As we head into the new school year, many classes are going completely virtual. It's a stressful time for parents, kids, and teachers. While kids are struggling to adjust to online learning, teachers are trying to come up with inventive ways to keep students engaged. And parents have a lot more to oversee than they're used to. We can't just drop our kids off at school and hope for the best this year. We have to make sure they're doing what they need to do when it comes to their education.
As if that weren't tough enough, especially for parents trying to work and oversee their children's education at the same time, one school district has decided to enforce a dress code for kids … while they're at home. That's right — those attending schools in Springfield, Illinois, just found out that their school's dress codes apply for when they're attending class online, too, not just when they're physically in the classroom. It's a controversial move that has a lot of parents talking.
Kids can't wear hats, bandanas, sunglasses, or slippers (which begs the question of who is looking at their feet anyway?). But kids also aren't allowed to wear pajama pants. That's pretty much probably the toughest blow for kids, right? I mean, who doesn't wear pajama pants when hanging around the house?
Dress codes can serve a purpose, and this school district seems to trying to set a precedent that online learning should be taken seriously. In theory, maybe it's a nice idea. In practice, though, it seems like it will prove pretty difficult to enforce. It also can make an already stressful situation even more stressful.
"We don't need students in pajamas and all those other things while on their Zoom conferences," Jason Wind, the district's director of student support, said during an online board meeting of Springfield Public Schools this week. The administration definitely wants to be clear about what will be expected from students. But many people don't agree with dress codes in the first place, so this policy is certainly going to see pushback.
District spokeswoman Bree Hankins said in a statement that the guidelines being put in place are meant to provide consistency between in-person and online learning.
"Our hope is that students approach remote learning as they would in a classroom setting, to the extent possible given each student's individual circumstances," Hankins said. "However, we understand the interpretation of the dress code in a remote learning environment will differ from a normal school setting."
You've got that right. The fact is, it's pretty tough to tell kids they can't wear what makes them comfortable when they're in their own homes. I mean, most adults working from home wear yoga pants! People tend to focus best when they are comfortable anyway. But the district didn't stop there. It also said kids have to be at a table or a desk — not sitting on their beds.
It should be noted that every school district has a lot to navigate right now. Everyone is doing their best to figure out how to approach this strange new time when it comes to the best way to educate kids. Schools don't want this year to be completely ineffective, and they're trying to come up with ways to ensure kids are focused and learning.
Still, it seems like a waste of energy to worry too much about dress codes or where kids sit while they're online. There are so many tough things right now to navigate. Allowing kids to simply be comfortable while learning from home could be at least one perk to not having in-person school.
Honestly, most people are most productive when they are comfortable. Desk sitting, especially for hours upon hours, can get pretty uncomfortable. The added drain of staring at Zoom class after Zoom class creates another unique challenge, too. Zoom burnout is real.
The district serves approximately 14,000 students. On August 31, students will begin a hybrid learning model. They will attend classes two days a week while learning online the rest. Parents are nervous about how the school year will pan out. Some parents think the dress code will only add to the stress and that it will do more harm than good to try to dictate kids' clothing choices or where they're sitting.
John Freml is a parent in the district who will have a kindergartener and a second-grade student this year. He told NBC News that to him, the rules don’t make sense. “We have to meet families where they are and not put up more restrictions.”
Meeting families where they are definitely seems like it’s going to be more important now than ever, and it will be interesting to see if policies like these actually stick as the school year progresses. But however parents, students, and teachers feel about how kids should present themselves while engaging in virtual learning, a dress code is certainly going to be tough to enforce.
