I
love the high school our kids are attending (or have attended), I am not sure
there is even one thing i could say is not good or even perfect about this
school. Everyone who goes there seems to share the sentiment.. It’s almost
scary how good their reputation is.
Until
now.
There
is that one thing that I realized
really really bothers me. And it was echoed to me the other day how much it
bothers other parents too.
The uniform of the girl’s
skirts is way too short. And I mean way way way too short
As
in scary short and ridiculous short.
I
was reminded of this fact when we attended a meeting for parents and students
re the London upcoming trip.
Our
school does about 20 international exchanges a year. The school is esteemed all
over the world. Never a single detail missed or complaint about any kid from this
school on trips and all the international schools eager to partner with them.
But
the one negative feedback around the world? Pls have your female students
arrive in jeans with their top uniforms as the short skirts cause big problems
with the other countries private school girls. So the schools actually ask that
the girls wear jeans vs their skirts it is that bad!
This
is crazy and so embarrassing.
I
remember when Beauty joined the school the year prior, they had sent out a
survey about the school and all comments were exceptional and outstanding as
always from students and parents. The one area that was repeatedly said however
was that the skirts needed to be longer.
So
they adapted and year Beauty joined the skirts were made 3 inches longer by the
uniform provider. So now in the school girl’s sec 2-5 had short adorable sexy
little skirts and the new sec 1's have skirts almost to their knees.
So
what do you think happened?
Like
every girl in Sec 1, Beauty refused to buy the new skirt. She bought three
second hand ones at more than the price of new ones. So did everyone. I have
not seen a single sec 1 wear the new skirt even after two years. The second
hand skirts are precious and sacred and sold like hotcakes within minutes over
social media
Go
figure
For
my daughter, this has not made me lose sleep as she is tall and thin and pulls
the skirt off well and suits her body. But if I had a daughter who was heavyset,
I would be petitioning in front of the school. It is outrageous to expect that
girls should wear such skirts at a private school
All
of my daughter’s gang all have very similar builds and so I am blind to it all much
of the time. None of us are overly conservative either about what our daughters
wear. They try and push the limits a bit with length of shorts and skirts and
mid drift tops but they also all look good, dignified and cute. It’s not
something that is an issue nor are we going to let it become one. With teen
girls this is part of them growing up and testing out their independence and
style is a big big thing. There are many other areas that are much more important
to me than the length of a skirt
But that
is unique to me as I have a daughter who feels good and confident in this mini.
I also have a daughter who if a dirty old man tried to approach her and gawk at
her that she would tell him to go to hell and punch him in the face!
But
what about girls at the school who have to dread wearing this skirt daily and
who are forced too and don’t feel flattered by it or confident in it?. It does
not seem right to me.
Or whose
parents are stricter about clothing... They are not supposed to send them to
this amazing school? Because of a skirt?
I am
all for style and we all know that style and funkiness is an important value at
our school (reflected again in the converse shoes worn with the minis) but at
what cost? And what does this reflect about the school?
Trust
me I am not all into the modesty thing either. A blog I love this summer that believes
for reasons particular to their faith in modesty ,and posted a pic of her beautiful daughter in the
most gorgeous grad dress with a spaghetti straps. The blogger literally had dozens of
comments criticizing her that she says she is all about modestly but ALLOWED her
daughter to wear that?? I have honestly never read such a ridiculous
debate in my life. The girl looked classy and beautiful and is a teenager and
not a nun!!!
I am
sure that she and her parents also felt she needed to let lose a bit on her
grad night regardless of their usual standards and rules and was ridiculous to
have this a a source of concern on the blog comment wars in my opinion ! Maybe that
one particular night was an exception and an opportunity for her too to express
her femininity in way that felt good to her and her family on this special occassion!
So
all that to say I am proud of the school for a million reasons ….
But i am not proud of their
skirts
I am
not proud that my daughter cannot proudly go to London in her uniform and is being
told to wear it on her hips or possibly even wear jeans instead of it
I
think that to make up for their silliness and lack of social awareness the
school should on their own buy a new longer skirt for every student and the old
ones should be banned
What
do you think?
Ps –
if this blog post becomes popular my daughter will kill me. She adores her
skirt :)
