Red Tights

I'm so irritated and need to get this off my chest before I explode! My daughter is a junior at a private Christian school. Of course they wear uniforms and they have a strict dress code. This morning she wore red tights with her uniform and they called me from the school to tell me she has to come home to change because of the tights. That is so ridiculous! They said the tights make it seem like she is drawing attention to herself! I told them it's a twenty minute drive to the school and I'm at work, what do they expect me to do? They said they expect me to show my daughter that I want to follow the rules and that I want to have Godly principles. I didn't know that red tights went against Godly principles. Am I wrong in thinking this is absolutely ridiculous!

Strict is right. I'm surprised they don't have a supply of extra tights for girls who aren't wearing any at all.

i'd be ticked too. that's crazy.


Buddha ♥s red tights!

Glad I don't have to deal with that carp.

'nuff said... sounds like you sould be directing your anger towards your daughter who broke the rules and putting both the school and you in this situation. The school is just enforcing the rules you and your daughter agreed to... your options are to follows the rules you agreed to, or go elsewhere.

As a Compliance Officer, would you accept a similar arguement from one of your LO's for occasionaly not collecting GMI?

Ledeana - do they have a written dress code? Could it be because it's Halloween?

Hang in there. It's about the education.

You know, I've noticed that practically any time I post anything you have an argument against it. I don't know you but you seem to like to argue with me. Of course she has a dress code which she follows. There is absolutely nothing in the dress code prohibiting tights or socks. They don't want the kids to wear anything to draw attention to themselves. I don't feel that tights worn with a skort is the sort of thing that a girl would wear to draw attention to themselves. Perhaps if they were fishnet stockings or if her skort were too short, then they would have an argument, but what she was wearing was not provoking in the least bit. I have the most modest children ever in the history of the World and they don't like attention drawn to them. They were opaque tights, and the whole thing is very irritating!

I do not even recall ever replying to you before... sorry?

According to the school, she is not...

Red tends to do that, especially at a christian school... signs of the devil and all, you know?

Again, you signed up for the rules, now you gotta understand and play by them... I do not understand why the school is at fault.

are the uniforms red? or have red in them? is red part of the school color/theme?

Just ignore JJ...He's silly.

Does the dress code say the tights have to be a certain color? I'd tell them to screw off.

Unless they color-coordinated with the uniforms, I'm afraid I have to side with JJ. Red is associated with many things...none good at a Christian School.

Red - Devil
Red - Blood (gang)
Red - Warning/Stop/Danger, etc.
Red - Prostitution

Sorry!

having said all this...not knowing the child's age would make a difference to me. A 5-yr old vs a 15 yr old, for instance.

AND if she is the only one wearing Red tights...she would stick out in the crowd.

Not exactly an appropriate response to a christian school...just sayin'

I went to a "Christian" school nearly all my life. Trust me, most of those peeps deserved to be told off.

↑ Now that is not very christian

My granddaughter goes to a public school with a very strict dress code. Their SOCKS have to be navy, white, pink or khaki. The shirts have to be plain - no lace on the collar, no little polo player or alligator, PLAIN!

She does think that she's got them fooled when she wears long pants and crazy socks. She gets away with that because they can't be seen. (She gets the love for crazy socks from me!)

Yes, but isn't being honest better than being a hypocrite?

I agree. I'm a proud drop out of The Rock Christian Academy and those people are some of the biggest hypocrites that I've ever met. I once got paddled because I hugged a girl outside after my basket ball team (I played center) won a big game… The pastor said that it was a sin… later that year, his 16 year old daughter got pregnant by a man staying at the shelter the church also provided. She however did not get paddled… her unwed pregnancy was called "a blessing”

I agree with JJ...like it or not, the rules are the rules. If you don't like it, there are other options. Telling the school to screw off won't help matters, IMHO.

It might, if you tell the school to screw off by choosing another option.

Thank you all for your input. I went to the school and picked her up, took her home to change, and took her back to school, after making sure she was now appropriately dressed. Sorry if I was a bit hot headed earlier. I wasn't being very Christian in my reaction and so if anyone was offended, I apologize.

Have a good day!

There isn't anything wrong with red in a Christian environment. Red is actual one of the vestment colors:

"Red is used on Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion and on Good Friday, on Pentecost Sunday, on celebrations of the Lord's Passion, on the feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists, and on celebrations of Martyr Saints."

blah blah blah....

Red=prostitution?? dang, where's my money??

Its also the vestment colors for Reformation Sunday - which was this past Sunday. They should actually be wearing red today since today is the anniversary of the date Martin Luther nailed his thesis to the door of the church at Wittenberg!

Very true Walden, but most schools that call themselves Christian Schools usually do not celebrate Luther and the Reformation. In our area, 'Christian' schools are usually fundamentalist/evangelical.

maybe it's a Catholic school

I was raised Catholic and went all through Catholic schools - believe me - they do not even mention Luther.

Excuse me, JJ, but why are you giving me attitude? I provided some alternate information and I don't see any reason for you to be so rude.

As someone said earlier, don't pay attention to Jay, he's just "silly".

The school that my daughter attends is Baptist and we are Pentecostal so we basically believe the same things as they do.

The only reason she wore the red tights today - because she is not a tights-wearing person - is that for Halloween she is dressing up as a bottle of ketchup and so she wanted to wear the tights all day to get them stretched out a bit. They were a little snug and she wanted them to be more comfortable for this evening. Oh well, Ketchup will have to be wearing tight tights after all!

In my 10 years of Catholic schooling, you bet I would have been sent home for wearing red tights. And while there was nothing in the "policy" against them, I was too chicken to have ever tried anything that was against the rules. And I hold no grudges for it.

However - having said that, the school actually celebrated Halloween, much to the dismay of many parents that felt that it was wrong, against our Church's teachings, blah, blah, blah...
so in your daughter's case - today being Halloween and all, I would not have been allowed to wear red tights all day, but could have changed into them when the festivities started. Worn them home, then worn them out for trick-or-treating.

Never say your are sorry for venting. That's what this is here for. Direct it at us and not the school and save your sanity

I hope he is being silly and is not really as rude as he is coming across. While I agree that the school seems to be over reacting, unless it is in the policy to have only neutral colored socks, I don't think it is necessary to be hateful about it.

I attended "Christian" school until it was discovered that my aunt (by marriage) was sleeping with the pastor.

In addition, JJ seems to have a rude streak about multiple things. Ignore him.

Red was also the color most American brides wore up 'til the Civil War. Honestly y'all - is the color really the point, here? ::rollseyes::

Ledeana - I was a private school kid, too (one Baptist, one Catholic, one non-affiliated). While only one of them had uniforms, all three had STRICT dress codes and an abundance of staff who were so uptight their pants squeaked. The only good thing about private school is that you *literally* pay their salaries...so go ahead and tell them where to get off. Having been in this exact situation (only not involving tights and I was the kid) you have options: 1) do as the stuffy staff asks and spend your entire day catering to their perceived authority and showing your daughter that her actions affect YOU more so than they do HER; 2) tell Ms. Office Clerk to deal with it herself - that's what you pay her for; 3) tell Ms. Office Clerk to have your daughter remove the offending item of clothing, burn it in ritual on the school grounds, thereby making a real example of what happens when a child has *gasp* a single spark of individuality; 4) talk to daughter, tell her to take the tights off and put them in her locker - she knew the rules, broke them willingly, and gets to be chilly as a result.

Sweetpeas, darkhorse... the thread was not about interpreting vestment colors nor was it about the merits of those who work, or in some cases, perform unchristian acts in a christian environment. It was about someone daughter breaking the school rules, and when she did, mom was trying to determine if she overreacted or not.

Either keep it on topic, or bash me in the cooler where you tend to do it, and not the couch.

And for the record, I still feel you pay for the school, you either play by their rules and instill the vaules they require, or you seek out another school that embodies that.

you abide by the rules you don't play by the rules.
Further more she didn't know she broke the school dress code rules when she wore the red tights. There is nothing in the dress code that forbid red tights.
Drawing attention to one's self does not = red tights.

Apparently, it does, otherwise the school would not have objected as it did.

Actually, the thread was about a mother who was frustrated because her daughter (who is a good girl) inadvertently broke a rule neither of them knew existed. This mother was looking to vent and release some steam and instead she was accused of having a "scofflaw" for a daughter.

It's OK. I don't mind you flirting with me.

IMO the school was too strict. It's not like your daughter went to school with a garter belt on, sheesh!

Maybe the school should consider giving examples to clarify vague rules such as "calling attention to yourselves".

I also think that the couch is very different from the cooler and people should act accordingly. This is a place where people put out real issues (big and small) from their lives and they should be treated with a certain level of respect.

Apparently, it wasn't in the dress code rules.

Apparently, it doesn't matter if it is written or not, the private school can make up and interpret the rulses as they go, as they wish, since it is a private institution.

all the more reason to be upset when told it was against the rules when it wasn't even a written rule.

It sounds like red tights are something not normally worn. The daughter only wore them to stretch them out before trick or treating. This goes more to spirit of the law, than letter of the law.

Having attended catholic schools, I knew what we were allowed to wear and what we were not. I would guess their uniforms at this school are simple, and understated, and red that would match a ketchup bottle costume, would stand out.

I think Ledeana expressed her frustration and has moved on.

To those who think she should tell the school where to get off, when you register your child for a private school, you know what you are signing up for. Either comply with the rules, or leave. It's as simple as that.

If we want to debate the pros and cons of this type of schooling, we should move to the cooler.

JMHO

It's not just private schools that have such strict dress codes any more. A lot of public schools in this area do also.

I really do appreciate all of the input, the encouragement and the ummhhh, er, uh other comments. As I said on Friday I went to the school, took my daughter home to change, and took her back. Problem solved and going forward my daughter will walk the line more closely when it comes to how she presents her self, uniform-wise, at school. Thanks everyone and Jay - have a nice day!

The red tights might not normally be worn but that doesn't spell out if they were not met with the school approval. Schools need to spell it out or when something like this comes up pull the kid aside and let them know it isn't appropriate and be done with it. Being a ketchup bottle for Halloween or whatever has nothing to do with it. Everyone interprets differently- spell it out for the kids-

I agree, they really should spell it out clearly so that the kids and parents completely understand the school's interpretation of the rules.

IMO I think that the school should also have a contingency plan in place for situations like this (spare socks or tights) so the parents don't have to run down to the school for everything. I think that a lot of parents would prefer to be billed for the replacement clothing instead of clocking out of work.

Sing, I love your turkey.

I totally agree with you Sing, but we have many small schools in our area that would be considered 'Christian' schools. They feel they have the right to do as they please. When you register your child, you are signing on the proverbial dotted line to do what they say, AND what they imply.

Like it or not, that seems to be how they operate. I am sure that Ledeana's daughter will not make a mistake like that again. It would be great if they had spare articles of clothing for the students to wear, and then charge the parent; but maybe they find that pulling the parent out of work is more effective in making an impression on both parent and student?

I am just so very happy that I am past that stage in life and no longer have to worry about it.

-Firearms must not be visible, unless the chrome or gun metal is tasteful and in good repair

-Gang tattoos, if visible, must be professionally drawn. Homemade or jail drawn tattoos must be covered.

-Pants must not be worn more than three inches below the "plumber"s cleavage" line.