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Read comments (6)This will be the third of four scheduled public forums on the controversial issue. The first was held in November at Liberty School, while the second was last month at Cascade. Anyone may attend any of the forums, regardless of where they live or which school their children attend.
SSA is more than a dress code but less than a uniform. The specifics differ from one school system to another, but the proposal which the local school board has placed on the table for discussion prohibits jeans and T-shirts and requires solid-colored, collared shirts along with pants or skirts in a limited palette of colors depending on the school. Shirts would have to be tucked in. They could bear no slogans, logos or other writing except a small brand logo or approved school mascots or logos.
School board members have indicated they might be willing to revise the draft proposal to allow younger children to wear jeans, considering that outdoor play can be rough on lighter-weight fabrics.
Proponents of SSA claim it creates a calmer school atmosphere, reduces class distinctions and gang colors. The school board has heard positive reports on SSA during field trips to several schools in the Nashville and Chattanooga areas where it has been put into place. Opponents say those benefits haven't been proven and that SSA places unnecessary burdens on parents and teens.
Opponents say that existing dress codes are not being properly enforced and would eliminate some of the problems cited by SSA supporters. But SSA supporters claim it's actually easier to enforce SSA -- a relatively short list of what students can wear -- than a normal dress code, which can in some cases contain a long and constantly-changing list of what students can't wear.
Opponents say that SSA places a burden on parents to buy new clothing for their children, while supporters say that SSA-compliant clothing is actually less expensive to buy and care for than the clothing some teens choose for themselves.
Opponents also say the tuck-in requirement doesn't take into account students whose body shape or size makes it difficult to keep shirttails in place.
At the Liberty School forum in November, both opponents and supporters of SSA spoke, but the Cascade forum last month featured all negative comments about the program.
After next week's event, the final forum will be Feb. 11 at Harris Middle School. The board plans to take an up-or-down vote on SSA at its Feb. 21 regular meeting. If it is adopted, it would take effect in the fall of 2008 for the 2008-2009 school year.
The Times-Gazette's complete coverage of the issue, along with other SSA-related links and contact information for school board members, can be accessed at www.t-g.com/topic/ssa .
If your only reason to accept SSA is to make the Children more equal then you are fighting a loosing battle. Even if the top name brand stores didn't carry (although they do) SSA approved clothing. It would be something else, you know exactly what I mean too, it would be that $500.00 Coach purse or those $300.00 shoes or a $200.00 belt. There will always be things, even in adulthood, that the ones with more money will have that the ones without so much money, won't have.
God forbid a child seeing another in more expensive tee shirts... cmon.
This is ridiculous, if that is the main reason this is being considered I am even more against it. Ya know, I saw a Ferrari on Tuesday that I would love to have I think we should adopt a standard car for America because it made me feel uncomfortable that someone younger than me was driving a $150,000 sports car...in which he was wearing a freaking tee shirt I might add. While were at it lets just adopt communism entirely. We all know that ssa will make school safer because the only place a gun can be concealed is baggy pants..not a backpack or anything. Here's my opinion on that too, if the parents are instilling in their offspring that a Hollister shirt makes them a better person than the kid wearing anything cheaper then you have serious problems.
The Top name brand jeans and shirts and sweatshirts are Hollister, American Eagle, Lucky, NY&Co, Abercrombie & Finch and all of these stores carry SSA approved clothes.
So this tells me the kids wearing those name brands will continue to wear the name brands and the kids will know the difference just as they do now.
The only thing that will change will be You the parent will have to buy entire new wardrobes for your children,unless your child happens to have SSA approved clothes in their closet now.
There will be no wearing jeans and shirts that your child can still wear from this year.
I dont see why this would be such a bad idea. It really wouldn't matter to me either way, but, it would be tons easier (and cheaper) to get school clothes if there were only certain things my child could wear to school. Also, for the children or teenagers that can't have the "NAME BRAND" stuff that their peers wear, i think it would make them feel alot better about not fitting in or not being popular enough because of their clothes not being nice enough and all that. I am really hoping that they do decide to do this in the schools. That way these kids could stop worrying about the brand of their jeans and start worrying about their grades.
I CAN SEE SOME POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IN ADOPTING THE SSA. I DO NOT SEE HOW TUCKING SHIRTS IN OR JUST SOLID COLOR SHIRTS CAN AFFECT ANYTHING, WHAT IS WRONG THE STRIPES ON A SHIRT? I DO NOT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH JEANS EITHER. ON THE POSTITIVE, I DO BELIEVE IT WOULD BE LESS OF A BATTLE IN THE MORNINGS AND EVERY CHILD WOULDBE ON THE SAME LEVEL. I KNOW THAT MY CHILDREN WOULD NOT LIKE IT.
TALK ABOUT GOVERNMENT IN YOUR LIFE IN ACTION;SSA IS JUST THAT.ANOTHER REMOVAL OF A RIGHT IF SCHOOL BOARD DOES THIS.WATCH FOR A NEW SSA OFFICER TO BE HIRED ON AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE NOT FOR EDUCATING,BUT FOR POLICEING.