News-Record.com

Hi....

With SMOD and school uniforms being in place in schools for over 10 years , I would love to see some actual numbers and documentation of how it improves education and the classroom. No one has been able to document any improvements at all.

Those that support a SMOD will always say they see a difference because visually they do, but the kids know if it is actually changing the environment in the classroom.

I am sure that a teacher's perception of a student in a polo shirt and khaki pants is "how nice this student looks"...but a gang banger is still a gang banger...

Some think this is the bandaid solution for all of our schools problems...but as proven at the SMOD
enforced Southern High and Eastern Middle.....9 mm, cocaine, and majuana can still be carried and sold out of a pair of khaki pants......

I think this is just a feel good solution.......that does more to hide the actual problems than solve anything..

There is documentation that SMOD has absolutely no affect on EOC scores and reading scores in schools that have implemented this for years.

I personally think that if a dress code was enforced to the same degree that SMOD is enforced you would have the same result.. SMOD schools take the reigns and say to the parents and students...this is what we expect and this is the consequence....

Most schools have never tried this with their dress codes prior to going to the extreme of SMOD.....

I also want to be around when those that receive free and reduced lunches realize how dangerously close the Dudley SMOD is to being a Uniform. Under the "Mandatory Uniform Act" presented by Bill Clinton,

"public schools should provide uniforms when required for students that fall within the "Free and Reduced Lunch" poverty guidelines.....

Currently our PTA's are spending thousands of dollars on uniforms instead of on school supplies...

Watch out...it will not be long until our school budget includes a line item for school uniforms....which I am completely opposed to....

We do not have enough money for buildings, books and teachers now....yet we have to feed, cloth, ...what is next house everyone in public school....

This is socialism/communism rolled up into one.
The first thing that dictator style governments do is put all of the school students into uniforms. The first thing cults do is remove ones personal clothing and replace it with theirs.

We have taught our children for years about "diversity" yet now we are making them all dress like "white preps".....

What are we teaching the kids?

Should students miss class or be humiliated because they forgot their belt, it is brown not black,
or because the shirt is more of a faded navy than a royal blue....

Do you know some students only have enough SMOD clotes given to them by the school for three days? They have to wear the dirty ones to school because they do not own a washing machine and
are only able to go to the laudromat on Saturdays?.

Deny my child an education for one minute after I tell you I cannot afford these clothes....and I will own this school system.....I am waiting for this call!
.

I have just learned from a social worker and one who also manages foster families that this new "dress code policy" is creating a hardship for families. One school in our system requires different grade levels to wear certain colors of collared shirts, which I think is ridiculous. These families are having a hard time "conforming" to the new policy because of not being able to find certain colors that are required for the school "uniform", in addition to the extra expense. If the policy is such an issue to be adhered to, the school system should be supplying the uniforms.

I agree with the previous comment; I would like to see the stats on how this dress code policy is helpful in the education of our children. I think dress codes are needed to establish what is acceptable, but requiring certain colors, etc are unnessesary. Throughout our GCS system, all schools handle the dress code policy differently. It should be the same throughout, and should be one that everyone is able to adhere to regardless of income.

Wow...NOSMOD!
I love what you have said and as a parent of children who wear smod you have expressed every pain I have experienced with this smod mess. I have been told by my sons school that if I did not send him to school as they ask they would send him home. My sons school( Hairston)changed its Smod uniform this year so last years uniforms that I purchased are not exceptable. Each grade is identified by a color. One Color. White polo-6th, Black polo-7th, Gold polo-8th. So the money I would have used to buy him much needed school supplies and grocery so that he could have a good breakfast before school had to go to make my son look like a prisoner in the public school system. Mind you my son is an honor roll student and would be one one regardless of a uniform. I think making this kids dress in smod does not make their grades or character any better. If anything it makes those who can't afford that belt or proper shoes or the exact color shirt or pants stand out. My daughter is an 11th grader at Dudley and when I visit their campus i notice these kids find such creative ways to show their individuality that the smod most time is laughable.

Standard colors? Give me a break. Once again, our government is getting carried away and sticking its nose squarely where it doesn't below. A school official quoted in the article stated, "Green isn't one of our colors". I can only imagine, with dread and horror, that green has been quantitatively demonstrated to increase violence, pregnancy, drug use, drinking and even classroom day dreaming. How dare we create an unfunded mandate for parents like this.

Smod is ridiculous. The schools are using forceful dictation and intimidation tactics you find in communist countries. We will TELL you what to wear and if you don't do it we will withhold your childs education. If they enforced the old dress codes with the same vigor they are SMOD there would be no issues. Isn't it nice to have a small group of people tell you the styles and colors of clothing you should dress your children in because THEY think they look nice THEN force you to buy them! Silent compliance under threat is not support it is communism!

No matter how many times you ask for facts showing the impact of SMOD all you get is opinions from the administration. We think it is great, We think it is working well, We have seen great improvement and focus. What does this mean? It seems the feedback is filled with opinion but lacking in substance. Why? Because there is no factual evidence that SMOD impacts either grades or behavior in a positive manner.

Outlawing denim is ridiculous. It is economical, durable, and most people have it. Taking the stance that enforcing a dress code with jeans in it is impossible is also ridiculous. Any clothing can be worn inappropriately (too large, hanging off your hips ect). One code is as enforceable as the next if you desire to enforce it.

Why are we focusing on dress and appearance when there are so many more serious issues in our schools? Is this the best we can do? How do so many schools across the country succeed in teaching children who wear jeans and all colors of clothing?

The guilford county school board says "we will allow SMOD to be a site based decision as long as there is strong community support for it". Most schools know they do not have strong community support and that is why so few (if any) have executed a full and mandatory survey of ALL parents and children (The only way I know to tell if you really have strong support). They have no problem getting a message home to ask about volunteers they certainly could send home a slip of paper asking about SMOD. Why don't they? The answer is obvious.

I spent about $300 for two kids for one season to have MINIMAL clothing for SMOD at the cheaper stores in town. I'll do it again when the season changes. If a school has 500 students this means this little makeover has cost the community between $150,000 to $300,000 for something that "feels nice" but won't impact our kids education. What a waste. Is there anybody in the governing bodies with common sense left?

I have heard the argument that this makes it easier on the kids they don't have to worry about what to wear and competition in dress. My kids NEVER wasted a second on what to wear BEFORE SMOD now they are often stressed trying to decide if this shade will get "flagged" or these pants are acceptable. This whole thing is just another game played by the administration while the real issues don't get focus.

People need to press the issue and email and call the administrations. Let them know we have had enough !!! Remember, they are counting on your silent anger not doing anything about this. Prove them wrong and say ENOUGH you will NOT dictate how I dress my kids! Educate our children let us dress them!

I'm a student at Ragsdale and I hate it. I was disgusted my freshman year when in class one day, we smelled someone smoking in the bathroom. I said something about it to the teacher and the reply I got was "Just ignore it, itll go away in a few minutes." Really? That's it? The lasting effects of second-hand smoke last a lot longer than a "few minutes".
I applaud people during my lunch period when I see them being escorted to the "SMOD Closet" because the teachers find that there was green on someones shoes, or that your belt is the wrong size.
Walking through the halls, I've seen males wearing overly tight girls' kahkis and too-big kahkis (both of which I've been assured by authority figures they would NOT be allowed to do).
I've also seen many kids wearing jeans, jackets with the hoods sneakily tucked in, bandanas tucked underneath pants/shorts, and many other things.
If you're a jock, it seems you're exempt from the dress code. A Varsity football player was wearing yellow, and the entire JV Cheerleading team wore Green shirts and sweat pants. I was outraged. A friend started a petition against them and they are now outlawed. Of course that made the JV Cheerleaders mad, but I'm sure they'll get over it and see that they aren't special.
I know for a fact that SMOD does NOT affect test scores. Clothing doesn't teach us, help us take tests, write essays, or any other academic things we do.
Personally, we can do all of those things NUDE. (Not that we'd WANT to...)
I hope that our principal get's an education of her OWN and removes this ridiculous dress code.

I have seen SMOD work for the better in most cases. Many who comment and do not volunteer or support your school in any way do not understand what actually happens in school during the day. From a safety perspective, SMOD offers a quick identification method for individuals entering the school campus with a purpose to harm or remove students from campus. We face this every day at some point because our campuses are fully open to anyone who wishes to cause harm or just walk on campus. No, SMOD won't stop those who commit crimes because that's a character and behavioral thing. Its a choice that some kids make, but it will ease tension from fashions for a lot of our students. What has to happen is for the administration and staff to be consistent in their enforcement of SMOD policies. Kids will conform to whatever the policies are if they understand that all are being treated fairly. SMOD does not ask individuals to give up their identity, it simply puts in place a norm for the community in the school and makes it more managable for staff and the administrators. It also prepares them for professional jobs that many times require uniforms in some fashion. We may say, yea wait till then, but we are not being realistic. That is why many of our kids are not prepared. If you have a kid who functions well in school and can make the grade regardless, then he or she is not harmed in any way by having SMOD, but if you are a family who is struggling with a kid who could be an "A" student if given an opportunity to dismiss from his or her life the pressures of social fashions and norms by going to SMOD, then why not? My job requires a uniform and I wear it proudly because I know it says a lot about what I do and who I am. Kids need to understand that and not feel like what they wear is who they are. Underneath they are many things. We see it everyday in schools throughout Guilford County. So lets stop playing around with symantics and just see right through everything. Our schools need help. I would even consider a dress code that is strictly enforced schoolwide. We either have a strictly enforced countywide policy or SMOD. But we need something. Sooner or later we will look back and wished we had chosen something to protect our kids and prepare them for the future. Why do we have to learn from some tragic event before we act? Our kids deserve better academically and socially.

As a sixth grade parent newly facing this SMOD issue in Forsyth Co. I would like to answer to the school staff worker on the following points. My child does indeed function well in school but I do see the harm in SMOD. If you are concerned about people coming onto school property who do not belong, do you have any guarantee that they will not be dressed in SMOD approved style? Once the school uniform is known in the community, it can be easily reproduced for the purpose of sneaking on to campus unnoticed. Won't you actually become less vigilant about who is roaming the halls? It seems like a classic example of suffering from a false sense of security. Secondly, in regard to fashion pressures: how are these relieved? I went to a Catholic School with a very strict uniform (the kind Britany Spears has since turned into a dirty joke) for 12 years and everyone knew who had the expensive shoes and real diamonds in their ears. Isn't jealousy and envy a spiritual issue anyway? Try sitting the kids down in front of one of those Save the Hungry Children commercials for a few minutes and see if that doesn't put everything in perspective for them. Thirdly, an adult may choose to accept a uniform as part of his or her professional life but a child has it imposed upon them. See the difference? Finally, you state on the one hand that what you wear doesn't change who you are and yet go on to insist that somehow SMOD clothing somehow improves children's behavior. This is sophistry. Circular logic. Most kids I have spoken to have become more angry and resentful as a result of this unwarranted imposition on their lives. How is this helping? I absolutely agree that the public school system NEEDS HELP but I consider SMOD a distraction and false solution. Let us try to address the root causes of our problems and stop trying to whitewash them so we can pretend they are no longer there.

This is an obnoxious policy fad with no redeeming value whatsoever.

School uniforms represent not only an affront to a child's individuality, but an erosion of their civil liberties. Rules that serve no meaningful purpose are an abuse of authority, and a betrayal of the trust our children have put in us.

Students should be made to feel that they are partners in the educational process-not victims of it. Compelling schoolchildren to dress alike indicates a lack of confidence in their ability to make responsible choices.

SMOD/Uniform advocates rely on perceptions-not statistics-to support their arguments. Uniforms promote a false confidence in a superficial sense of order by creating the illusion that things are better than they really are.

There are no scientific studies that show uniforms improve a student's behavior, or their ability to learn. In fact the opposite is true. Uniform schools rank at the bottom academically, and actually have more disciplinary problems than those who don't.

It is unrealistic to attempt to eliminate gang violence by diluting the visual impact of gang presence, as members will always have a way of signifying their alliance. Uniforms just make it more difficult for the rest of us to figure out what's going on.

There will always be variations to exploit, even within the limitations of the most draconian of dress code policies. Unless all the uniforms are procured from a single manufacturer, the quality of the garment itself will betray the socioeconomic status of its wearer. It is just delusional to imagine you can ensure equality by legislating sameness.

Uniforms are detrimental to student morale. Polls have consistently shown they'd much prefer to keep their options open.

The most common type of uniform utilized in US public schools today is identifiably preppy. This is a style traditionally associated with a socially irresponsible, acquisition-based lifestyle. All modes of dress are representative on some level. There is no truly generic statement.

The educational process should be a community effort, with parents, students, teachers, and administrators working together in the interest of a common goal. Uniforms interfere with personal expression, and foster resentment in what should be an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and respect.

Educators need to focus on the real issues. They need to spend more time encouraging an appreciation of diversity and less time waging war on fashion trends they just don't like.