Arkansas Blog

Maybe tomorrows press release will be an action to Support Calebs Black T-Shirt supporting free speech.

I'm supportive of uniforms for what they do to eliminate the pressure on poor kids to keep up with the Joneses, and I'm generally supportive of school districts who catch 9 kinds of hell from parents no matter what they do, but outlawing black armbands is going too far. Why not tape their mouths shut, too?

Quick. Someone tell me: how many years was this superintendent a coach before becoming a supt.?

Not sure about being an ex-coach, but he did graduate from the Gould School district back in the early 1960's.

Speaking of DK, here is an article about him concerning T-Drop

http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=fd88fc56-210e-4b28-be63-fbc2eb628dde

Yes, the superintendent should change his policy and he should actively support symbolic demonstration of free speech issues by his students!

As I understand, next Wednesday, all students supporting the Republicans' political philosophy will be wearing green armbands and supporters of Democrats will be wearing yellow armbands. In addition, supporters of the Blood's political philosophy will be wearing red armbands and supporters of the Crips' political philosophy will be wearing blue armbands.

We certainly don't need anyone stunting the growth of our kids by exercising discretion over their actions.

I would like to know the whole story behind this ruckus.

It is my experience that a situation going out of control is usually a culmination of a history of management problems.

Just as the Boston Tea Party was not about a tax on tea but the tipping point of lack of representation.

Anybody on this blog know the background down there?

What's been brewing? Why is this boiling over on a dress code?

Something has been simmering
for a while down there.

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alke than those who think differently."
---Nietzsche

"How great in number are the little minded men."
---Plautus

"When ignorance gets started, it knows no bounds."
---Will Rogers

As I have found out, the uniform policy is very vague, but is applied arbitrarily and strictly. A student can be sent home if they have the incorrect number of buttons - for instance, whether or not there is a button on the back pocket of the slacks.

How is the educational function of a school met when many students are deprived of their education (sent home) because of a button?

As you can imagine, there are not too many places to buy the clothing to conform to the uniform policy and the parents have to do with what they can find and afford.

The administrators have lost sight of what their role is. I wish that the school district consolidation law included administrative stupidity as a prime factor for dissolving school boards.

By golly, Cato, only YOU could come up with two of three quotes from furriners appropos to this issue..
Why don't the Watson Chapel children just go to school stark nekkid? That'd damn sure make uniforms look a lot better to some moms and pops. The armband thing wouldn't be an issue anymore because you can't pin an armband to bare skin. Unless you're a Republican.

As a voting taxpayer in the Watson Chapel School district, and as a former educator with 33 years of classroom experience, I'd like to voice my perspective on the current uniform controversy.

The real issue, as I've come to see it, is not the values of having school uniforms.

First, it's the petty attention to minor details.

Secondly, it's the harsh discipline given for infractions.

And thirdly, it's the unwillingness demonstrated thus far by the administration and the school board to at least listen patiently to what the parents have to say about these matters.

At first, having uniforms where I worked sounded like a wonderful idea. The children would be safer. We would rid the school of "gangsta" clothes. Sexually provocative clothing would no longer be a distraction. Discipline and order would improve. The differences between the poor and the rich would not be evident by the clothing. (Some of these things were already covered by the dress code anyway.)

Well, as a teacher on duty, I learned quickly that the uniforms made the ability to identify unruly students more difficult. Everyone looked alike!

Outsiders can be a big problem on campus, but there are other ways to deal with that besides uniforms. They're usually easy to spot by a watchful teacher or security guard. Not having uniforms could restore a greater sense of vigilance. Having uniforms or not having uniforms probably made no difference in the recent incidents of school violence across the country. Vigilance and other security measures could have made the difference.

And here's what I soon learned about the differences between the rich and the poor. It was still evident by the uniforms. The rich always had nice, new, and freshly pressed uniforms, while the poorer children had the stained, wrinkled, tattered, and worn uniforms. So there went that great hope.

And what about the sagging pants that some of us older people hate? Well, guess what, uniforms can be oversized and sag too! So there was the constant, "Pull up your pants!"

Some of this is a cultural thing. Can you remember when it was not acceptable for female teachers to wear slacks to school? And neither did the girls! The men wore ties and sports coats. Now some of those old pictures look so dorky! And throw away some of those wild pictures from the 1970s and 1980s! How did we go out in public looking like that?

One thing we have to remember about a youngster's choice of clothing is that it resonates from his creative side. Remember when Elvis Presley went to school in Memphis wearing the clothes he bought down on Beale Street? He was showing his individuality. He wasn't following a trend. Could he have been happy wearing a school uniform? Are schools only for the "left-brained" who like all the chairs in a neat row?

I remember seeing the stress that administrators at my school went through trying to get the children to comply. It was almost like a power challenge. But too much valuable teaching time was spent dealing with trivial things.

Also, there are more cases of children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD than you can imagine. The school is bound by federal law to accommodate these children. They have a disability. These are often the ones who don't know where they put their books, don't know where they left their ID, don't know where their pencil is, or slipped off to school with a uniform infraction. They are a real challenge. Most teachers have little training in dealing with them.

Finally, for some of these children and what they come from, it's enough that they even make it to school. For example, during the last week of school this past year, I discovered a transient sleeping in my old van by the house. But he wasn't an adult. He was a Chapel student! His mother and her boyfriend had kicked him out of the house. Nevertheless, he was sleeping in my van and getting up every morning and trying to make it to school. He had his uniforms in a paper sack. I don't know why he was making the effort. He had been suspended about fifteen times for uniform violations, he said. He wasn't going to pass. I carried him to his grandmother's house across town and promised that I would come get him each morning until school was out. I discovered that this boy had a great talent for music and rhythm. He found a way to make his own CD. When school started this year his mother wouldn't help him get into school. He was old enough to drop out, she told him. He came to my door the other day. Somehow he had gotten into a neighboring district that had abandoned its uniform policy. He still bounces from place to place and stays on the street, but he walks from Chapel to the nearest bus stop in the other district every day,

Thank God for the preppie, well-groomed, well-adjusted, well-off students who are always such a joy to teachers and parents. But what about those unrecognized diamonds that may be cast away for such trivial reasons?

Bobby Lamb

Thanks for that entry, Bobby Lamb. What can we bloggers do to help that kid?

Amen. What can we do?

I maintain a webpage at http://schema-root.org/tinker that carries current news stories related to Tinker v. Des Moines.

I have 3 children in Watson Chapel Schools. The new uniform policy that started this school year, states - no more than 3 buttons on the shirt, straight leg kahki pants, no flairs, cargo, boot cut, etc. If the pants have more than 2 pockets in the front or on the back, the child is suspended.

If their belts have anything other than a small buckel they are suspended.

The students were issued ID badges with their name and grade on them, the back of the badge has nothing on it. If the badge is not facing forward (where their info is visible) they are suspended.

In cold weather, the kids are allowed a jacket or coat but the coat or jacket can not be buttoned up, it has to be open so the uniform and ID badge shows or they are suspended.

The school is nit -picking the uniform policy to death. It is a shame that the number of buttons on a shirt or number of pockets on a pair of pants is more important than the child's education. They are suspended for 3 days and are not allowed to make up the missed assignments, therefore they recieve a 0 or an F.

My children have not been sent home for uniform violations but my son was made to cut the end of his belt off because it had a silver end on it.

They are not allowed jewelry unless it does not show. (Chains or necklace's can not be worn if they hang outside of the shirt).

No brads or extra pockets can be on pants, or they are suspended. No tags are allowed on uniform, or they are suspended. BUT they are allowed any type shoe they wish to wear. (Nike, etc..) I am waiting for them to suspend the kids for their shoes showing the brand name on them. I suppose we will have to cut the shoes up also!!

My oldest is in the 10th grade and DK has been superintendant of Watson Chapel since he started school. DK was the superintendent of Pine Bluff Schools when I was in high School in 1985. I do not think DK was ever a coach.