I will admit...one trait that I hope to work on better is being more humble...turning the other cheek so to speak. I have always wished I was the wife that was just sweet and did her duties with a smile. I wish sometimes that I was soft spoken, and gentle. If you know me...you know that's not me. I am more like the spaz with an opinion. I am not sure where the spaz comes from, but the opinion comes from my dad...which is a good thing...sometimes. Love you Daddy...!! Anyways, school has officially started. First day was a breeze...things went smoothly, and they came home happy.
Collared long- or short-sleeved shirts. No T-shirts. Clothing must be free of large logos. Shirts must be solid colored and not match the bottom. Shirts can be any color but Red, Navy or Black.
The shirt my son was sent to school in was a collared short sleeved shirt, free of logos, in a solid color that did not match his bottoms. Apparently when they sent the fliers, they forgot to put the part about the shirts not having a trim around the collar. YES, they are freaking out about a trimmed collar. Am I the only one who finds this rediculas?? They threatened that if he wore it again, he would be sent home.
UGH...seriously...so, I wrote a letter to the principal expressing my issues. Tell me if you think it was too harsh...
Dear "Principal" (I used his name in the letter, but I figured I'd leave it out here...dunno why exactly...hmmm...anyways...)
In regards to my sons shirt yesterday, we were in compliance with the information that was given to us via a flier. It reads:
Collared long- or short-sleeved shirts. No T-shirts. Clothing must be free of large logos. Shirts must be solid colored and not match the bottom. Shirts can be any color but Red, Navy or Black.
The shirt my son was sent to school in was a collared short sleeved shirt, free of logos, in a solid color that did not match his bottoms. If this is unacceptable for you, then I suggest a couple of things. First, you need to send home more specific information stating that sleeves cannot be trimmed in a different color. His shirt had very minor trimming at that. Second, if you feel it was so out of character, I suggest that you offer to replace the shirt. I paid my money for clothes that I did not physically agree on, that complied with the standards that I received, and now he is being sent home with papers stating that it isn’t. The tags are off of the shirt, and it is un-returnable in its current state. This is my money going to complete waste because I would never purchase this clothing for my children to wear.
Furthermore, I find this whole uniform policy very frustrating. The few colors that are not allowed, red, navy, and khakis are not only the most accessible to find in the stores, but are the colors that represent our country and the freedom that we have. I do not find any reason why these colors shouldn’t be allowed on our children. If it is for gang related activity, then you are just acknowledging them and their behavior. We should be able to put our country’s colors proudly on our children, and state loudly why these color will continue to be used. I had to go to multiple stores just to find the colors that I did.
Finally, the uniform situation seems to be a budget waste. There are so many things that could be used as a better focus for our children than worrying whether or not their sleeve has a trim on it. How many other children is the district having to provided “supplementary” shirts for?? This is a huge waste of money and time having to send all these children to change into different clothing, having to spend the money to launder them, and the money to provide them in the first place.
I am not attempting to be rude in the situation, I just feel that these are young children and that the rules are “over the top” so to speak. I bought only enough shirts for my son to get through the week. I will not be purchasing another shirt for my son, as I have spent plenty of money on this already. I feel that my son was dressed more that appropriately, and will be sending him to school in this shirt once a week as planned. If you have any questions you may contact me at 841-8600.
Thank you for your time,
Tamra Lords
Mother of 5 children
First Day...
Second Day...
I could see how this would be so out of line...sheesh
13 comments :
Very interesting, as we are currently developing a dress code policy for a substance abuse program we are starting. But we deal with a very different population of kids.
Plus, their colors don't make sense. No navy, but royal blue is OK? Our code states that everything must be gray, white, or black, and that is because of gang issues, which unfortunately, is a real, daily concern we deal with.
But I am with you. That is vague.
Yeah--you are totally out of line...that orange shirt has gangstah written all over it!!! lol j/k. I would do the same thing you did. It's my nature to be pretty opinionated about most things to the point that i am very stubborn. Love the letter and agree with you 100%. I really hope they allow him to wear that shirt for the rest of the year.
What a load of bull! I can't believe the amount of TIME and MONEY that is being wasted on enforcing their stupid policies! I mean, I do like the idea of uniforms, but the enforcement of this is rediculous! And I'm totally with you on the red, blue, and khaki thing too.
Ya Tamra!!!! I wish they could wear what they want to wear. Jacob told me that Carter had to change his shirt at school that is so stupid. If they care so much they should buy the clothes for them. Thank you for saying what we are all thinking!
Your kids look cute anyway. Good luck with that. uggghhh!
Wowzers. I think that you and I were seperated at birth. I think you very articulate (sp), and well spoken. I feel bad for the kids parents who have no income to buy the "uniforms". That is a huge stress. Especially when all the collared shirts I see are RED and BLUE. To define those as gang colors is heart breaking. You stood up for something you believe in. You may have a bit of a fight on your hands, but I bet you are not the only one! I think he looks dashing in the orange and blue :)
I would be frustrated if they added more specific info AFTER everyone had finished shopping!!! Good job and way to go!
Woe. Remind me not to move to Caldwell. Yikes. And go Tamra for that letter to the principal. I'm very proud of you. You go girl. Someone has to say it out loud.
Oh, and I'm sending my kids to school in freshly logoed tee shirts in every color under the sun. Yeah, we're rebels here. I don't think our school can afford a dress code.
WoW! You would think a school principal would have more to deal with than this!
I need to learn to turn the other cheek!
You go girl! I TOTALLY agree with everything you said! Good for you for speaking up! And especially on the red and blue thing! Have you heard anything back from him?
Wow, you're such a rule-breaker/bad girl!!! This actually makes me feel better because I got a form letter in Carolyn's take home folder yesterday that went over all the dress code rules and I've been analyzing all of the outfits I've sent her to school in, trying to figure out if I had broken The Law. But I guess it was just a friendly reminder, because she wasn't sent to the principal's office. Poor Carter though!
I saw that the Walmart on Overland by the Temple has dark green polos on sale for a few bucks...just FYI.
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