Wednesday 7 December 2011

Originally broadcast on CHED Radio, Edmonton, Alberta Canada. January 1963. Labeled #12b


Educators across Canada have bee cautiously toying with the idea that some control should be exercised by school officials over the dress of the student body. I don’t know why they hesitate on this issue. It was interesting to notice in driving through 16 states last summer, that all schools required a certain standard of dress of their students. Even the smallest country schools required the young ladies to wear dresses, or skirts and blouses and the young gentlemen to wear slacks and jackets...No jeans...no toreador pants...no black jackets...no shirt tails hanging out...no duck tail haircuts. Frankly, when a young adult reaches high school. I think it’s about time he learned that society expects he’ll start acting like a reasonably  responsible citizen, and that among these responsibilities are certain requirements in dress and conduct. I don’t feel that sloppy freakish dress is in any way conducive to responsible thinking in the class room. I have seen some classrooms in our country, and in the best of neighbourhoods too, where the student body looks more like a bunch of sharecroppers than sensible kids intent on growing into useful citizens. The “article writers” will tell us that this is all part of their expression, their rebellion against conformity. I say “hogwash”. When a youngster reaches high school, it is high time he recognized a few rules and regulations for living in an organized society...and surely the least of these regulations is a reasonable attitude toward his dress. I am sure parents will see the benefit in any regulations which may be enforced regarding dress in our schools, and strongly support any action which may be taken to make such regulations work, if they are adopted.

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