Comments on: The Obama Jacket

By: Lamar White, Jr

Lamar White, Jr — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:42:43 +0000

DaleL, I accidentally deleted your comment. It was somehow in the SPAM queue and, well, I wasn’t paying attention until it was too late.

Can you resubmit? My sincere apologies.

By: Adrian Chandler

Adrian Chandler — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:34:15 +0000

Related story from high school. When i went to northwood, i got suspended for refusing to take off my jacket which was against school policy. the jacket? an army issue camoflauge jacket. fun stuff.

By: Drew Ward

Drew Ward — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:25:07 +0000

As an international educator who actively teaches at all levels all around the world I can say with some certainty that how students dress, wear their hair, or 90% of the other crap the school board seems concerned with have NOTHING to do with how they learn and with how conducive a school environment is to learning.

This policy was a failure before it was ever implemented.

Get rid of the uniform policy. Quit wasting time and money on something as superficial as this. In fact get rid of the dress code altogether.

Try teaching, training teacher, paying teachers who actually do bother to get certified (since so few are).

How sad is it that we have 2 school in the within the city of Alexandria that are SO bad that they are looking forward to being taken over by the state?

We elected these people to do a job. We have the hold them accountable.

School Board: quit trying to create Stepford children and teach the ones we have!

Drop the dress code.

Teach.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:14:03 +0000

Also, I would further like to say that I do not agree with not allowing that child to wear his Obama jacket. He SHOULD be allowed to wear it! With pride!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:12:35 +0000

Now that I work for the school system, I would have to say that one of the only things I would not like about banishing the uniform entirely, is that I would more than likely be subjected to displays of underwear due to saggy bottom pants. Without a uniform policy, educators and principals have a huge headache with kids coming to school in all sorts of inappropriate attire. I think this would be a non-issue if parents or kids had any sense of decorum or had some simple common sense regarding what is NOT appropriate to wear. Unfortunately, we have people who cannot follow rules and do not understand why a racial slur on a t-shirt is not appropriate for their child to wear to elementary school. Just another view.

Another reason I like uniforms is because bullies cannot single someone out for wearing old fashioned or out of style clothing because a person cannot afford better. When you wear a uniform, everyone is on a level playing field. I also find the ones who buck the uniform policy have discipline and authority problems because they want to do whatever THEY want to do. I find when children are in uniforms, they behave better. When they are in their own clothing, they act like they are at home slouching on the couch. I think anyone who would like a better understanding of why the uniform policy was put in place, should get a job within the school system. It would shed light on the how and why. Like I said, just another view…one within the school system.

By: Lamar White, Jr

Lamar White, Jr — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:01:24 +0000

Dan, thanks, I guess.

I regret if I have come across as patronizing or condescending. I’m a stickler about being honest about my opinions and sometimes, I know, it comes across as combative.

I disagree with you about the uniform policy. To me, it’s primarily a freedom of expression issue, and although I can appreciate the convenience argument, it doesn’t compensate for the fundamental problem of the policy– which creates situations such as the Obama jacket scandal.

By the way, come to think of it, Mr. Allen did tell me that he had taught my father at ASH. Perhaps this contributed to his confusion. Either way, he was very awkward and, unfortunately, offensive.

By: dlc

dlc — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:52:09 +0000

Although I often find you to be patronizing and condescending, I happen to agree with you on the Obama jacket issue. This election was not only an historical moment for America as a whole it was especially so for the African American community. (Having worked the elections this year as a pole watcher for a local candidate in a predominately black district, I saw first hand the pride of the local African American community in voting for Mr. Obama.) So if someone spent thier money (hard earned or not) for a jacket to commemorate this event then by all means they shouldl be able to wear it. As for the uniform policy, I really believe you miss some key advantages of children wearing a school uniform. Being the father of a 12 and 6 year old it takes all the worry out of choosing what the kids wear to school. Press a weeks worth of uniforms and lay them out for the kids to wear. Also, there is a tremendous cost benefit to wearing uniforms versus other clothes. I promise looking back at high school I wish we would have had uniforms. Then I would not have had to spend my summer job money on school clothes. As for Mr. Allen, anyone having experienced the man years ago at ASH knows he’s several bricks short of a full load. Not sure who it reflects worse on, him or his constituents that keep electing him.

Have a Good Day!

Dan “A Passionate Young Man”