Dress Code
The dress code. All students know of this struggle, even in a school like Renaissance College where enforcementisn’t as strict and punishments aren’t as severe as other schools.
We sent out a survey to RCHK's DP students and found that they believed the dress code is appropriate and quite relaxed. 20% of students that were interviewed said they had definitely violated the dress code with things ranging from shoelaces to hair colour. 40% said they probably had violated it, while the remaining 40% said they hadn’t.
A common opinion expressed by the students was that we should have more freedom to slightly alter the uniform or choose to dye our hair if we want. 60% of students interviewed felt that although the dress code can be strict, it is still important to give a sense of identity and community to students.
According to Mrs. Telfer, the Head of Year 9, the student dress code at RCHK is “quite casual” and is “fit for purpose, allowing students to be more active”. Similar to students, teachers have to follow a general dress code as well. “Women cannot wear strappy tops. Clothes must be suitable for business attire.” Although students may complain about having to wear uniforms, Mrs. Telfer states that uniforms are supposed to “create equality amongst the school” and so that students can “identify with the school”. She points out that students could be judgemental towards others based on their clothing choices.
Schools have dress codes to address several things such as equality, allowing us to be judged not by what we wear but by our personalities and how we conduct ourselves. Uniforms also allow us to represent our school and give us a sense of community: even if we don't necessarily agree with each other, we look out for one another simply because we come from the same place
In Hong Kong, dress codes usually have a uniform and uniform size restrictions. Some schools are very strict about small things like shoes and hair styling. Other schools have similar rules, but are less strict about them. For example, our school’s dress code has a skirt-below-fingertips test and does not allow too tightly-fitting clothes, but students are rarely if ever sent home and prevented from going to class based on their clothing alone.
Some individuals believe that the dress code restrictions in schools are gendered, in that the 'shorts-must-reach-the-fingertips' rules disadvantage girls given the near-homogonous clothing options available at major retailers. There is also an argument to suggest that short-shorts aren't inherently bad things and that personal ownership of one's body should allow one to dress the way they want.
Such ideas prompt protests both online and in schools. For example, hashtags such as #IAmMoreThanADistraction, #MyBodyMyBusiness and #CropTopDay trended in early 2015, and American students wore crop tops and ripped jeans to protest dress codes they viewed as too strict.
In our opinion, schools shouldn’t focus all of their attention on the clothing being worn by students ‘because it is a distraction to others’ or to 'foster school spirit'. Instead, schools should focus more on the education of their pupils (which could possibly be more effective if they didn’t take students out of class for minor issues like showing more skin than is allowed).
There are times when teachers can comment on a student’s clothing or accessories, but it gets out of line when these ‘reinforcements’ of the dress code affect the education or well being of the student involved. School identity is important, but cannot come at the price of personal identity.
Sources CBC News. (2015, May 26). London student in jeans, tank top sent home for breaking dress code. Retrieved March 6, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/london-student-in-jeans-tank-top-sent-home-for-breaking-dress-code-1.3088412
Reyes, J. (2015, Aug. 19) Stephanie Hughes: Girl sent home from school for having an exposed collarbone. CNN Wire. Retrieved March 6, 2016, from http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/stephanie-hughes-girl-sent-home-from-school-for-having-an-exposed-collarbone.
Sagan, A. (2015, May 27). Student dress code protests giving uniforms new life. CBC News. Retrieved March 7, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-dress-code-protests-giving-uniforms-new-life-1.3089215
Zhou, Li. (2015, Oct. 20). The Sexism of (US) School Dress Codes. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 7, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/school-dress-codes-are-problematic/410962/
