Can you think outside the concept?

I believe that questioning our beliefs is tantamount to growth.

So many rigid concepts/beliefs that serve nothing, other than to maintain the status quo.

I don’t follow any rigid protocol, if I am hungry I eat, if I am sleepy I sleep, if I want spaghetti for breakfast I eat it, if I want to wear shorts with a sweater I do.

Personally, I have very few friends that have done this ‘work’, it makes for some pretty flat relating all in all.

I think your example is a classic case of the blind leading the blind.
Not unlike the parent that cannot come up with any better rational than the die hard catch all of .’ because I told you to!’ lol

Well said, Ducky! However, I have reverted to “Because I said so!” when a kid refuses to listen to your explanation of “Why?”!
I think people who think outside the concept would be very interesting to be with.

Of course I can and do all the time – including my own concepts.

I can do it, but not necessarily on the fly. I have to study the idea for awhile.

Right…save the ‘because I said so’ for after all reasonable explanations are spent. lol

Just the other day a friend said to me that she thought anyone that had never married by age 40 was screwed up!

Man….I told her that was a false belief, that she couldn’t possibly know all the reasons why someone might be single, and went on to posit many examples.

One of my biggest pet peeves, admittedly…..jeez, talk about one dimensional. haha

I always say pick your battles. The principal is arguing his policy is to protect the kids from Wisconsin weather….but last I looked, as a parent it is MY job to provide clothing for my kid appropriate for the weather outside and making a big deal out of something that is IMO none of his business. I mean if the kid wants to brave the elements in shorts, I say let them…especially middle-schoolers who are finally at a point in their lives where they are making choices for themselves and need to experience the consequences of their decisions good and bad.

I think all of the arguments for why this might be illogical or unfair are very good ones. But, I am in favor of school dress codes when logical and fair. When I went to school in Michigan, the girls wore leggings under their skirts. I thought it was the biggest fashion faux paux going, had never seen that before. But, it makes sense. I think kids generally suck about clothing themselves appropriately for the climate, and there is nothing wrong with having some rules so they are dressed for winter.

HA! my kids had a bus driver who wore shorts year round, no matter what the weather. The winter here is not that cold, but it does get below freezing. And that bus was not warm. The kids loved it, the school couldn’t really say anything.

I deal with a government agency that approves rules. Their standard response when presented with a new concept is “we’ve never approved that before.”

I get paid for my ability to create new concepts.

@zenvelo I love that line, “we’ve never approved that before.” Classic.

@JLeslie I agree with what you said about the rules and the weather. We’re talking Wisconsin in the winter. If the bus gets disabled some way and the kids have to fend for themselves for awhile, that kid could be in serious trouble. The principal might have done it for safety reasons. I love nature, but I also respect it and take precautions in situations where not taking them could cause me serious harm.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

This is not worth worrying about.

This is different than allowing kids to express their personal style.

Look on the bright side.. At least he got a day off school :-/

Schools here include when during the school year that shorts may be worn as part of the dress code. Usually until the end of September and again starting in May. If it is especially hot during “no shorts” weather, they will announce an extension of the dates.

I honestly would just go by the dress code. If it is written in there, then he should have just worn pants. If not, he has a good argument against any suspension going on his record. Yeah, it is following the ridiculous rules of the establishment and it makes no logical sense, but there are bigger fish to fry. I would prefer to pour my time and energy into something that could genuinely improve education.

@Cruiser Unfortunately, not all students have parents who care much about them at all, let alone making sure they are appropriately dressed.

This reminds me of a story (probably apochryphal) about military planning for Y2K.

A bunch of generals were sitting at a boardroom table and tearing apart an IT guy who was trying to explain why the computers and all of the military software had to be updated to be Y2K compliant. At the end of the meeting they sent him packing with a firm, “No!”

After he was out of the room one of the generals turned to his neighbor and asked, “Why don’t we just do whatever it was we did last time this issue came up?”

But to get to your question…

On the one hand, I agree with your outrage that this is quite ridiculous. On the other hand, I understand the principal’s position that “shorts” are going to be distracting (however little they might be – he doesn’t want to get into the discussion of quantifying levels of distraction) and cause some random amount of hallway talk and ‘disruption’. And he sees it as his job to make sure there are minimal disruptions in the students’ lives while in school, which is one reason why some school dress codes are so ridiculously exact in terms of “no team sports apparel for teams other than ‘this school’”, “no colored bandannas”, “no clothing with ‘messages’” and the like.

Frankly, I think that kids in school should be exposed to more low-level ‘disruption’ so that they learn to deal with creativity, originality and thinking outside the box (as you suggest), but that’s not the view held by most public school administrators, I’m afraid.

This adds another argument to my list of arguments for the complete abolition of “public schooling”. It’s worse than a waste of time for many kids; it sends some of them backwards in terms of education, social development and creativity. It does seem to produce some pretty good football players and soldiers, however.

I was raised in a very religious family who believe God was a part of their everyday life. They were constantly referring to the feelings they had in their hearts, and faith. I never felt any such feelings, and eventually I realized I don’t have that thing they called faith.

@Adirondackwannabe and @JLeslie I agree totally with everything you said only IF it is applied equally across the board, and the girls were prohibited from wearing dresses for the same reason as well. Further, I’ll bet I’ll bet none of the kids were really dressed to withstand an extended period outside with no heat. Fashion hardly allows for it! To that end I agree with @Cruiser more….if the kid’s uncomfortable they’ll dress more appropriately the next time. Sure, it’s our job as a parent to make sure they dress right, but, as @Cruiser said, it’s also part of our job to let kids learn from their own mistakes, whenever possible.

@CyanoticWasp I don’t think it would be all that “distracting….”. Not really. Not for long, anyway. Not as distracting as what some of the girls were probably wearing!