I got a lot of responses from people regarding my column last
week about the school transportation situation in Gilroy.
I got a lot of responses from people regarding my column last week about the school transportation situation in Gilroy. I am considering ordering some custom shirts and bumper stickers for all those beleaguered parents. You too may want to let the world know that “my children and my gas money go to Gilroy Unified Schools.”
I was fascinated with the story this week about school uniforms. I remember being a big fan of school uniforms when they were first proposed many years ago.
I was told that school uniforms were economical, promoted school pride, and that students tended to behave better when wearing a school uniform. It didn’t seem entirely unreasonable to me, so I jumped right onto the uniform bandwagon.
I purchased several uniform jumpers, skirts, blouses, pants, shorts and sweaters. I learned early on that uniform jumpers and skirts were a waste of money.
My daughters are both very active girls, and were more comfortable wearing pants on the jungle gym. I had purchased a blue and white checkered jumper, which I was told was the Rucker uniform jumper. My daughter was one of only four girls in the school who owned the uniform jumper. So we decided to stick to the basics.
I purchased two Rucker winter jackets. By the time they grew into them, it was the next school year. That year a new cougar logo was introduced. Our almost new school jackets were fast becoming obsolete. The Rucker School policy allowed for red, white and blue clothing. At the same time, they were on the lookout for gang-related red or blue clothing. I was confused.
So, like half of the families in Rucker, we abandoned the uniform. I still tried to keep my children in the school colors, and we purchased all the Rucker Theater Arts shirts which were considered part of the uniform, even though they came in a multitude of colors.
But I began to realize that the clothes don’t make the student. Rucker students are well-behaved, and do very well in school, uniform or not.
They have a lot of school spirit and pride, whether they are in uniform or not. I see no behavioral difference between students who wear the school uniform and students who waive out of the uniform.
I applaud those schools for whom the uniform policy is working.
I don’t know why the policy works so well at one school and not at another. At the end of the day, I believe that a school uniform policy is a peripheral issue that only truly works at the elementary schools. By middle school, you shouldn’t force a child to wear pleated shorts.
GUSD dress code policy is something else entirely. I believe that there needs to be stricter enforcement of dress code for middle and high school students. There are a bunch of girls in Gilroy who look like poor imitations of Jodie Foster in the movie “Taxi Driver.” I see young girls around town who look like hookers, except they are carrying backpacks and walking near a school each morning. Last week, I saw a girl wearing a skin tight “Foxy” shirt and a miniskirt which was riding low enough to show off her belly button ring. She was getting out of a minivan. One can only hope that this was the family car.
And then there are the boys. I have five brothers, none of whom were fashion conscious growing up. No, that wasn’t Eminem outside of Gilroy High School, just one of his fans. I don’t think I am the only one wondering why some boys feel the need to wear pants that are just too baggy. Maybe those huge pants double as tents. Maybe they have pockets large enough to accommodate a laptop.
Either way, it’s not a good look. I am pretty open minded when it comes to dress codes. I have no problem with would-be hippies, freaks, preppies, goths, punks, trendy hair, makeup, tattoos or piercings. I just think that all of our students should be wearing clothes that fit them; in other words clothes that won’t fall off or expose Victoria’s secrets under normal conditions.
I better leave it at that. As of this moment, I am in severe danger of becoming my mother.
