Frustrating school administration and rules

Suna-chan · Otaku Master Age: 36 Gender: Joined: 22 May 2003

Before i go into my lil rant..ok maybe it's a bit bigger than little, but i just wanna let you know i will condense this as much as possible because i don't really like reading long things myself!

...It started out as a normal day... I woke up, took a shower, and began the process to get ready for school. Well, today I felt a bit like dressing up just for the sake of dressing up. I picked out a cute skirt and top that i knew wasn't exactly to my knee (ok, maybe it was like 3-31/2 inches above and extended past my finger tips) anyway, so i picked out that skirt and a black turtleneck, and some knee-high socks. Sounds ok, right?
WRONG!

So I get to school, walk all over campus (ok, our campus is reallly big! it used to be a college at one point) and I'm just casually entering the building i go to for homeroom when a female administrator pulls me over and says into her walkie-talkie "Ok, thanks i caught her." and "escorts" me into her office where i am told to sit. Then she says
"Ok, you're skirt is above your knee. in the handbook we issued, it specifically says, 'skirts must be to your knee'."

And so she takes out a handbook and decides to HIGHLIGHT it for me so i can read it. Umm, i could read before. Highlighting won't help make it any clearer lady. This whole time she is talking to me, she she gives off a hostile atmosphere and talks down to me, however, I am not horribly frustrated yet. So after that little handbook thing i calmly say her, not disrespectfully,
"You know what, i see that rule, and i understand what it means. however, i do not feel that it is right, and i would like to know the reasoning behind that rule and what exactly is wrong with my skirt."

So in return, she snaps back, "I'm not here to explain or debate things with you. Get a change of clothes." and i said.. "ok, but first i would like you to explain this rule to me" and she was like "look, im not going to explain it! it is IN the handbook! it is the rule! and if you want to change it, right to the freshman forum (its like student council but for freshmen) and you can write them a letter with a suggestion about the dress code and they can debate it then" and so i ask her if anyone has ever written to them before and she said yes. Then i asked if anyone had ever written and gotten the dress code changed and she said no.

So, basically she just showed me that she has no genuine interest at all in the students or their opinions at school. Well, at that point she tells me that i am required to change my outfit or spend the day in ISS unless if i am unable to obtain acceptable clothing. So I tell her i have to call home to my mom, who i knew would be in favor of me (I'm so lucky she agrees with me on things such as this) because i had asked her before i left for school whether or not she thought my outfit was appropriate.

Ok, so i call home and my mom is like, "did they make you call home because of your outfit?" and i am like "you know it" and she says "Let me talk to the person who said your outfit was unacceptable" so i put that lady on the phone and i can tell that my mom is arguing with her..until she finally gets so fed up with the talking down and rude way the lady is speaking to her that she hangs up on her. (my mom hung up on the lady) Don't get me wrong, my mom rarely hangs up on people. (well...maybe a LITTLE more than the average person but still) it takes a lot (and the added factor of being late for a dentist appointment and getting to work in downtown atlanta)

So, they are holding me in the office, and while i am on the phone for the few minutes i was talking with my mom the lady who stopped me and another lady from the office are standing in the corner whispering and pointing at me! i mean, i thought that kids might normally do that, but ADMINISTRATION!?!?!?!!??! ughh

mmkay...(hehe i have a tendency to continue my story with "so"(i used it 4 times on its own, and once with an "and so" XDXDXD) and i used "ok" 2 times! (including the varied "mmkay" version of "ok")

This whole time they are holding me in the office i am missing my Algebra II math class and i am supposed to be taking a quiz! It's hard enough to make up work for that class and learn what is taught on my own, but missing tests and quizzes is a complete pain in the ass. But noooo i am not allowed out in public! I'm much too "idecent". The only person available to bring me a pair of pants is my grandmother who is in her late 70's and is also taking care of a sick kid (my cousin) and also is having to pick up my OTHER cousin who is also sick!!! so here is this little old lady with 2 sick elementary school kids bringing a freaking pair of pants so i won't be violating their stupid rules.

It just pisses me off so much. These stupid people, who don't care about their students or their opinions or ideas at all, but who just want to get their jobs done as easily as they can (for themselves that is) and get their paychecks at the end of the day. But all in all, as Shino pointed out to me earlier

"technically she works for you and everyone else that goes to that school b/c it's your parents that pay the taxes that pay her salery and she obviously doens't care what the students think"

arhaglnoq3ww3th9....

so frustrating.

Doot · Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:22 pm Post subject:

About 10 years ago I would have been 100% in your favor on this one, however, with age I gotta say I agree with the administrator on this one.

When I was in high school they had implemented the rule that skirts come below your fingertips when your arms were hanging. Times have changed and so have the rules.

You gotta understand the administrators are there for such reasons. They also have to put up with more students than you have to put up with teachers and administrators. You, yourself, admitted to reading the rulebook and I believe they make students and possibly parents sign papers saying they did read AND comprehend the rule book. If the book states that your skirt need not be above your knee well then, it better not be above your knee.

School is there for one purpose, for students to attend and achieve a higher education. It is not there to fashion plate or make fashion statements and that is why such rules are in place. If you break these rules, knowingly, which you admitted you realized before you went to school that you had the possibility of doing, the decision should have been then to change your attire.

Yes it's frustrating but school is not there for a sole purpose of making your life a living hell and neither are their rules. By answering back the way you did, I even would have taken that as defiance because the administrators and teachers at your school deserve respect. They go day in and day out having to enforce these rules over and over to people on account of them wishing to take on some sort of personal crusade against the establishment. I'm not trying to get on your case, as I would say the same thing to Sakura, you knowingly broke the rules and therefore have shown disrespect for the restrictions put in place for a reason, regardless of whether you like it or not, does not need to be justified to any student.

As for teachers being there just for their paychecks, well i gotta hand it to you guys that they make mere pittances compared to most professions out there and have to deal with the most crap. So the pay = the workload is HIGHLY unfavorable to any teacher and runs about one step above slave labor.

Suna-chan · Otaku Master Age: 36 Gender: Joined: 22 May 2003

._. i guess you're right about that. i mean, i just.... i haven't really...i hate following school rules, and i keep getting in trouble for things such as insubordination for not wearing my ID tag and stuff....o.@

also, i guess i was just testing the limits to see how far i really could go without getting in trouble. well now i know. <_<

err...and there are also reasons behind my attitude and behavior recently..i guess...things have just been there that i am worrrying and stressing about (plus another "monthly" problem @.@)

well those are really excuses and i guess, next time i wil be wiser to just go with everyone else..-sigh-

GAAZ · MOD Black Sheep Commander Gender: Joined: 14 Oct 2002

Or show up for school Nekkid..That'd be cool.

Tobias · *explodes* Age: 38 Gender: Joined: 17 Jan 2003

jeebus...ur school is tight! My school is realy slack on that stuff...but that could be the fact that it's in the middle of suburbia Westport.

But doot has a point. Those clothes are very distracting...trust me, i would know Razz

punk rock girl · Seniorita Punk Otaku Gender: Joined: 08 Dec 2002

i have to say that i agree with doot here. believe me i wore a lot of interesting things in highschool and yes i pushed the limits at times (i was the only girl on the drill team with combat boots, leather jacket, and a shaved head! Shocked

) but i rarely, if ever, went against the rules of school. if my teachers said "no" about something i did then i did what they said (perhaps begrudgingly) but i still did it.

teachers generally have their student's best interests at heart but even if they don't, if its a rule they are supposed to uphold it. people will test the the rules and see how far they can go, if the rules aren't strictly enforced people will get away with more and more until the rules become meaningless and there is chaos (imagine if police didn't enforce traffic laws.. EEP! ).

rules are not meant to confine, they are there for a reason. you may not understand it and they may not be able to give you an answer for it, that's not the point. the point is that there was a reason for them and you need to obey them BECAUSE they are the rules.

don't like the rules? change schools, write a letter to your superintendent to express your concerns and ask questions BUT i don't think you should talk back. respect for others, especially when you disagree with them, is probably the first and one of the most important signs of maturity.

i'm not harping on you suna-chan but i think it is important to follow rules. i know its frustrating, but learning to adhere to rules is a valuable lesson in life.

Shurikane · Dim Panties As String Joined: 24 Sep 2002

Although the administration has the final word on what's the dressing code, just the scene of the admin girl making catching you look like a SWAT team operation makes me laugh like a little girl. Laughing

mikeypants · Junior Otaku Joined: 07 Sep 2003

Well I think that dress codes that worry about such insignificant things should be done away it. In my school, they actually have a rule that says your hair can't touch your collar. OMG SOME HAIR HAS TOUCHED THE COLLAR!!!! THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS GOING TO FALL TO PIECES!!!! I mean whats the deal with that? Seriously I don't understand why they actually have a rule like that.

Stupid stuff like that doesn't fly with me.

Aindriahhn · Auralyth: Chosen of Wind Gender: Joined: 25 Sep 2002

Tobias · *explodes* Age: 38 Gender: Joined: 17 Jan 2003

ya...just top further reinforce what i said earlier: These types of things are put in there for a reason. If it wasn't necessary, there would already be a change by now. Like i said, these things are done because of a distracting factor and a protective factor. Girls in schools that that are a little more seedy have been raped and molested becuase of their attire in school triggering some odd lowlife sex fiend who happened to glance over and see your really long legs and a short skirt, or some overpowerring jock who is ready to pull everything off just because of what you triggered in his head.

the human psyche is odd in that way. people are triggered by anything, and they are only trying to take away the very VERY dangerous apperances, because believe it or not, that short skirt can technically be dangerous if a crazy man saw you in it. I know its odd, but so is the human brain Very Happy

I hope i helped Suna Smile

That is all