At Watertown Middle School, the dress code requires students’ clothing to be appropriate — shorts and skirts must be at least to mid-thigh and tank top straps must be at least two fingers wide (the width of both the index and middle fingers). If a student does not follow these rules, they have to call home to get a change of clothes.

Overall, the students don’t seem too opposed to the dress code, but many students still disagree with its rules. The opinions of boys and girls were very different from each other: the boys didn’t seem like they disagreed with the dress code nearly as much as the girls did.

“I think that the dress code should exist, but it could be changed a little bit,” said Christa, a seventh-grader. “I don’t really agree with the rules about shorts — a lot of people don’t even own shorts that long.”

“The dress code is kind of hard to follow,” said Mikayla, also a seventh-grader.

Both Christa and Mikayla said that, overall, they believe that the dress code is a good idea, but it should be changed so that it’s a little bit easier to follow. When asked if they thought that, overall, the dress code was a good idea, two eighth-graders, Nina and Rebecca, said yes and no.

“Because some people might wear clothes that are inappropriate for school, like wearing shorts that are way too short,” said Rebecca.

But the boys had less trouble with it.

“I think that the dress code is fine,” said Amin, a seventh-grader. “I know that a lot of girls might disagree with it, especially because of the rules for shorts, but I think that it’s fine.”

Jake, an eighth-grader, said, “The dress code is a good idea because people shouldn’t wear inappropriate clothes to school.”

–Dec. 8, 2010–