High school student told to stop dressing in "disruptive" clothes

Sounds like a parental case of sparing the rod and spoiling the child.

As much as this kid has a right to express himself (and I soooo want to be there in 20 years, when he looks at old photos of himself and realizes how dopey he really looked) the other students in that school have just as much of a right to get the education they are there to get, the one that this kid's denying them with his "look at me! I'm different!" nonsense.

Maybe school uniforms aren't such a bad thing.

Jersey Chick said:

As much as this kid has a right to express himself ...

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Not while he's living under my roof.

I think the school should enforce the head-covering regulation they've got and, beyond that, leave him be.

As far as I can tell he looks ridiculous, but apparently, that's who he is. The other students need to be able to get what they need out of their day despite the monumental effort it takes to ignore one goofball. The sooner they learn the world doesn't stop for their discomfort or distraction, the better.

See? This why I am all for uniforms at educational facilities.

Actually, I don't have a problem with uniforms either.

I'm with SF here. This is a parental problem, not a school or government problem. Basic socialization is the parent's responsibility, and this guy obviously hasn't been house trained.

Although I'm with you here, Max, in principle, we don't protect legit aka concentrated education this way, thus this kid has every right to be "himself." And as such, I think his defining wardrobe is none of the school's business. . . .

Perks said:

I think the school should enforce the head-covering regulation they've got and, beyond that, leave him be.

As far as I can tell he looks ridiculous, but apparently, that's who he is. The other students need to be able to get what they need out of their day despite the monumental effort it takes to ignore one goofball. The sooner they learn the world doesn't stop for their discomfort or distraction, the better.

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And, yet again. What she said.

poetinahat said:

Meanwhile, back in the 21st century...

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...kids are spoiled rotten and free to cause disruptions in school.

I didn't read the whole article, but I don't see how the parents are called into question here. He dresses in womens clothes and says that that's who he is. I seriously doubt it's who he aint. Whatever, the parents support him. How are they bad parents? There are worse things this kid could be.

Like Perks said, if they have a headdress regulation (although what would they say to a Muslim student?) then they should enforce that code. But beyond that, telling the kid he should dress more "manly"? That's inappropriate.

Jersey Chick said:

Maybe school uniforms aren't such a bad thing.

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I have to say I agree with this.



~Sam

Where I went to high school, we had incredibly strict rules. I can still remember most of them: no piercings on men, only ear-piercings allowed on women, no shorts allowed, no skirts shorter than knee-length, no spaghetti-strap shirts on women, no facial hair allowed, no head coverings of any sort, men's hair couldn't be long enough to touch the shoulders, no tattoos whatsoever, and more. I can't remember the rest.

And it was ridiculous.

I'm on the student's side on this one. The school needs to remove the pine cone.

Meh. He does sound like an attention whore, but so are lots of other teens. And honestly, I don't buy the school's whining that his clothing is "disruptive." You're telling me nobody else at his school wears weird crap? Nobody else tries to get attention? It's basic rebellious teenage behavior.

When I was in high school a decade ago, we had a guy who wore a dog collar with a chain... which his girlfriend would use to lead him around. Another dude started wearing skirts. Both initially caused a stir, but after about a week it just became normal. Skirt dude wore skirts. And no, he wasn't even homosexual as far as I know, he was just kind of a jerk.

Even further back in junior high, our class president became obsessed with Anne Rice and decided to turn herself into a vampire. She painted her face white, dyed her (bright red) hair black, and wore fake fangs. Again, it was initially a little weird... and then just the norm.

Teenagers do this crap precisely because they know it will get a rise out of people, particularly adults. The adults are encouraging him by making this a big deal.

You know, there's an issue here that hasn't been addressed. Is this boy having gender identify issues? If so, then I'd have a different opinion on what's going on.

However, if he's just being a jackass and trying to draw attention to himself, that's where as the parent I say, "you're not leaving the house dressed like that."

katiemac said:

Like Perks said, if they have a headdress regulation (although what would they say to a Muslim student?)

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This is a sticky wicket for many schools. They say it's a safety issue and also used to control gang posturing in some places, but many take it as an attack on Islam.

We were not allowed to wear hats in school, but we had an international student body, so there were some students who wore religious headgear and, as far as I could tell, nobody really cared.

But times, they are a-changin'.

Lots of men who wear womens clothes are straight. I've met a few.

One got a sex change to become a woman so that she could get in a relationship with a lesbian.

She, I would say had gender identity issues, but I'm not one to judge. She was a nice guy.

There are worse things this kid could be.

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True 'dat.

Perks said:

We were not allowed to wear hats in school, but we had an international student body, so there were some students who wore religious headgear and, as far as I could tell, nobody really cared.

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This mirrors my experience. We had a few Muslims and (I think) a Sikh. But I must stress I graduated a few months before the 11 Sept terrorist attacks.

But times, they are a-changin'.

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Shadow_Ferret said:

You know, there's an issue here that hasn't been addressed. Is this boy having gender identify issues? If so, then I'd have a different opinion on what's going on.

However, if he's just being a jackass and trying to draw attention to himself, that's where as the parent I say, "you're not leaving the house dressed like that."

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The second article suggests he's homosexual, if not bisexual, but despite what I just said I don't really see the need to label the kid. Straight men wear women's clothes. Transvestites. (Look, more labels.)

Like Jo said, lots of high school kids dress differently than what adults would call the "norm."

But even when I was younger I hated the idea of school uniforms. Luckily I never had to wear them, but it seemed unfair to me that every representation of school uniform I saw meant the girls had to wear skirts and the boys, pants. Nobody should be forced into gender norms. I can understand the school wanting to downplay "disruptiveness," whatever they mean exactly by this, but I take real issue with the fact the kid was told to dress more manly.

I'd guess that, if the staff member actually said "manly", the school is going to find itself on shaky legal ground.`

Um... the article said he moved in with his sister, who didn't have a problem with his dress (I'm assuming). His parents, however, did have a problem with it.

Escobar said he moved to Cobb County from Miami to live with his older sister. His Florida school didn't have an issue with the way he dressed, but his parents did.

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Maybe they aren't to blame after all?

katiemac said:

Like Jo said, lots of high school kids dress differently than what adults would call the "norm."

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And that's on the parents. They're kids. Far as I'm concerned they aren't old enough to make decisions on how to dress, and generally make the wrong decisions.

Its like the parents who let their girls go dresses like Madonna during the "Like a Virgin" phase. I have no idea how you let your daughter out of the house looking like a slut.

Call me old fashioned, but the parents dictate fashion choices.