Spirit Squad
If you're in the area, you've probably heard the story of Grendan Bailie, the Pittsburgh Steelers fan who had hs dad pick him up from school because he wore his team's jersey to school, instead of a Seahawk one, on Seahawks Pride Day. His choice was to either take off the shirt and replace it with something that conforms to the code, or be suspended for the day. So his dad came and got him and they went home. The school has a uniform as dress code, except for when there are "Pride Days" such as this one. Grendon is no fan of the home team, and prefers to root for the Steelers. That's absolutely his right, and I won't back him any less because he roots for a team that I openly despise. The problem is that having a "Support your team" day when Seattle's win over the Saints was fresh in everyone's mind. And if you do say "Support your team," the kid who wears the Baltimore Ravens jersey gets laughed at, and that becomes a story. Oy.
The problem is that the school has a dress code. I think the school kinda blew it by assuming that everyone rooted for the same team, but that's their dime, as a private school they get to make the rules. Is it a dumb rule? Completely. Should it be more inclusive to fans of all teams? I think so, but I'm not on the school board. Would I have sent him home or suspended him in-house? I'd like to think that I wouldn't. Maybe whatever the equivalent of a demerit is. I don't think that's serious enough to warrant this level of punishment.
Back in school, I loathed spirit day. At Lake Youngs Elementary School, our colors were blue unt gold. And one day a month, we were all supposed to show up wearing those colors. Whichever room had the highest percentage of participants displaying the "school spirit" won some sort of in-class party thing, and a banner that would hang in the class until the next time.
I don't think I remembered to dress for it more than a handful of times in twenty opportunities. I don't think I ever remember being in a class that ever won it. I remember hearing about why Mrs. Rival's class won; that they would do some sort of thing to remind them to do it the next day, but I can tell you, when I got dressed in the morning, I would stick one of my tiny hands in the closet and pull out a shirt. Is it clean? Is it free from tears or holes or wrinkles? Yes? Bully! Done deal, strap in because the bus is minutes away. I rarely dressed for spirit day because it wasn't high on my radar, and I wasn't the kind of kid who would lay out his clothes for the next day before he went to bed.
Having never been to a school with a uniform rule, it is terribly easy for me to say that I don't think I'd mind it. it would make the "what to wear" decision that much easier. I wouldn't have to go shopping for shirts, wouldn't be compared with everyone else in my class to see who was able to spend money on that and who wasn't. So I'm OK with uniforms, and I'm ok with spirit day. All the same I think the school overreacted in suspending someone because he wore the wrong jersey.
I suppose we should be glad that no one decided to dress up as a Super Bowl referee. They'd still be scraping bits of that kid off the lockers.
The problem is that the school has a dress code. I think the school kinda blew it by assuming that everyone rooted for the same team, but that's their dime, as a private school they get to make the rules. Is it a dumb rule? Completely. Should it be more inclusive to fans of all teams? I think so, but I'm not on the school board. Would I have sent him home or suspended him in-house? I'd like to think that I wouldn't. Maybe whatever the equivalent of a demerit is. I don't think that's serious enough to warrant this level of punishment.
Back in school, I loathed spirit day. At Lake Youngs Elementary School, our colors were blue unt gold. And one day a month, we were all supposed to show up wearing those colors. Whichever room had the highest percentage of participants displaying the "school spirit" won some sort of in-class party thing, and a banner that would hang in the class until the next time.
I don't think I remembered to dress for it more than a handful of times in twenty opportunities. I don't think I ever remember being in a class that ever won it. I remember hearing about why Mrs. Rival's class won; that they would do some sort of thing to remind them to do it the next day, but I can tell you, when I got dressed in the morning, I would stick one of my tiny hands in the closet and pull out a shirt. Is it clean? Is it free from tears or holes or wrinkles? Yes? Bully! Done deal, strap in because the bus is minutes away. I rarely dressed for spirit day because it wasn't high on my radar, and I wasn't the kind of kid who would lay out his clothes for the next day before he went to bed.
Having never been to a school with a uniform rule, it is terribly easy for me to say that I don't think I'd mind it. it would make the "what to wear" decision that much easier. I wouldn't have to go shopping for shirts, wouldn't be compared with everyone else in my class to see who was able to spend money on that and who wasn't. So I'm OK with uniforms, and I'm ok with spirit day. All the same I think the school overreacted in suspending someone because he wore the wrong jersey.
I suppose we should be glad that no one decided to dress up as a Super Bowl referee. They'd still be scraping bits of that kid off the lockers.