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California district latest to modernize ‘sexist’ school dress code

September 20, 2018 By My SD Moms

By JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The relaxed new dress code at public schools in the small city of Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco, is intentionally specific: Midriff-baring shirts are acceptable attire, so are tank tops with spaghetti straps and other once-banned items like micro-mini skirts and short shorts.

As students settle into the new school term, gone are restrictions on ripped jeans and hoodies in class. If students want to come to school in pajamas, that’s OK, too.

AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus

The new policy amounts to a sweeping reversal of the modern school dress code and makes Alameda the latest school district in the country to adopt a more permissive policy it says is less sexist.

Students who initiated the change say many of the old rules that barred too much skin disproportionately targeted girls, while language calling such attire “distracting” sent the wrong message.

“If someone is wearing a short shirt and you can see her stomach, it’s not her fault that she’s distracting other people,” said Henry Mills, 14, an incoming freshman at Alameda High School who worked with a committee of middle school students and teacher advisers to revise the policy. “There was language that mainly affected girls, and that wasn’t OK.”

Dress codes have long been the territory of contention and rebellion, but the reversal in Alameda shows a generational shift that students and teachers say was partly influenced by broader conversations on gender stemming from the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct and a national resurgence of student activism.

Approved by the school board on a trial basis over summer break, the new dress code is stirring back-to-school discussions about what role schools should have in socializing children.

There are sharply critical voices of the new dress code.

Math teacher Marie Hsu said she’s all for equity but that the new rules send an unintentional message that it’s fine, even appropriate, to “sex it up.”

“It’s good not to punish girls for being distractions. I fully, fully get that,” said Hsu, who teaches at Lincoln Middle School and is an Alameda resident with two young children. “But I think it’s extraordinarily misled.”

Alameda mother Paula Walker says she may be “old school,” but she didn’t mind the bans against revealing clothing.

“They say kids are starting everything younger, and I’m like, well, that’s because you’re throwing it in their faces,” Walker said.

Dress codes and their severity vary widely nationwide. Twenty-four states have policies that give local school districts the power to adopt their own dress codes or uniform policies, according to the Education Commission of the States, a nonprofit that tracks education policy.

Some have statewide policies, like Arkansas, which passed a 2011 law requiring school districts “to prohibit the wearing of clothing that exposes underwear, buttocks, or the breast of a female.”

A Texas high school was recently criticized for a back-to-school video on dress codes that only featured girls. The video shown at Marcus High School in a Dallas suburb showed girls in short shorts getting reprimanded as the song “Bad Girls” by M.I.A. played in the background. Students slammed it as sexist on social media, prompting the principal to apologize, saying the video “absolutely missed the mark.”

Alameda’s new dress code was modeled after a suggested policy by the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for Women, drafted in 2016 to “update and improve” dress codes, avoid rules that reinforce gender stereotypes and minimize unnecessary discipline or “body shaming.”

Portland, Oregon’s public school district adopted a new policy in 2016, followed by Evanston, Illinois, in 2017, both of which incorporated NOW’s suggestions.

Portland’s relaxed dress code is considered a success, said Carol Campbell, principal at Grant High School.

Campbell said students wear appropriate clothing most of the time and it was “a huge relief” that staff could now focus on teaching, rather than necklines and hemlines.

“It’s changed the culture of how students view each other,” she said. “When we have rules and dress codes that particularly target one group it sounds like we’re blaming that group, which always tended to be women.”

Students in Alameda, Portland and Evanston have freedom to wear mostly anything as long as it includes a bottom, top, shoes, covers private parts and does not contain violent images, hate speech, profanity or pornography.

Vague language in the old Alameda policy caused confusion, which led to arbitrary enforcement, students and teachers said. There was, for example, a “three-finger” rule on the width of tank top straps and a ban on shorts and skirts shorter than “mid-thigh” and a rule against “low-cut tank tops.”

Girls with more developed bodies often were singled out for discipline ranging from lunch detention, picking up trash on campus, a phone call home or having to change into baggy clothing.

Stella Bourgoin said she makes her sixth-grade daughter dress modestly but she supports the policy mainly for convenience.

“If you go to a store, every pair of jeans has a rip in it. It’s easier this way,” Bourgoin said.

___

Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report

Filed Under: Lifestyle, News, School, Teens, Youngsters Tagged With: fashion, kids, parenting, school

New Ridesharing Service For Kids Now in San Diego

August 27, 2018 By My SD Moms

A new ridesharing service is now available to families in the San Diego area.

HopSkipDrive is the creation of three busy moms and now boasts chapters not only in San Diego, but in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Denver.

The service makes safety the prime concern with drivers going through strict background checks, demanding clean driving records and multiple years or caregiving experience.  Families are matched up with drivers who can take kids to and from school and also to extra curricular activities.

The company’s web site says that every driver is fingerprinted, all rides are monitored in real time and that parents can even follow along with their available app.

See the video below or visit HopSkipDrive.com

Filed Under: Child Safety, Lifestyle, School, Youngsters Tagged With: activities, child care, family, kids, parenting, safety, school, travel

‘I Shouldn’t Have Worn the Green Shirt’: Mom Foiled by Technology on Picture Day

August 22, 2018 By My SD Moms

There’s so much riding on school picture day – Look nice, smile bright, sit up straight. This photo will be published in yearbooks and be archived in school basements. Soon to be forgotten classmates will highlight and transcribe it. Your doting parents will hang it in a stairwell, send it to distant relatives. Someday, someone might post it to Facebook or Instagram, a #FlashbackFriday moment.

Laurel Boone Hutsell anticipated most of these things when she sent her son to school picture day.

She instructed him on the finer points of smiling for a camera – Don’t squint. Look natural. What Hutsell didn’t anticipate was the green screen backdrop that would turn her son, who was wearing a bright green shirt, into a floating head, not unlike the Cheshire Cat in Alice and Wonderland.

The result of Hutsell’s mistake is internet catnip. Another unsuspecting parent foiled by technology and giving us the stuff that memes are made of.

Filed Under: From The Web, Funny, Youngsters Tagged With: family, funny, kids, parenting, school

Healthy Sleep? It Really IS Possible for New Parents, Kids, Families

August 1, 2018 By My SD Moms

While many adults already deal with problems sleeping, along comes a pregnancy and things get even worse!

Getting to sleep, staying asleep and getting quality sleep are all challenges made even more difficult by being pregnant, or being a new parent.  And these problems don’t just affect mom.  Her partner can be just as affected.

Despite the fact that interruptions to sleep routines will happen, it helps to understand what’s happening and keep certain tips in mind that can alleviate some of the stress and improve the sleep you do get.

The Sleep Help Institute has put together some excellent guides to help this happen.

Healthy Sleep for New and Expecting Parents

A look at how pregnancy can affect sleep.  The Sleep Help Institute covers each trimester with information on what to expect, best practices and tips.  There are notes on the best sleep positions for moms – and positions to avoid.  You’ll learn the benefits of exercise, eating right and helping your partner get better sleep.

Children’s Sleep Guide

If they don’t get enough sleep, children suffer.  It can make them irritable, lethargic and affect their learning and attitudes.  The Institute’s article has a helpful Sleep Guide, tips for creating a healthy sleep routine and info about choosing the best mattress.  Learn how to deal with nightmares, night terrors, snoring and sleep walking.

How To Manage Screen Time and Bed Time

Did you know that according to the National Sleep Foundation, at least 90% of us use technology during the hour before we go to bed?  This can often affect the time it takes us to fall asleep and the quality of sleep we get.  It’s a problem that every parent deals with when it comes to kids, but it can be just as detrimental to adults.  The Sleep Help Institute has some great ideas on minimizing the effect of technology on sleep, changing your light settings and creating a better bedtime routine.

Here’s hoping you and your family are getting better sleep soon.

And thanks to the Sleep Help Institute!

 

Filed Under: Education, Health & Nutrition, Newborn & Baby, Planning & Pregnancy, Tips Tagged With: common problems, education, family, health, parenting, pregnancy, self-care, sleep

SDMoms Podcast: Tracking Your Kids

July 26, 2018 By My SD Moms

Amber and Sara are radio hosts on KSON and Sunny 98.1, Jessica is producer for John & Tammy in the Morning on KSON. They're also San Diego moms!

Each week, they meet to vent about what’s been going on in their lives as moms and invite you to vent along with them!

These days, technology makes it possible to track our kids and even see their text messages without them knowing.  But, is it right to do that?

Filed Under: Amber's MOM Blog, Lifestyle, SD Moms Podcast, Teens, Tips, Youngsters Tagged With: behavior, child care, common problems, family, kids, parenting, safety

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