Comments on sweatpantsmom: An Open Letter to the Los Angeles Unified School D...

I don't have any words of wisdom, to make it all b...

2009-10-29T12:20:48.033-07:00

I don't have any words of wisdom, to make it all better. I do, however, have a story of my own that I would like to share that illustrates that this attitude is prevalent across the U.S. I grew up in a small town in Wyoming, where, I too, was a straight-A honor roll student who was involved in various school activities and groups. When I was a freshman in high school, my nightmare began to

Marsha, I couldn't have said it any better myself....

2009-10-22T18:28:03.150-07:00

Marsha, I couldn't have said it any better myself. What happened to the phrase "Let the punishmant fit the crime." I'm appauled that an administrator would feel the best use of his time would be to torment an honor student. What about all the kids who are trouble makers, major discipline problems and truant kids. I hope there is some retrobution for this administrator. He

LAUSD is a joke. Unwieldy and unwilling to work at...

2009-10-21T13:04:54.171-07:00

LAUSD is a joke. Unwieldy and unwilling to work at fixing the many issues that plague the district.

I am killing myself to send my kids to private school so that I can avoid that mess.

Oh, excuse me, LAUSD. I thought you had bigger th...

2009-10-20T15:49:43.447-07:00

Oh, excuse me, LAUSD. I thought you had bigger things to do -- like fix your F-ing budget -- than pick on honor students. If this is how our district chooses to mistreat its customers, then it's no wonder many of us are trying to scrounge the money together to go to private schools or move the heck out of the district. I am so irritated, you have no idea. Thank you for sharing this story

Anonymous: Also, regarding your definition of 'ch...

2009-10-20T14:38:23.383-07:00

Anonymous:

Also, regarding your definition of 'chaperone': At no time did I feel that what these girls were wearing was a threat or a hindrance to the activity we were engaging in, especially on a warm day in LA. The teacher in charge clearly laid out the rules she wanted followed on the outing, and I adhered to and respected those rules, which included gum chewing, use of cell

I remember in school, not being allowed to wear sp...

2009-10-20T14:24:41.026-07:00

I remember in school, not being allowed to wear spaghetti straps. But all we got were warnings and some ugly smelly t-shirt to wear until the end of the day. I see nothing wrong with what your daughter was wearing,and even if the school did, I don't understand why they would rather verbally harrass her, make her cry, and then be jerks to you rather than just providing her with something, like

Anonymous: Thanks for your input. I'd really like...

2009-10-20T14:23:16.465-07:00

Anonymous:

Thanks for your input. I'd really like to address these issues, but not as long as you remain 'anonymous'; I don't feel comfortable continuing when I have no idea who I'm talking to.

Would you be courageous enough to come forward and reveal who you are, either privately or in this comments section?

chap·er·one n. 1. A person, especially an older ...

2009-10-20T14:10:41.032-07:00

chap·er·one
n.
1. A person, especially an older or married woman, who accompanies a young unmarried woman in public.
2. An older person who attends and supervises a social gathering for young people.
3. A guide or companion whose purpose is to ensure propriety or restrict activity

I would argue that your role as chaperone WAS to point out violations of the dress

Anonymous: 1) I was a parent chaperone on the fie...

2009-10-19T23:08:41.239-07:00

Anonymous:

1) I was a parent chaperone on the field trip – it wasn’t my place to point out dress code violations to the teacher.

2) In all honesty, my daughter hasn’t officially reported the ‘Playboy’ locker boys to the admin, but after having a talk with the counselor today, I’m going to encourage her to do so. It’s a slippery slope though – we all know how kids don’t want

I'm curious about a few things: What was the teach...

2009-10-19T22:24:35.720-07:00

I'm curious about a few things:
What was the teacher's response when you pointed out that girls on the field trip were violating dress code?
What was the administration's response when you provided them with the "Playboys" locker numbers?
What was the school site council's response when you gave input regarding revising the school's dress code?

Jessica, drive by my daughters' middle school one ...

2009-10-19T14:31:14.186-07:00

Jessica, drive by my daughters' middle school one day at around 3pm. You'll see half the student body dressed like my daughter was. Not saying 'just because everyone else does it, it's okay,' just saying it's a non-rule at this point, so for her to be singled out seems unfair.

Also, if she was cited in a civil, respectful manner, that would be one thing. To be

Marsha, I've met your kids, and they're wonderful ...

2009-10-19T14:23:28.182-07:00

Marsha, I've met your kids, and they're wonderful girls.

Looking at this as an outsider, I don't really see what was so wrong. My kids go to a school with a uniform and if the girls have skirts more than 3 inches above the knee, they're sent home.

Maybe I like dress codes more than other moms, but being a fabulous, delightful, bright, articulate and

Anniegirl138, I never denied that my daughter was...

2009-10-19T14:20:06.409-07:00

Anniegirl138,

I never denied that my daughter was outside the dress code rules – I said it in my post. My issue is with the validity of the rules and how the punishment is meted out. It’s sort of like being the person in charge of sorting through Enron and then deciding to go after the guys who stole Post-Its.

Also, when there are so many kids ignoring the rules,

I agree with the commenter who said that your daug...

2009-10-19T10:03:28.879-07:00

I agree with the commenter who said that your daughter learned her lesson: even people we think are on our side may not be.
It's a rough one to learn, and a he sounds like one of those "a little power corrupts" kind of guys. But the truth is, in any social situation, academic situation, job -- whatever. There are going to be people who are jerks, and who abuse their position.

This is a sad state of affairs when school adminis...

2009-10-19T09:55:34.011-07:00

This is a sad state of affairs when school administrators are wasting their time going after honor students who happen to wear a tee shirt (that was quite fashionable and had the right coverage may I add) with straps! There are so many other bigger problems to deal with right now. Public education is so important - it teaches kids that will be the future of our country (our most precious

Ahem. If you send a link to the school, maybe you...

2009-10-19T09:02:36.287-07:00

Ahem. If you send a link to the school, maybe you can edit my previous comment to make it less flaggable? After all, my kids may end up in LAUSD within the year...

"the problems of the LAUSD may lie in administrato...

2009-10-19T09:01:03.905-07:00

"the problems of the LAUSD may lie in administrators who abuse their power and refuse to get to know our children and who fail to act in in their best interests."

I'm surprised it took this long for you to have direct experience with this. Almost every LAUSD family I know has a similar story. I am sorry you were not spared, Marsha, and I can only hope that that VP

I've hesitated to comment but here goes. I taught...

2009-10-19T07:30:14.397-07:00

I've hesitated to comment but here goes.

I taught for twenty years. Mostly middle school. I think the spaghetti strap issue came up several times every time it got warm. Buildings in my district have only been air-conditioned in the last five years, so heat was a real issue.

The spaghetti strap is not all that big a deal when the girl in question is young, and by "

I think that the lesson here is that rules even ap...

2009-10-19T07:25:43.068-07:00

I think that the lesson here is that rules even apply to honor students. Since your daughter knew that was the dress code, why did she violate it? She seems like a smart girl -- one who just learned the hard way that actions have consequences. Everyone seems to want an exception when she gets caught!

There's no question that both she and you were treated beyond the pale, though,

I can see the need for dress codes but I think the...

2009-10-18T20:30:16.886-07:00

I can see the need for dress codes but I think the spaghetti strap rule is ridiculous ESPECIALLY in the summer when it gets unbearably hot. I also think that the way your daughter was treated was out of line. Fine, cite her but to continue to harrass her about it? I'm sure there were much more important issues for the VP to deal with rather than a small dress code violation.

The sad thing to me is that absolutely nothing has...

2009-10-18T19:42:13.994-07:00

The sad thing to me is that absolutely nothing has changed since I was in 7th grade, more than 3 decades ago. My parents were conservative dressers and would never have let me out of the house in something they considered inappropriate. I was wearing a skirt and a "pucker" blouse that was popular in the '70s. At one point in the day, I reached into my locker and the blouse rose

Wow. Like you, I can completely understand the ne...

2009-10-18T19:26:50.072-07:00

Wow. Like you, I can completely understand the need for rules and enforcement of rules. Yes, the VP can't see every rule violator but he *can* control how he treats other people. I am firmly convinced that adults who treat children with no respect are *increasing* the problem of disrespectful children.
As a lawyer, I see my fair share of flaming assholes and people who feel they are

I wore a tank top with spaghetti straps in 7th gra...

2009-10-18T19:17:49.846-07:00

I wore a tank top with spaghetti straps in 7th grade. See what good it did me? It's a wonder I was even able to get into college let alone grad school. Oh the horror!

Nothing good comes from wearing spaghetti straps I tell you, NOTHING.

Don't even get me started on shorts that are above the knee, but not so short your ass hangs out...

What a jerk. Like your other commenters, I underst...

2009-10-18T12:52:40.718-07:00

What a jerk. Like your other commenters, I understand the necessity of dress codes, but a quiet warning would have been fine. And when he did it a *second time* he really crossed the line into the territory of harassment.

I'm planning to homeschool my kids, and stories like this are one of the reasons why. Unlike many religious homeschoolers, I don't think public schools are

This is one of the MANY reasons I ditched my educa...

2009-10-17T23:13:25.899-07:00

This is one of the MANY reasons I ditched my education degree and decided not to teach. The public schools in our country - especially LAUSD - are full of people who don't care about the children. The bureaucratic BS of the administrators and, well, anyone above the teachers, is out of control and this is a perfect example of how our kids are being robbed of their right to a decent public