Dear Adults Part Two

There are ways to handle customer service issues/grievances with those who provide us with goods and services. Social media should be your last resort and only if all other methods of communication have failed.

Another example: your child's school's dress policy. It is clearly written and clearly stated, for the most part. If there are any gray areas, then it can be addressed with the Principal first, the school board and then the Superintendent. If it goes that far. Sometimes, it's not worth the fight. Just like a job and society and well, life in general, there are rules. Some seem crazy, irrational and some are outdated but when you signed on the dotted line, you agreed to abide by these rules.

Of course, there are exceptions to rules and should be reviewed on a case by case basis.  Some employers are and may become lax to enforcing some rules b/c the work is being done and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. A lot of times, Upper Management is so out of touch with the jobs of those under them, that they forget what it was like to be in their position; that's IF they worked their way up to their position. But that's another topic for another day. Back to the school dress code - as an example, I am using the Tuscaloosa City Schools' dress code policy listed on their website.

The Importance of an Effective Dress Code Policy

The Tuscaloosa City Board of Education recognizes the effect which student dress and grooming have upon the behavior and commitment to learning of all students. It further recognizes the vital role parents play in assisting their children in making appropriate choices regarding clothing, accessories and personal appearance for a successful school experience.

In order to maintain an atmosphere conductive to learning, the Board requires all students to make good choices with regard to their personal appearance.

Attire considered disruptive, that seriously distracts from the learning environment, or that could present a health or safety problem is not appropriate in an educational setting.

To assist our students to Dress for Success, the Board has adopted the following mandatory rules concerning dress and grooming:

1. Clothing appearance or personal hygiene and grooming practices that draw an inordinate amount of attention to the individual student is considered inappropriate for school. The dress and or grooming style of any student must not interfere with the educational process or safety of other students in the Tuscaloosa City Schools. <<This goes without saying but sadly, must be said. Take pride in your appearance and your child's appearance. Parents, dress as though you may have to walk your child in...because you just might have to. 
2. Shirts and blouses should be tucked into pants and or skirts if they are designed to be tucked in. No oversized tops may be worn. Pants must be worn at waist and may not be oversized, too tight or allowed to sag. Undergarments must not be exposed. Pant legs must be uniform length and may not drag on the floor. Belts must be worn with pants with belt loops. No pajamas or sleepwear are allowed. << Wear properly fitting clothes. Look neat, clean and presentable. Your clothes are an extension of you and and can be a reflection of you. It tells a lot about you before you even open your mouth. You can still be trendy and express yourself but do it creatively and within the guidelines. It will not stifle your child's creativity one bit to conform to the school's dress code policy. They can wear the non-school appropriate clothes, shoes, styles etc after school, holidays and weekends.
3. Students are not to wear clothing that reveals the body in an inappropriate manner. Examples: Clothing which it too tight, too short, bare at the midriff, bare at sides, sun dresses or other "spaghetti strap" type tops, off the shoulder tops, low cut fronts or back tops, sheer or see through clothing. Undergarments should be worn in an appropriate manner and should not be visible. << Please do not come to school showing your cleavage, your stomach, your lower back, your tramp stamps, your ashy thighs, your side boob, your ass cheeks, your print or your camel toe. Real simple. Save it for SnapChat.
4. Students may wear shorts to school under the following stipulations: Shorts must be hemmed. Old worn/torn or other type cut offs, gym or nylon type, spandex, sweat type, tennis, swim suit type shorts are not allowed. << No cut off jeans unless you get them hemmed & they must be an appropriate length - longer than your longest fingertip and/or at least bermuda style. No thirst trap sweatpants. No gym shorts outside of gym and after school practice. No spandex. No swim shorts. Real simple. Again. Wear that after school, holidays and weekends...and at the swimming pool. 
5. Length of shorts, dresses, skirts and including tops worn over leggings/jeggings shall be no more than five inches above mid-knee. Length must be appropriate whether the student is standing or sitting. << Well, there you go. Leggings and jeggings are in style but the shirts must cover at least to mid-thigh, if you are going to wear them. It had to be specified. It doesn't matter if Mary wore inappropriate lengths and clothes yesterday and didn't get caught and your child wore them the next day and did. THE RULES ARE THE RULES EVEN IF NO ONE IS FOLLOWING THEM OR GETTING CAUGHT BREAKING THEM! They will eventually catch Mary or she'll conform. If you get arrested for stealing, do you go down there and give them a list of folks that are stealing too and have yet to be caught? (We will cover this in another post called: What Is A Snitch?) I mean, you can say that but you are still getting arrested anyway. 

And what I don't get is, going down to the school, cursing everybody out about it looking fine and they could let him/her wear whatever when the policy clearly states - don't. Or there will be consequences. It doesn't matter how you alter it, #IssaNo. It doesn't matter what you put under the non-policy clothes to make it seem that your child is following policy, #IssaNo. It doesn't matter how cute your child looks in the non-policy outfit, #IssaNo.

There are five more rules but I think you get the point. You can read the rules and the consequences for not following the dress code policy below:

Tuscaloosa City Schools' Dress Code Policy

Pretty self-explanatory, right? These are not rules that don't apply b/c Mary didn't get flagged so your child shouldn't either. If you are caught and the employee wishes to pursue a dress code violation demerit against your child, then that's just what it is. Your child may not get flagged every time that they are out of uniform or violate the dress code policy but why take the chance? There are much bigger battles to be fought in our system. The dress code policy is NOT one of them, in my most humble opinion. Pick your battles.

Where You Need To Be & When: Upcoming Dates for Tusc City Schools