Category: Dress Code

The dress code in public and private schools has remained a thorny issue since America’s independence. Attempts by individual schools to introduce dress codes have historically been fought off by parents and interest groups. This resistance has robbed the country and many independent schools the chance to practically illustrate how the effectiveness of such a policy in improving educations systems. This essay will argue the importance of dress through various reasons that are contained in concurrent sections.

Most, if not all, small communities in the United States have rules and regulations on how residents should conduct themselves. In fact, such societal codes help establish order and structure in respective communities. Lack of the same leads to abuse of liberties and corruption of morals becomes a daily occurrence. In this understanding, individual members of the society are quick to ensure that local codes are well respected by their fellow residents and visitors.

Leads on these communities are further tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all were acting in accordance with the codes. Considering that are small communities in all rights, they should be accorded the liberty to determine dress codes for its members, which has not been the case throughout two centuries of independent America. People against dress codes claim that such laws intrude into individual liberty, which is a big understatement because society codes are most intrusive.

Dress codes issues in America have been serious to an extent that students have historically taken school administration to courts because of infringing on individual free expression contained in the 1^st and 14^th amendments (Libertarian Rock). In 1969, for instance, students in Des Moines, Iowa, won a court case against their school after being suspended for wearing a black armband as a Vietnam War protest (Bartlett 1003).

Such court cases have made schools wearier regarding suspensions and disciplinary actions relating to the school dress code. Some students have, on the other hand, take advantage of schools administrations’ in their fears to tolerate dressing modes little do they know they are blocking the development of proper learning environments.

An elevated education experience requires students to be provided with the right atmosphere with minimal distraction. The mode of dressing academic institutions is part and parcel of this environment and there should be no argument about that. Unfortunately for most5 of America’s academic institutions, teachers are expected to be at the forefront of following decent dress codes; students seem to be free to wear whatever they feel like. One only wonders why there have to be double standards among individuals comprising a social community. It is high time for America to call an end to double standards, failure of which could lead to deterioration of an already sorry situation.

According to Ballis (126) eliminating the dress code helps reduce possibilities of ridicule on students that may not be fortunate enough to afford the latest fashion. This arises from fact that students tend to compete on the ones among them having most of the latest fashions, leading to the unfortunate ones feeling out of place. Some even get public humiliation for wearing yesteryears styles to an extent that they feel depressed, which could further affect educational attainment. This dilemma can easily get controlled through the dress code, which equalizes the students. Bartlett (998) notes that countries with dress codes (many actually have school uniform uniforms laws) do not experience the ridicule challenges that affect the American educations system.

The sense of equality among students thus leads to higher attainment levels among children that would have otherwise dropped from schools or would have transferred from one institution to the other looking for a better educational environment. Other than improving educational morale, dress codes helping improve student safety in schools. For instance, dress codes provide gangs with challenges of displaying their insignia or colors (Ballis 125).

Taking such measures would therefore lead to a reduction of inter-gang-related violence that has been threatening to learn in American schools. All these positive results form key foundations of creating better education environments that allow students to achieve their respective academic goals and proceed to higher institutions of learning.

Enacting dress codes in schools also serves as a good way of cultivating discipline among students. Understanding that there are rules and regulations that govern how they express themselves would indeed be vital for them in their respective academic and working careers. Students who are subjected to dress codes are more likely to continue observing how they dress, express, and present themselves to other people.

In addition, students with such experience are more likely to increase self-confidence, because they ensure being well presentable to their peers and superiors, which is an all-important attitude to develop in the early stages of their lives. Dress codes also help students overcome peer pressure that hugely affects student behavior. The slow erosion of peer pressure will therefore improve the school environment and therefore education attainment levels.

The erosion of peer pressure and student cliques has a high tendency of improving integration in the respective student body in terms of culture, talent, and interests. This would create cohesion among students as they get to know and interact with each other. In this regard, the diversity in the student body would become the fabric that holds school society together. The equality developed through the dress code would therefore form a key foundation for a better school environment for students from all backgrounds. The implementation of dress codes would go a long way into solidifying cohesion in smaller communities that host schools with such laws.

Having a dress code is, therefore, an important tool for developing an appropriate educational environment. The most important aspect of the dress code is equalizing students from various backgrounds, and thus enable them to mix with each other without creating cliques that hamper educational activities. Such a result has been termed to provide kids from unfortunate families to retain their morale and thus complete education like their counterparts. Further, cohesion enables teachers to concentrate on academic issues without being distracted by disciplinary measures that need to be addressed on a constant basis.

Opponents of the school dress code need to consider these positives before they embark on admonishing the measure. Considering that it is improper to force students in adhering to dress codes, individual schools should embark on undertaking elaborate measures of convincing students on the virtue of this matter. Schools administration should first educate parents and other stakeholders on educational and societal benefits that would accrue from implementing dress codes in schools. Parents should then take on the mantle of helping their children understand the real reason for dress codes and how their educational experienced would be enhanced.

Works Cited

Ballis, Samuel. ‘Dress Codes in Public School.’ Southwestern Law. 62 (1999): 125–145.

Bartlett, Larry. ‘Trends in Education Law,’ Urban Lawyer. 37 (2004): 956–1010.

Libertarian Rock. Dress Code & American Constitution. 1999. Libertarian Rock. Web.

PS Parents. Dress Code. 2004. PS Parents. Web.

The need to introduce dress codes in all educational institutions can be listed among the most widely discussed topics regarding students’ rights. Today, many researchers against the introduction of strict rules for school children refer to creative ability and self-expression in their arguments. Dress codes, and especially school uniforms, urge students to wear clothes that they do not choose. To some extent, it runs counter to the freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment (“School dress codes,” 2017).

Self-expression is extremely important for teenagers, but not all its forms are socially acceptable. Instead of letting children wear clothes that they want, about two-thirds of schools in the United States utilize dress code policies that are rather strict (“School dress codes,” 2017). In the context of dress codes, self-expression remains a tricky question. However, it does not always involve wearing something really provocative or even offensive, such as clothes with controversial slogans. Many children who do not belong to subcultures just want to choose their favorite colors or express their mood with the help of clothes, and prohibiting it does not seem just.

Self-expression can also be related to socialization and differences between social groups, and dress codes attempt to create “artificial” uniformity. Being urged to wear only approved clothes, students are deprived of an opportunity to understand the differences between social groups and the unique problems of their social class. For instance, practices banning certain hairstyles popular among racial minorities are still used in some institutions “that were exclusively white” two decades ago (Chutel, 2018, para. 4).

Thus, some dress code rules can be regarded as harmful because they decrease the visibility of racial and ethnic minorities. Importantly, this tendency is true for social classes; when all children are dressed the same, social inequality becomes less visible, but it does not disappear.

In the modern world, dress codes are also used to promote the “right” relationships between men and women, which makes them harmful for the latter. For example, many types of clothes popular among female students (especially during hot weather) are considered to be “sexually suggestive” (“School dress codes,” 2017, para. 7). According to the proponents of such rules for teenage girls, short skirts and similar clothes contribute to sexual crime in schools (“School dress codes,” 2017). As a result, female students are objectified and shamed based on their clothing choices.

Despite the popularity of arguments about creativity, school dress codes are believed to have a variety of advantages related to their initial intended purposes. One of the functions of school uniforms is to minimize differences in appearance and, therefore, improve student safety (“School uniforms,” 2018). At the same time, the positive impact of dress codes is related to students’ academic performance (Daniels, 2005). By creating uniformity, stricter rules manage to distract children from “showing off their wealth” or demonstrating subculture or religious affiliation (“School uniforms,” 2018, para. 4).

Given the ability of these restrictions to reduce conflicts and prevent educational stratification, more attention is paid to the acquisition of knowledge during lessons. The positive effects of measures for creating uniformity were observed in a variety of experiments. After the implementation of school uniform policies in a school district in California, fights between students decreased by more than fifty percent, and even more, significant decreases were observed in drug usage (“School uniforms,” 2018). Thus, the positive effects of uniforms should also be acknowledged.

References

Chutel, L. (2018). Dress codes that restrict natural hairstyles harm black students. Web.

Daniels, S. (2005). School dress codes are necessary and constitutional. Web.

School dress codes. (2017). Web.

School uniforms. (2018). Web.

Introduction

The dress has become a vital aspect in the physical appearance of human beings. All religions or cultures have their own unique modes of dressing understood by the members of the society. The manner in which a person is dressed has led to views and signals indicating the message being conveyed by the dress. The dressing code of a person may indicate his/her religious affiliation, sexual orientation, social class and/or marital status. The following are some of the situations viewed differently and are influenced by religion or culture of a particular society.

Sexual Display

Sexual appeal with regard to dressing styles can be displayed when a person wears tight fitting and body revealing clothing. Sexual appeals have their places in culture and in most cases; it can lead to victimization of females in the society. In modern culture, sexual appeal among females is mainly directed towards competition for male attention.

Dressing to show sexual orientation depends on the value systems of the person or the society. Cultural value systems have significant effects in determining a person’s strengths and weaknesses concerning the lifestyle. Western cultures have individualistic perspectives on the value systems while Eastern cultures are controlled by collectivist viewpoints according to Snyder and Lopez (2007). In European cultures, a single person is held in high esteem when they are considered to be important. This makes it possible for everyone to have his or her value system totally different from the rest of the group. In the eastern cultures, a group is valued more than the individual; therefore, everyone has to behave according to the value systems governing the whole group (Bolt, 2004).

Modesty

Various cultures and religious groups normally insist on their standards of modesty in dressing to be followed by every individual. Modest dressing is one of those issues considered as very important in the Islamic culture. One modesty rule held by Muslims is that, women are required to wear the hijab, covering all parts of the body except the hands and the face as a assign of modesty. The wearing of the hijab is part of their value system which seems to govern the whole group; no woman is expected to violate the value systems of the Muslim culture.

Christians on the other hand are expected to dress modestly. Christian guidelines on modest dressing indicate that women should cover their upper arms and shoulders. Women clothing, for instance, the skirt should cover up to the knee and the neckline should not reveal anything. Christian modesty rule on dressing also applies to men though they are not always strict as it is with the case of women’s dressing styles.

Dressing styles works best according to different cultures and their value systems. It cannot be said that the western culture is the standard and the best dressing style – better than the eastern cultures. Therefore we must use culture as a lens for evaluating whether dressing style or any other characteristic can be considered a strength or weakness within a particular culture (Snyder and Lopez, 2007).

Dressing styles can declare a person to be a member of certain religion or culture. Clothes may also signify dissent from cultural beliefs as well as personal independence. Muslims may show their religious affiliation by wearing turbans and other religious dresses. In modern cultures, dressing controls and conveys a special message to the society. Extensive change in dressing styles require time, resources (money) and effort to effect. It may take generations to change the dressing style of a particular culture. When dressing style changes, the message conveyed by the cloths also changes.

Conclusion

In summary, every person has amoral duty to obey morality rules concerning body modesty. Universally accepted modesty standards do not allow non-essential exposure of the body. Some of the body parts that should not be uncovered to ensure good modesty standards in the society include; bare skin, hair and undergarments especially those of the private/ intimate body parts. Dress code and modesty in the society should conform to the moral rules regardless of a person’s religion or culture.

References

1. Bolt, M. (2004). Pursuing Human Strengths: A Positive Psychology Guide. New York: Worth Publishing. Pp 50-76.
2. Lopez, S. J. and Snyder, C. R. (2007). Positive Psychology: the Scientific and Practical Explorations of Human Strengths. Los Angeles: SAGE. pp 43-46

Do you think Cohen had a right to be offended? Why or why not?

When it comes to discussing dress code, opinions may vary considerably, mostly because there seem to be no established rules as for the outfits which employees are to wear in the companies worldwide or even countrywide. Since every enterprise or even a smaller company has full rights to set its specific dress code rules, the employees’ right to wear whatever they want as long as the clothes do not abuse the existing morals is quite hard to prove. Because of considerably loose general instructions of how employees should dress in the companies, Cohen’s case is rather hard to judge. However, in the above-mentioned situation, it seems that both opponents were mistaken.

On the one hand, the employee who commented on Jennifer’s looks should have chosen different tactics to express her opinion on the woman’s clothes. While there is nothing wrong with the former passing a judgment on the way in which Jennifer dressed, it should have been worded in a milder form. Thus, Jennifer’s feelings would not have been hurt and she would have considered the criticism in a more constructive way. Secondly, the critic should have taken into account that his/her idea of dressing properly is not the only right one and other options are possible.

However, Jennifer could have also kept in mind that for official events like a meeting, a more conservative manner of dressing is appropriate and that some conservative people might consider her looks too vulgar or careless. Therefore, both opponents have a lot to learn in terms of diplomacy.

In explaining why she was offended, Cohen argued, “People my age are taught to express themselves, and saying something negative about someone’s fashion is saying something negative about them.” Do you agree with Cohen?

While it is rather unpleasant when someone accuses one of being dressed in a too vulgar manner or wearing something that other people might interpret as a sign of silliness, I do not think that what people wear defines their personality. For me personally, clothes perform their basic function, namely, serve as a number of items which are supposed to be out on each for a specific occasion, be it a business meeting, a walk along the seashore or a party at a friend’s house.

Therefore, any clothes convey a certain message to people, and, sadly enough, these messages are mostly stereotypical: a business suit for working in the office, a jacket and jeans for having a walk, a pajama for sleeping. There is a place for expressing oneself with the help of clothes, a dn that place is definitely not the office. Hence, I believe that Cohen was wrong in the given case.

Does an employer have an unfettered right to set a company’s dress code? Why or why not?

As it has been mentioned before, it seems to me that a company must offer a certain dress code or, at least, certain boundaries in terms of clothes, for its employees. If employees start setting their own dress codes, first of all, numerous arguments will emerge, since people have different ideas of a dress code; and, secondly, the possibility for an inappropriate dress code to be set (e.g., the rule for employees to wear only blue clothes, or forbidding to wear jeans) is quite high. Hence, a company must provide its own dress code for all employees.

Introduction

This attire and grooming manual provides the guidelines appropriate for workplace appearance for all members of staff. The issues covered include clothing, hygiene, as well as natural and artificial scents. It is expected that departmental heads will use the guidelines to create an appropriate work setting for all the employees under them. In addition, the manual will help employees to be presentable to their superiors, colleagues, and clients. The guidelines provided in this manual will also cover attires to be worn in exceptional times when one is on duty. Such occasions include holidays, cold seasons, and weekends. In addition, the guide provides corrective action for employees who fail to abide by the set guidelines.

The figure below illustrates the contents of this manual:

Objective

The organization will create an environment to help the workers and other stakeholders optimize their productivity. Distractions from some of the workers will be eliminated. Such distractions may affect the delivery and performance of the entire workforce. To achieve this objective, the company requires all employees from the executive level to maintain neat and clean grooming levels. The appearance is deemed appropriate for the workplace and the work being carried out. To this end, the head of each department will determine the right attire and grooming for their subordinates.

The picture below is an Illustration of appropriate attire for men and women working in a formal setting:

Procedures

Every employee is required to carry themselves professionally. Neat and acceptable personal appearance is one of the requirements for employment in the organization. New employees should be made aware of the company’s dress code. This should be done by heads of departments during orientation. Any queries concerning the issue should be forwarded to the immediate supervisor (Greenleaf, 2010).

Appropriate action should be taken on any employee who fails to adhere to the grooming guidelines. In addition, the member of staff may be forced to leave the workplace and change their clothing or get rid of the annoying scents. It should also be noted that part-time and hourly paid employees will not be compensated for work missed as a result of punitive action. In addition, all employees, regardless of their rank in the firm, must wear the organization’s identification badge at all times when in the workplace. The aim is to enhance transparency in the workplace.

Specific Requirements

Certain employees may be required to meet special attire and grooming guidelines. Such guidelines include putting on uniforms during specific work occasions. During such times, the uniforms will be provided by heads of departments or the line supervisors. In special situations, such as during hot or cold seasons, members of staff may be allowed to dress in other attires other than the normal. However, the employees will still be expected to groom in an acceptable manner and not take advantage of such situations.

Grounds for Religious Beliefs

The organization acknowledges and appreciates the religious and cultural diversity of the employees. As a result, the company will accommodate some dressing codes related to certain pious groups, such as the Muslims and the Hindu. Some Hindus, for example, tie turbans on their heads (Taylor, 2011). On their parts, Muslim men wear special caps. Below is an illustration of a Muslim cap that is permissible at the workplace for men:

Official and Business Attire

The table below shows the official attire for both male and female employees:

Table 2: Official attire for men and women

Casual Dress

The following table shows guidelines for casual wear in the office:

Table 3: Guidelines for casual wear in the office

The employees should familiarize themselves with the appropriate and inappropriate attire that should be worn at the workplace.

References

Chaney, L., & Martin, J. (2007). The essential guide to business etiquette. London: Praeger.

Greenleaf, C. (2010). The unwritten rules of the workplace: A guide to etiquette and attire for businessmen. Austin, TX: Emerald Book Company.