Shocked regarding standards of attire

[bronze]

I left secondary school 13 years ago so completely understand if times have changed.
Lately there have been a lot of programs on tv about education and following real schools and classes. One thing I have noticed in all of them are some things we would never have got away with. Skirts are knicker length; very obvious makeup (we were allowed none); shirts hanging out; high heeled shoes; ties so loose you could fit 6 necks through; ties so short the back end could be wrapped around the waist twice, the list goes on.

Now either they're focusing on very slack schools, things have changed a lot, my school was very strict or I'm a complete fuddy duddy.
Please tell me. I'm dreading my children moving up the secondary if this is what school is like now. Of course I know uniform is not anything but I do think it is a fairly good reflection on standards.
Or am I wrong again?

Well, there is a school near to us that has no uniform and they all dress like drug dealers without the dog. A lot of the parents locally can't afford the obligatory nike (only certain brands of sportswear seem acceptable) so it seems that the majority of people just go to other schools. I think that school uniform is cheaper and the high school that my daughter will go to has a lovely smart uniform.

The schools with uniforms do seem to have higher results, but that doesn't necessarily have to be because of the uniforms.

The school I worked at last had what you would probably consider to be a poorer level of uniform. The kids' clothes were very personalised, and the fashion was for the boys to dye their hair bright colours.

At my current school they're very strict about uniform.

The former school was very academic, with a warm, inclusive atmosphere. My current school is very academic too but doesn't have such a warm ethos, and the behaviour is much worse.

I think it can be an indicator but I don't think it necessarily is.

I personally think there are some kids who don't look right with their shirts tucked in, buttoned up to the neck with a standard hairstyle. It just doesn't fit their personality.

Besides, at some schools they have much more important things to worry about and I'm not going to judge them for that.

My kids go to a school without uniform, although there is a dress code (clean, comfortable, covered) which allows the school to police standards of dress along sensible lines according to health and safety/decency. They all seem to wear hoodies and skinny jeans and tees and trainers, and it isn't an issue.
It's a comp but does well in league tables.

I wouldn't send my DCs to my local state secondary and a major reason for that is the way the pupils, especially the girls, dress.

I also only left school 13 years ago. We weren't allowed to wear makeup until year 10. Had to wear a blazer at all times. No jewellery except watch, not even sleepers.
No scarves other than the regulation school one. Black tights or grey knee-high socks, no ankle socks or colour. The one style of school skirt had to be just below knee-length. They even brought in a rule that jumpers couldn't hang below the blazer!

So with this as my baseline I am at how the local schoolgirls look. They look like they are heading to an audition for a pop video or a lapdancing job. Thick makeup, visable body piercings, multi-coloured hair extensions, micro-skirts, skyscraper-heels, no jacket/coat in winter. it's disturbing how sexualised they look. I dont understand the mentality of the parents who let their 11, 12 and 13 year olds leave the house like that- it's not in a deprived area.

I feel so strongly that I dont want my DCs to be exposed to that I'll homeschool if I cant get them into private by then.

No uniform?
I'd have to fight the urge to bounce all those little boys with their bums hanging out back into their trousers.
My son's secondary has just petitioned parents about making trousers the rule for all, to avoid the belt skirt look. They've tried policing skirt length for a few years now, but it's not working out.

ha ha, I check my son's bum before he leaves the house. But he's so skinny that if he lets his waistband drop his jeans actually fall off, so it isn't a problem :)

I really don;t see girls looking all that tarty at the kids' school, so maybe it isn't whether or not uniform is worn, but how the dress code is policed.

Society has changed. Children, teenagers and their parents have a strong feeling that they have rights to do as they want, as long as no one else is being hurt. It can be exhausting and often futile to try to stamp out short skirts and make-up.

foreverastudent ...what are you going to do when your teenage dd wants to wear make up? or dye her hair? because she will

"I feel so strongly that I dont want my DCs to be exposed to that I'll homeschool if I cant get them into private by then."

So what if they don't want to be homeschooled? And how are you going to cope when they go to university? Undergraduates don't tend to wear neat uniforms, you know.
Wouldn't it be better to bring your own children up to be sensible than to try to keep them away from the whole rest of the world?

cory- I drive past a University several times a week. The students dress nothing like the schoolkids. No bare thighs, midrifs or lower backs. Subtle, neutral makeup if at all. No extreme hair cuts/colours. Also they are adults.

There is a big difference between an adult dressing up to go on a night out and an 11 year old dressing provocatively to go to school.

usual- I'd happily let my DD wear makeup to a party or special occasion from 12/13 but not heavy or very colourful versions at school.
There's also nothing wrong with a bit of subtle hair dye at an apropriate age. But I dont think green/purple/extensions are suitable for school. My school would have expelled a pupil for that.