I started high school in the fall of 1969.
Our hair was either long or frizzed out into a wild mess. As for clothing style, well, there really wasn?t much style to it. Bell bottom pants, long-sleeved shirts and wide belts for the guys.
For girls it was more of the same plus mini skirts or a while later ?hot pants? also called short shorts.
So, it has taken a lot of pondering for me to reach this point: it?s time for a uniform code at Sweet Home High School, or at the very least, a full-length mirror at the entryway.
And while we don?t care much for the baggy shorts, chains and other attire of boys trying to have a tough guy look, it?s really the girls wear that has pushed us to this conclusion.
At last Thursday?s awards assembly, many fine young people were recognized for their achievements in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. It was a proud moment for all involved.
But for those of us who sat behind the students, it was also a bit embarrassing. We saw so many cheeks we thought we were attending a plumber?s convention.
As for underwear, well you can?t really call dental floss underwear can you? Doesn?t that hurt?
Combine all of that with an array of tattoos in places that had to really hurt when applied, and it was a unique experience to say the least.
Folks, if your daughter is emulating Britney Spears, she?s picked the wrong role model.
We?ve been told it?s difficult to find clothes that aren?t cut this way. It?s the style of the day.
Well, if our girls were still in high school, I guarantee you Debbie would have the sewing machine cranked up to high speed or we?d be shopping for jeans at a sporting goods or farm and home supply. I?d rather they go to school in bibbed overalls than what I have seen this spring.
If the kids didn?t like it…well, tough. We never had children to win a popularity contest.
My wife has a line that has stopped many a teenager in their tracks.
?Who is the parent and who is the child?? Deb likes to say when asked advice about parenting.
We can?t totally blame the kids. It?s the adults who are marketing this style of clothing to them and adults in most cases who dole out the money for them to buy it.
Heaven knows we certainly aren?t fashionable.
Our wardrobe consists of mainly blue, green and gray. Lots of plaid. Not exactly ready for the runways of Paris, but we get by.
I remember when young girls couldn?t wear blue jeans to school or if it was really cold weather, they could wear jeans under their skirts and then remove the jeans at school.
Or when girls had to wear dresses that touched the floor when they knelt down.
We certainly aren?t calling for a return to those times. But, we hope the pendulum begins to swing back to a more modest and acceptable style.
We know styles come and go and that?s why we haven?t made more of an issue of this earlier. We had hoped this would have passed by now and we?d be on to something else. It hasn?t.
So, if this continues, we believe the District 55 Board of Education should consider a move toward a uniform. Not Catholic plaid, but shirts with collars and khakis for boys and skirts, slacks or dresses for girls that don?t reveal more about them than we really care to know.
It?s really pretty simple, if you can?t bend over and pick up something off the ground without holding both your top down and your bottom up, you need a different outfit.
And if you really want a dose of ?culture clash? as one teacher recently told me, ask Vice Principal Steve Fletcher to show you some of the clothing items he?s confiscated from students this past school year. One cap worn proudly by a young girl is especially vulgar.
In the interest of full disclosure here, it?s probably important to note that I?ll turn 50 in December, so my opinion is tainted by age. As my eyesight degenerates, this probably won?t be an issue in the long-term.
A.P.