In article .com,
says...


nimue wrote:

Teenagers want to be able to express themselves through their clothing. I
have no problem with that. I don't want to squash their individuality. I
don't want to control every aspect of their lives. I just want them IN
CLASS. Let them have their high school fun; the real world will come along
soon enough.


School IS the real world. It is the job of 14-18 year olds.
And of course they can express their individuality through clothing.
THere are score of options that they can wear that meet the dress code.
Now, if their 'individuality' requires that they go to school 3/4's
naked, or dressed in gang-wear, perhaps their career goals lean towards
exotic dancer or drug dealer ... and neither of those requires a high
school diploma.


Few teens actually dress to express their individuality. Quite the opposite.
They dress for peer group identification.

Not that that's necessarily all bad, but it's not this vaunted project in
self-actualization that an enlightened institution needs to respect, either. It
can darn well happen during non-school hours, or in more subtle ways within a
dress code.

Banty


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5222154.stm