Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - WHAS11 News has been getting a lot of feedback from a story the station ran Wednesday night.
Many people contacted WHAS11’s Renee Murphy about the dress code policy at Barret Traditional Middle School in Louisville.
One mother didn't want to be identified but is upset about the fact that girls can no longer wear skirts to the school.
“That is what separates them. All kids can wear polo shirts and pants but the skirts to separate the girls from the boys and I feel that is part of the femininity. It’s been that way since the beginning of time,” she says.
It’s part of their new dress code that takes effect next school year.
The principal says teachers were spending too much time enforcing the dress code with female students and it was taking too much time away from instruction.
Here are some of the responses we got from viewers about the issue:
----I'm a penticostal mother of a 15 year old daughter that only wears skirts by her chooseing. I will only wear skirts dresses. If they take that away they take away part of me. Iam a woman and would like for myself and my girl to look like one, what happened to freedom of religion.
----Renee,
The problem lies in the fact that middle school age girls show too much of their femininity. It’s the outward display of their raging hormones. There will always be those young ladies (?) who will push the boundaries of propriety. Sounds like the school is doing what it can to limit the display of private parts.
A Retired JCPS teacher
----Jefferson County schools have lost there minds. They are not interested in teaching
children and readying them for college. They have one agenda and that is the PC world.
As long as it does not offend anyone then it is ok. The real reason for the dress
code is most likely so that some boy who would love to wear a skirt is not offended.
So guess what no one now can wear a skirt. This is why I am so glad I made the
decision years ago to have my child in private school. I sleep very well at night knowing
that my child goes to a school that the parents, teaches, and staff all care about the
young minds and our future "the youths of this community."
----I agree with the mother speaking in your segment ... skirts are a way for girls to express their femininity. Your segment indicated the school staff 'spent too much time enforcing' the skirt dress code. I'm curious ... what exactly are the problems with skirts? Did the girls wear them too short?
----As a female sophomore at UofL, I cannot believe the mother who was quoted in your segment on the skirt ban and her apparent lack of understanding when it comes to femininity. This woman's comment reflects the popular belief that a girl can't truly feel feminine unless she's showing her body. This sentimentality, especially in a woman charged with raising a girl in today's world, worries me greatly for the future generation of girls in Louisville. I thought we were past this chauvinist-tinged mess.
----As a teacher and a parent, I find in interesting that the moms who reacted negatively to the new policy did not want their identities shown. That is because they know if their child gets kicked out, there are a dozen more waiting to take their place. They should know that with the traditional program comes rules and regulations that set the bar higher than usual. The fact is, this is a school that the parent choses for the child.There are only so many slots available. If they don't like it, go to their resides school. I have a son beginning 6th grade at Barret this fall. It will curl your hair hearing and seeing some of the stuff these 11 year old girls say and do. Trust me, the principal is doing the right thing.
-- --Thanks for airing the concerns of the Barret parents as it relates to the dress code changes. I attended the meeting yesterday with the SBDM council and shared with them the following letter that I had written:
As the mother of an incoming 6th grader, I am very concerned with the recent decision being made by the SBDM council to remove skirts from the Barret Traditional Middle School dress code. If for nothing else, I find the decision to be ironic for the simple fact that Barret is a traditional school and skirts are an integral part of the fabric of the traditional environment.
Besides the irony of the change to tradition , I feel that the removal of skirts infringes upon the female population’s ability to continue to make decisions for themselves as they grow older. These young ladies are coming from an elementary environment where skirts are encouraged to an environment where they are expected to exercise the same freedoms only to find that greater restrictions apply.
Our female students should continue to be allowed to wear skirts as a means of becoming mature young ladies as they display their femininity which separates them from the males. A woman’s ability to wear a skirt to display her more feminine side is something that should be admired and not punished. A woman should have the right to choose between the days she desires to wear pants and the days she desires to wear skirts – much like the society of work, religion, family, etc. that we are preparing her for.
Consider this: A male has the right to wear a dress shirt and tie or golf shirt, slacks or jeans, shorts or sweats. A female has the right to wear a skirt or dress, slacks or jeans, shorts or sweats. The difference between the two is the ability to segregate the sexes based on clothing. Sometimes a woman needs to be segregated – for monthly, personal reasons as well as reasons of classification and distinguishment.
Outside of reasons to allow our female population to have the freedom of choice, as well as a separation of the sexes, please consider if my religion requires that my daughter only wear skirts and not pants. Will she be frowned upon by her peers who are otherwise expected to embrace her as a member of their student body? Is she ostracized because she is unlike the rest of the student population in her dress code? Can you without conscience single her out for religious reasons while her male counterparts are not singled out at all?
I plead with you to consider these things when making your decision. Do not remove skirts from the dress code! I feel as though an entire sex is being punished unfairly. Please consider the ramifications of removing skirts from the school. I feel it will do more harm than good.
Thank you for airing the story. I think it is a shame that skirts will no longer be allowed.
----Hi, I think the whole dress code issue is sad. Look at Brandeis elem or Meeyke Middle or the Brown or Manual-all exceptional schools-all with out a dress code. Now look at Jacob elem. Conway or Stuart Middle School,. Western High school-all with a student dress code, and yet they are sadly lacking in discipline,scores and happy children.
Wearing something comfortable makes learning better-starched polos and dress pants don't translate into better test scores or better students.
My children go to Brandeis, it is a diverse school with many different cultures and many different economic environments.We have a large ESL(English as a 2nd lang). We also have children from many professional families(Doctors,lawyers.) My son is a straight A, honor roll student and has already made the gifted and talented pool and the AP this year in third grade. My daughter is 2nd grade and has A's and B's. Neither are discipline problems. My children have learned of new cultures and everyday life experiences. They know we can't afford every new item that comes out and they don't expect all the new styles.
Why have the separate expense for parents? I think if JCPS allows this matter to continue, then the JCPS staff should also have to wear the same as the student(polos and pants.) How long will the teachers last without their flip flops and sandals? Not long! Each school needs a code of conduct and appropriate wear guidelines, but not uniforms. They need to stop pigeon-holing these kids. The dress code is a control issue and nothing more.
Sorry for the rambling, but coming back home from California, I see a lot of issues with our current school system that is not productive and expensive.
Thanks for listening and happy reporting!
----I would like to know the reason why they want to ban skirts. To me it really doesn't make any sense. Now I can see not wearing really short skirts where it comes up to close to their behinds. But come on, First they make a dress code where they cannot wear everyday clothes now this. The schools need to stop all this nonsense and let the girls be girly.
----The parents at Barrett Middle School need to realize that if they were ensuring that their child was dressed appropriately and the clothes met the dress code that they all signed at the beginning of the school year, the teachers would not have to spend class time checking uniforms.
All schools with a dress code have the same problem. Parents and students agree to follow the rules at the beginning of the school year, and then many don’t follow through. Similar things happen at all schools with uniforms.
The school is just trying enable the teachers to spend the majority of their time doing what they are paid to do – teach.
----I think this change in dress code is wrong! If a school is spending the equivalent of 23 instructional days dealing with dress code violations, then maybe the dress code is too strict! I would love to know more about this whole issue as I think there is more that has not been shared as of yet! How many students are involved in the dress code violations they have dealt with?
It seems to me they are penalizing everyone for the actions of a few. If they are increasing the number of options for pants then there will still be dress code violation issues to be dealt with and maybe more!
As a parent, if I could not get any reasonable answers and resolutions from the SBDM council, then I would take my concerns to my school board member and to the school board as a whole.
Tell us what you think, you can continue to post comments on this issue right below this story.
