We all know that saggy pants/jeans are not well - received in most parts, like in Maurice, where there's an ordinance against pants that are too big to fit properly.

What about jeans that are too tight, like the so - called 'skinny jeans?'

A school in North Carolina has banned skinny jeans and 'other excessively tight fitting pants unless worn with a top or dress that 'must cover the posterior in its entirety,' according to Fox News.

The school board enacted the ban because it says some 'bigger girls' were bullied when wearing tight - fitting pants. Some parents think the ban is ridiculous and that more time should be spent on monitoring student behavior instead of banning wardrobe choices.

As a former teacher and a current parent of two girls, I have two perspectives on the issue. Non - educators often seem to think 'monitoring student behavior' is something as easy as putting on a pair of shoes, and that if teachers 'just did their jobs better,' 99 - 100 % of student discipline issues would never happen.

The truth is that teachers can't possibly monitor and control every single moment of a student's life during the school day, which means student interaction (like bullying) can happen in the restroom or even in an open space like the cafeteria or playground. A limited number of teachers cannot possibly see and hear everything that happens to a student outside of the classroom.

This is where my view as a parent of girls comes in. Let's start with girls and clothing first. Girls of middle - high school age are dealing with their own bodily development, what TV and movies tell them a girl should dress and look like 'to be pretty', and what other girls their age say they should look like and wear 'to be pretty.' A girl's self - esteem, even with the most loving and supportive parents, is as delicate as an egg in a tornado. This means there isn't a perfect outfit that some other girl won't find 'something wrong with' and then make fun of. Assuming we're talking about girls in public schools, what they wear should be comfortable but also follow common sense. Wearing something that's too tight probably isn't that comfortable, but if it is, having some way to cover up certain areas accented by the tight clothing is a good idea so that attention is not drawn to that area.

Which brings us to boys and what girls are wearing. Modern fashions might disagree, but I personally believe modesty should be the rule of thumb in schools. Psychology (and that pesky common sense) tells us males are visually stimulated. Teenage boys are already distracted by the presence of girls in their classes and schools to begin with. Adding tight clothes (especially when some girls are developing earlier/differently based on genetics) only adds to the distraction.

To be fair to girls, boys shouldn't be wearing tight pants or shirts, either. Girls aren't as visually stimulated as boys, but they're still visually stimulated and that's another distraction for them to deal with on top of paying attention in class, worrying about what the other girls (and boys) are thinking/saying about how they look, and what's going on at home. Same goes for the boys. Just think about the things they now read and see thanks to the Internet and social media.

I think the bottom - line is that what students wear should be as comfortable yet respectful of all other students as possible. School isn't a fashion show, nor is it a slumber party or the mall. It's a place of learning with some social interaction, and for those things to happen and also succeed, everyone (administrators, teachers, students, and parents) need to work together. Adults also need to remember that young people are always looking to push boundaries as they learn about themselves and their place in the world. Finding appropriate ways to push those boundaries is good and healthy, but I don't think what young people wear to school should be one of them.

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