Dress codes are dress codes, right?
Beaufort High School's student body president, Cary Burgess, of South Carolina, received an in-school suspension for her "too short" skirt and lashed back on Facebook, causing a viral stir through social media and international news outlets last week.
Ms. Burgess lashed out at the school for focusing on the wrong things. (Take a look at her skirt, and you'll see what she means.)
Today, I wore this outfit to Beaufort High School. About 20 minutes into the day, my friend and I were excused from...
Posted by Carey Burgess on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
She was fighting back against the school - for the student body she was elected to lead.
And not just because of a skirt.
Why should you care?
It's all in the comments.
Following up on this dress code violation, the comments from students is what educators and parents truly need to pay attention to.
A sampling of comments from the now-viral Facebook thread:
...Instead of Beaufort High School being focused on actual pressing matters such as the drug use in the school or the fact that we have SUBSTITUTE teachers in our core classes 4 days out of 5 days we have to come to this HELL hole, they'd rather be focused on who doesn't have a parking pass, towing STUDENT cars, and how short a girl's skirt is. What a great school we attend. Amen Carey , AMEN - Christian Smart
Also, at my university, when we study public education and empowering students to do well, Beaufort highs policies are always literally the opposite of what scholars in this field recommend and college admission rates and test scores reflect this as well. - Constance Craik
The fact that I could name every teacher mentioned in this posts goes to show that this is not an isolated incident. Since I've gone to college and started talking to people from other places I've come to realize that my entire high school career was consumed with reform that did nothing to benefit the education. I hear other students here talk about all the opportunities they had in high school and all I can say is I spent 4 years worrying about how which teachers interpreted each dress code rule and dressing to make sure I could get through all of my classes without getting sent home. That's not what school is about and I feel for all those still their sacrificing their personality for their education. - Chandaa Johnson
It's Not All About The Dress
Beaufort County, South Carolina, is the same school district where the current Superintendent of Education, Jeffrey Moss, was accused of nepotism after changing a job description to permit his wife to obtain administrative employment within the same school system.
Oh, and Mr. Moss was accused of nepotism before.
This is the same school district where the front page news of the local paper, The Island Packet, featured an article not about potential teacher harassment or lack of quality education, but about the county statistics that boys are more likely to be cited for dress code violations that girls.
That's front page news? That more boys receive dress code violations than girls?
Beaufort County School District should be investigating every claim made by Ms. Burgess and her fellow students. If Ms. Burgess is identifying teachers that, "...making sexist jokes all class..." and are, "letting me know I am an inferior woman...", then it's a concern that requires further investigation.
Especially if other students appear to know exactly who Carey Burgess is talking about.
Forget the dress code.
Beaufort County School District has bigger problems.
How do I know?
I live in Beaufort County. And we have a system that places bureaucracy ahead of education.
Ms. Burgess wants to see results, reform, and quality education.
As a parent and community member, so do I.
This is a county where closed-door board meetings are the norm.
Where many teachers live in fear of retribution.
A county where the pay is low and employment is "at-will."
This is a county like so many others in the country.
This is a county with a school system that needs an overhaul.
Investigations by local news outlets and community leaders of the bigger problems (drugs, teacher harassment, performance standards) are what I want to see on the front page of local papers in every school district that struggles with similar issues.
Not statistics on dress code violations.
How about you?
Every parent should be thanking Cary Burgess, teenager and student body president of Beaufort County High School, for bringing these issues to our attention.
Now it's up to the adults to do something about it.
Or should we just let the kids handle it?