut dressing." Many of the younger teachers had not a clue what was meant! These teachers were recent graduates from the likes of Columbia University, New York University, etc., and had degrees in education. Did nobody along the way tell these women about dressing in a businesslike manner?
In 1998, I began teaching groups of homeschoolers. By 2000, the administrative team of the homeschool group had to come up with a dress code for the girls!
And this past year, there was one helluva turmoil over some of the dresses that the girls were wearing on stage for the end-of-the-year program. The girls' mothers -- all of them Godly people -- had chosen the slutty dresses (too short, too low cut, too tight) that their daughters were wearing! And some of these ignorant mothers were on the administrative team! Can you believe it?
So, I submit to you that young people today may not have parents who know what appropriate dress is. Maybe a lot of bosses don't know either.
BTW, have any here been seeing how the female anchors on Fox and Friends dress? Sheesh. I hate to admit it, but I don't notice that kind of slut dressing on the CNN news desk or on the morning news from my local CBS affiliate.
I still remember my first day of High School, 1971, getting off the bus, and following a girl wearing white hot pants into the quad....
*sigh*
I think AOW is right. Slutty dress is probably the new normal for many people.
Ed, it's a public school. The 'intrigue' is that anybody would say anything AT ALL. That's HUGE and I still think it is.
Our private school has uniforms and that's the only way to avoid what's going on these days.
We CAN do something; public schools are confined by leftist 'morality'.
AOW..the FOX women are smart AND gorgeous and I think FOX exploits them, too. I often think that the particular news woman is hating that the cameras pan back to get the legs in...long, thin legs, everybody's legs crossed in the same direction, and low cut sleeveless dresses with snow storms outside. Studios are COLD and this always makes me wonder who's calling the shots about dress there, too.!
most of FOX's women are very highly degreed; they know better but they love their jobs and get good pay, I guess.
FJ...I wore hot pants back in the day!
SF and AOW; it's pretty much ALL THEY SELL. Sounds like a cop out, but go shopping some time and try to find really cute, not slutty clothes for teen aged girls some time.
We have to remember that films, fashion, etc., are predominantly leftwing designers, directors, etc.........this is what we get; kids who are growing up looking (and acting) like sluts.
Z - At least the leggings cover up the bare skin. I remember when we wore hot pants - with no leggings.
Things just keep getting shorter all of the time. There is no place for fashion - if you want to call it that - to go but down.
Z - At least the leggings cover up the bare skin. I remember when we wore hot pants - with no leggings.
Things just keep getting shorter all of the time. There is no place for fashion - if you want to call it that - to go but down.
Ed, having dealt with law enforcement and public service issues all my life, the best approach is to first ask. If you don't get compliance, then you take it to the next level. I think the principals approach is correct because as Silver points out, slutty is the new norm so our society as a whole is lax. He has to educate the parents and give them an opportunity to get it right. If there is still problems, then next go around he can ban the dress outright. But without this first step, I'd wager the parents would turn on him and force him out. It's not 1960 anymore.
As the mother of a nine year old girl I have a strong opinion on this particular topic.
My daughter is very tall. (VERY). She no longer fits into clothing designed for children her age. I have no other option than to make her clothes myself. Geeesh! Even the clothes DESIGNED for children her age are inappropriate.
There is a cultural influence, of course but that can be overcome by good parenting. The preponderance of Obama voters has shown us that old fashioned values like self respect are on the wane. Anything goes! The women of the Left are sex objects and nothing more. They extend tht "freedom" to their children! Free condoms for everyone! (They'll need them).
I prefer camel toes.
My cheerleading uniform looked like a SNOW SUIT compared to what high school cheerleaders wear today. Bare midriffs? Is that necessary?
I remember walking up the looooong flight of stairs to the Science Lab on game days. Our skirts were pretty short but we alays had a friend behind us to cover our, um, assets. Usually with a three ring binder.
I was in a restaurant about ten years ago. There was a table filled with teenagers. Probably 15 boys and three girls. As I walked in, I noticed the girl on the end had her thongs jutting out of the back of her jeans. I discreetly walked over to her and let her know, concerned that she may be humiliated. She looked at me like I had two heads, reached back and pulled her thongs even higher!
That one statement by Liberalmann is stereotypical of the left.
Since you asked, I strive not to think of things like this at all, because I see them as trivial.
We are in grave danger of falling into economic collapse -- a situation bound to make The Great Depression seem like a Sunday School Picnic.
We have so weakened ourselves with overindulgence in the wasteful, idiotic pursuits of a decadent, demented, grotesquely materialistic, self-absorbed popular culture that as a people we have no moral fiber left at ALL to sustain us through a serious crisis.
We're all furious with each other, and at each other's throats ALL the TIME.
We are RIPE for CONQUEST and either ENSLAVEMENT or outright ANNIHILATION -- we really are -- and here we sit worrying and clucking our tongues over teenage FASHION!
It's about as useful as that old saw about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Yes the leggings are depressing -- but EVERYTHING has been depressing along these lines for the last FORTY-FIVE YEARS.
I look at movies from the 1940's as often as I can, because they remind me of what we once were -- or at east WANTED to be. Women then looked chic -- i.e. slim, well-groomed, well dressed in flattering fashions -- and they CARRIED themselves with GRACE an STYLE.
Today most young women stomp around looking like as appealing as an unmade bed.
Th death of PRIDE in one's personal appearance has HARMED us GREATLY.
The next step on the downward path will undoubtedly be fashions the cover every part of the body BUT the genitals which should be kept ever ready for ACTION whenever and wherever the opportunity arises.
We have become a DISGUSTING people. Probably not woth saving.
The election proved that CONCLUSIVELY.
Sign me,
Overan Dunwith
Muslim countries don't have this problem.
From Z of GEEEZ:
Alligator, I was surprised the parents didn't turn on him this time.
I agree with you on all you said.
Divine Theater....That's exactly what I thought! But, you'd probably have to make cute things for her, tall or not (I'm very tall, too, I remember that problem! but we had Judy's then AND skirts were short even if they weren't slutty, so they were just a tad shorter on me!)....that cheap fabric everything's made in is gross, too, in my opinion.
A 'snow suit'...that made me laugh!!! we looked like thin Michelin Tire Men compared to today!
Joe..big surprise, huh? That's what's got our kids in a mess.
Ducky, there's something to be said for that; most Muslim families are decent (that is if they're not killing their daughters for smiling at a non Muslim)
We have a couple of muslim families here and they're marvelous....I'm quite sure none of them has killed anybody. :-)
Overan Dunwith (your writing sounds familiar, so if it's YOU, you needn't hide)...if it's NOT "you", thanks and I agree with you except for the part that this is trivial.
I think you'll see my blog is anything but trivial and I consider this post important, too.
Character and morality ARE important.
I smiled when I read your sentence about watching movies from the forties for comfort; I do EXACTLY the same thing. OR I OFTEN rent netflix English sagas and am THERE for a while; where people were of faith and had the grace to suffer shame if deserved, and charity and great character and kindness. It feels good to 'be there.'...then I wake up.
z
I watch I Love Lucy sometimes for that same kind of "things were so much sweeter then" feeling!
A Few thoughts:
One, this is a reason that school uniforms are generally a good idea.
However even with uniforms kids will push the boundaries. Wear the skirts way too short, wear strange footwear with the uniforms, etc.
Two, the school should have a clear dress code and the students should be required to obey. The parents should have the final say. Which means that they should be involved with the school, PTA, teachers, etc.
Third, leggings are better than a very short skirt which shows everything. Kids always find a way to stretch the rules.
They should go back to the long sweater, sweat shirt, whatever worn over the leggings, or a skirt worn over the leggings, or even shorts worn over the leggings.
Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
G,
I just bought the complete "Ma and Pa Kettle" for Gracie. We don't watch television. She watches videos that are Mommy approved! She is hooked on "Father Knows Best"! She still watches SpongeBob, of course. However, the television shows aimed at children her age are either very inappropriate of the COMMERCIALS are. Thank goodnss for Netflix!
A few years ago, she watched television with my husband's mother, at her house. When she came home, she told me she saw a story about a woman who could not get married because her teeth were not white enough! LOL! She had no idea it was a commercial!
As a Libertarian, I think that uniforms in public schools are also inappropriate. I don't like the message it sends to children, "government institutions know what's best!"
xo
When most American teens are obese or overweight, that kind of outfit clearly is not recommended.
Z,
it's pretty much ALL THEY SELL. Sounds like a cop out, but go shopping some time and try to find really cute, not slutty clothes for teen aged girls some time.
True.
However, back when I was a teenager and attended a school with a dress code but no uniform, the selection of clothing here in then-still-rural Northern Virginia was very limited. One could find "old lady" clothes or "baby" clothes. So, my grandmother fired up the sewing machine, and my mother found some catalogs that offered acceptable selections. I felt fashionable but didn't look like a slut. I had one of those bodies that could look slut-like very easily (if you know what I mean).
I think that, as a society, we are losing the concept of appropriate dress for the particular occasion.
For example, this evening, I'll be attending the memorial service for the mother of two of the girls in my middle school class. Do you think that I'm going to wear my "little black dress"? Hell, no! But I will wear it to a Christmas party at the VFW.
As for some of the women on FNC, well, when they come on the screen, Mr. AOW doesn't pay a bit of attention to what they're saying. I say to myself, "There you are, trying to expound upon values, and you look like the a whore." Yet, I don't see that same kind of wardrobe on many mainstream news channels. Just sayin'.
FrogBurger,
When most American teens are obese or overweight, that kind of outfit clearly is not recommended.
No kidding!
Bulges and muffin tops abound -- and are NOT attractive. Sheesh.
Overan Dunwith,
The next step on the downward path will undoubtedly be fashions the cover every part of the body BUT the genitals which should be kept ever ready for ACTION whenever and wherever the opportunity arises.
I almost ruined my keyboard when I read that part of your comment. Somehow, I managed to gulp down the coffee that I was sipping as I was looking at the computer monitor.
That word muffin tops is one of the best English compound word.
It sounds funny, it looks funny and I laugh each time I hear it.
Thanks, AOW!!
I have a new "fantasy" now.
I want to see Ducky in this outfit.
Shortly after the teachers became unionized, they demanded the elimination of a dress code, even in elementary school where my children attended.
The weak knee'd principal went along with the union.
My children had to abide by my dress code for them, as did many others minding their Moms.
These days it seems most parents have lost control or don't care. Either way, they're not doing what's best for their children, IMO.
Self esteem isn't something you can give someone else, it has to be acquired by the individual living up to expectations of merit, decency, and self respect.
At least that's how I see it.
On a side note, the wonderful results of leftist policies in CA.
But yes they want the middle class to do better.
How can people believe them. I still don't get it.
You mean you have a camel toe
And gays are stoned too
@EB
"You mean you have a camel toe..."
Nah...EB...his moms....his moms.
Who cares? We have much more to be concerned about.
We had dress codes in school. Not a big deal if you ask me. There are dress codes in the business world too.
Casual or come as you are is for your personal time.
Hey, try to get a good job wearing a T-shirt that says Go-Apeshit.
What is it you want? Good income or some adolescent anarchy.
duck supports the muslims (shocka) and libgirl likes populist derogatory terms about women.
Go librtads ! /sarc
Fat people squeeze themselves into these skin suits because all the skinny people are wearing fat people pants falling off their ass.
Kid, here's what I fear's coming:
Someone COULD get a job, even in an office, with that saying on his T shirt at the interview...seriously!
Worked 12 hours today, but DID find time for a birthday lunch with a friend ...am exhausted..
but I LOVE working again after so many years(most of the time):-)
PRIS: I wish YOU were the president of the Board of Education for Los Angeles and the Greater LA AREA :-) YOU have been so wonderfully active in the schooling of your kids and the district, when they were young..and I WISH you could do that for ALL our kids!
You GO, Girl! xxx
Wow Z, thank you! I'd sure shake things up wouldn't I?
Sorry to be such a dumb @$$ but what does :-) mean?
Thank goodness I have boys!
The schools my boys attend have strict guidelines when it comes to apparel, caps worn right, no baggy pants, modesty and so forth. If they are dressed inappropriately the kids parents are called and must go home and change.
Parents aren't stupid they see what their kids are wearing before they drop them at school or when they leave the house. They don't care. These are lazy parents that could careless how per vocative their daughter's clothing are. And I am sad to say, some mother's are competing with their young daughters in the clothing department.
...per vocative is right.
Last night, I attended the memorial service for the homeschool mom who recently died of breast cancer. She was 41 years old and had five children 10 years old or younger.
This memorial service was held in a large church.
The hall was packed (well over 500 in attendance) -- the vast majority of Ethiopian descent as the young woman was an immigrant from Ethiopia. Others besides Ethiopians also attended -- white people, in other words. Most of the attendants (ushers and the like) were white.
Now, how does this relate to this post? All the females of Ethiopian descent were dressed elegantly and modestly. All the females of all ages! The children and teenagers, too.
But among the whites? Well, SOME of the white females were dressed appropriately. But MOST of the white females of all ages looked like sluts: short skirts, skin-tight leggings with short and/or revealing tops, etc. I kid you not!
LOL to Kid's comment:
Hey, try to get a good job wearing a T-shirt that says Go-Apeshit.
It means rotate 90 degrees clockwise.
AOW...perfect example of what we were saying... somehow, the Ethiopian women found decent clothes, huh?
Come to think of it, I attended a huge 'tea' for Black Pastor's wives and friends/family last month...700 black women and girls and 20 of us white girls who supported a friend who was there. None of the young black girls there looked like tramps; they looked fabulous (3 were students at my school, coincidentally)
I think it boils down to FAMILY: I know "pastors kids" (PKs) can be THE rowdiest girls EVER but not these black young women.
interesting, huh?
Where have the parents been, Z. Don't they pay any attention how their daughters are dressing? That the Pricipal had to send a note home answers my question. So, the new norm is if you got it, flaunt it. And, even if you don't got it, flaunt it. Cplor me sad.
Cons on Fire...I tried to comment at your place and have to log in again...............
will try again; to pooped right now.
and WHY ??? I typed two comments and finally was asked to log in..ugh
Post a Comment