Hoodies banned for being "gangwear"

[Mikey]

When I was a kid (in the 70's)
Hooded sweatshirt kids were know as "poor dirt bags"
Times have changed, I guess.

[Dave Mc]

Ban the hoodies! Bring on the school girl uniforms!

Another case of people treating symptoms of a problem they don't know how to cure. It will always be SOMETHING. Leather Jacket's, hoodies, whatever. It won't solve anything, but it makes people feel like they are doing something when they are doing nothing.

[Adam West]

Ban the hoodies! Bring on the school girl uniforms!

Another case of people treating symptoms of a problem they don't know how to cure. It will always be SOMETHING. Leather Jacket's, hoodies, whatever. It won't solve anything, but it makes people feel like they are doing something when they are doing nothing.

Well said. I am not a teacher by profession but I have volunteered for over a decade in sports and other activities that involve youth.

It doesn't take me a long time to figure out who the rotten seeds are. The problem is that education systems have their hands tied when it comes to plucking the bad seeds and removing them. Instead, the best that can be done is to ban clothing that may or may not be affiliated with a gang (and although there can be a lot of meanings for the word gang, I am assuming in this sense, we're talking about groups of people that are associated with one another with some criminal purpose).

The core problem is the rules the education system has to go by for fear of litigation since by law, everyone is entitled to an education provided for by the government.

[ctc]

So....

Does this mean trenchcoats aren't the source of all evil any more?

Stuff like this bugs me; it's a knee-jerk reaction from a bunch of out of touch clowns wanting to look like they're in control while covering themselves from litigation by saying "we BANNED the hoodies, we did all we could, we're not responsible" the next time something bad happens. And no; I'm not referring to the teachers: stupid ideas like this come from WAY higher up the chain. Funny thing; like Congress, they're attacking the hip-hop/rap thing on the downswing... way to stay on a trend, five years too late. (I guess they figure less people will complain about a dying fad than a live one. Maybe they DID learn from the PMRC...)

If the schools want to ban certain attire they can. It's their show; they can do what they want. BUT when they do stuff like this "to protect the students" I find it insulting, stupid and counterproductive.

Don C.

[Hulk]

Crocs get the boot at some schools - USATODAY.com

I'm more concerned by the ban on Crocs! How dare they!

[ctc]

>I'm more concerned by the ban on Crocs! How dare they!

HAW! So; is a Croc related injury a "potential health hazard" or "natural selection?"

>"There's not a lot of in-between — a lot of moms love them, then a lot of moms hate them, so the passions run deep."

THIS is the part of the article that worried me. How sad is your life when....?

Don C.

[huedell]

Like I said earlier----just brushing this decision off as completely useless
seems too extreme to me---- sure its far from the root of the problem, but it
IS an attempt at something while better ideas are also being examined and
implemented (I don't have any examples--I'm no school system guy--but surely
"no hoodies" isn't the ONLY strategy here to supress school violence)

Anyway---comparing them to the PMRC etc. and saying how they must get to the "root
of the problem" instead of what they are doing is valiant and, in theory, technically
a more succinct move---- cool, keep up trying to come up with the "ultimate solution"
but unfortunately reality steps in and the scenario remains of the whole inability to
totally attack the root of children's misguided behavior AT the root---
-so what are "authorities" REALLY supposed to do? If there hasn't been a bigger better
solution implemented by now, then it can't really be that easy to do so--- can it?

Translation: Feeble attempts are better than no attempts PLUS I'm sure
there are OTHER things going on too---other than "banning hoodies" to deal
with school violence----this is just the news article of the week (so to speak)

As usual its PARENTS OF CHILDREN who have the most power to help---and sadly what
they've done throughout the decades hasn't been quite enough to invalidate
half-baked ideas being put into effect to deal with youth problems

[Adam West]

Crocs get the boot at some schools - USATODAY.com

I'm more concerned by the ban on Crocs! How dare they!

I actually had a girl on my soccer team who was wearing Crocs and they got caught in an escalator. Tore the Croc in half and chewed into her big toe. She needed stitches and benched her for half of the season.

[ctc]

>but it IS an attempt at something while better ideas are also being examined and implemented

Well.... it's beem my experience that the exact OPPOSITE happens. The folks who are ultimately in charge implement policies that can distance the school and themselves from any negative occurence; but the policies enacted do NOTHING to solve the problem. OR they end up making them worse....

>comparing them to the PMRC etc.

... and THERE'S my fave example. So; the PMRC decided that music was too vile and icky for public consumption, and in the end because of them a rating system was instated. Which resulted in increasingly icky and vile music; since you could now slap a rating/disclaimour on it and put out pretty much whatever you wanted. Didi it keep this stuff out of the hands of kids? No. But the rating system facilitated wider distribution of said questionable material. It also led to a lot of crappy music since all a band had to do to create controversey (read: publicity) was use some bad words or questionable sexual imagry. Same thing happened in the 90's with video games.

So; schools ban hoodies and/or instate dress codes; and everyone is content that you've now solved the problem since nobody will know who's a ganger or not, and nobody can hide stuff in their uniform. And everyone breathes easier... until the next incident. "HOW could this happen?!?!?"

>If there hasn't been a bigger better solution implemented by now, then it can't really be that easy to do so--- can it?

Nope, but I'm concerned with folks implementing half-hearted solutions and then TELLING themselves the problem is solved. It's not about security; it's about the ILLLUSION of security. (With a fair bit of CYOA as well.)

>As usual its PARENTS OF CHILDREN who have the most power to help

Don't forget the kids themselves. I remember after Columbine there were TONS of "why did they do it?" articles in magazines, on the news, in newspapers... doesn't seem so complicated to me. Nerds get picked on, nerds get guns, nerds kill a bunch of people. Here's a worst case scenario of what can happen when you pick on other kids. And when kids being picked on don't feel they have anywhere to go for help, or any ability to deal with stress, or put things in perspective. (Nobody tells you that high school is completely meaningless the second you graduate.) There's a whole lot of things you can do to intercede here; banning black coats isn't one of them. (It DOES alienate the kids who wore trenchcoats though, since now you've OFFICIALLY declared them to be outcasts.)

Parents can be the PROBLEM a lot of the time too. That magical combination of not paying attention to your kids (either to discipline or support them) and going off on anyone who DARES question their angel-hood. Solving these problems are tougher. School authorities need to stand up to parents on one hand, without isolating the problem kids. When I was in school I saw a lot of kids become scapegoats for the school. Usually the kid with the least infuential parents was to blame.

>what they've done throughout the decades hasn't been quite enough to invalidate half-baked ideas being put into effect to deal with youth problems

You gotta do what you gotta do; but I think a lot of what's done makes things worse. Not INTENTIONALLY; but it's amazing how quickly people seem to get out of touch. Kids aren't THAT complicated: they're still just like when you were one, but they dress differently. Every ten years.

Don C.

[huedell]

I'm speechless Don---really well thought out post---thanks!

[ozcollector1992]

My school says the same thing....
No hoodies it promotes gang activity in the area. This may be because I am in a prep school though.IDK??

[txteach]

What is a skool?

[z3zep]

Hey, I can't wear jeans to work. Sometimes you have to wear what is acceptable for the business you are conducting -- school included. just my 2 cents.

[ctc]

>really well thought out post

I kinda take this stuff personally since I've been on the RECIEVING end of misguided authority most of my life. I was pretty young when I realised how clueless the folks trying to "protect" me were. (10 or so; right around the time D&D was declared evil by a bunch of folks who'd obviously never read any of the books.) Being the smart kid AND the fat kid got me in a lot of fights; where I learned how quickly the unpopular kid can become the scapegoat. (Something I see happening a lot these days. I can think of more than a few people at work who's kids have got in serious trouble for DEFENDING themselves in fights.) So I guess I come by my distrust of authority honestly.

>Hey, I can't wear jeans to work. Sometimes you have to wear what is acceptable for the business you are conducting -- school included.

Which is fine. I went to a school with a dress code and even on relaxed dress days we weren't allowed to wear denim. Just 'cos. Stupid maybe, arbitrary definitely; but that's their call. It's when you say stuff like "denim promoted drunkenness" that I start having an issue. (Which they DIDN'T... I sorta pulled that example out of the air.)

Don C.

[Adam West]

Regarding the no jeans to work rule, you have a choice. You can choose not to work for a company with a no jeans rule. We have a pretty relaxed atmosphere at my company and although jeans are acceptable, it would be frowned upon to wear them every day in my department. I know it might seem silly but it's not considered professional to wear jeans every day when you work in an accounting/finance profession.

At school it's different. If you go to public school, you really have no choice but to go to the one that's closest to your home and if they have a dress code, as a kid, you really have no choice but to abide by it unless your parents get involved.