The recently-imposed dress code by the Franklin County Middle School seems
to have some parents upset. So far as we know, it is a "first"
for our county schools, and pioneers in any field often endure a fierce
defense of the status quo.
Without seeing what the code imposes, we applaud the school for doing "something".
There may need to be some modifications, we don’t know; however, the
middle school has taken a courageous first step that needs to be expanded
throughout the system.
Tommy Hilfiger and the other greedy cloth merchants who feed on the shallow
egos of teens and their parents, peddling low-rider jeans, exposing belly
buttons and buttocks, and laughing all the way to the bank, may hold sway
out in public. But the schools have a right……no, a duty….to
maintain some sense of decorum, and we applaud Mrs. Floyd and her staff
for trying to do just that.
A vocal minority has spoken out against the code. Well, then, offer alternatives.
Talk to the faculty. Get a PTO started in the school. We understand there
is not one, and it could go a long way toward establishing a partnership
that could solve the communication problems that exist.
And don’t stop there. Go to the Board and the Superintendent and open
a dialogue about dress codes for ALL the schools. What has been done in
the middle school needs to be expanded….at least to the high school.
No sense in setting up some semblance of a dress code for six through eight,
and then abandoning it.
"We never did it that way before," is not good enough. "Before"
was yesterday, and "Today’s" problems need to be addressed
today. Times change, and we’ve never before had to face such a diverse
influx of social mores. Our teachers need our help and support.
Someone once said that there are two types of people in the world…..those
who DO something, and those who sit back and say, "Why didn’t
THEY do it another way?" Unfortunately, the latter always seem to be
in the majority. Franklin County is no exception.
If there is a vacuum in this county being filled by what some term "dictators",
it is because we, the public, have allowed it to happen. We have created
that vacuum by our inertia.
Let’s hear it for dress codes. And until somebody comes up with a better
idea, let’s hear it for Mrs. Floyd!