GA teen told to dress more manly

This is one reason why I am in favor of school uniforms. I think that distractions should be kept to a minimum in a learning environment. Extra curricular activities and free days could provide more than enough opportunity for self expression.

Many times I think young people have the attitude that anything goes all of the time, but I think that the authorities involved should have impressed upon this student that everything is not always about him. What do y'all think?

*Warning* Please stay on topic or I will ask to close the thread.




Cobb teen told he can't dress like a female at school
By Alexis Stevens


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

10:36 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Jonathan Escobar says he chooses to wear clothes that express himself. Skinny jeans, wigs, "vintage" clothing and makeup are the staples of his wardrobe.

"I don't consider myself a cross-dresser," he said. "This is just who I am."

But the 16-year-old says an assistant principal at North Cobb High School told him last week he needed to dress more "manly" for school, or consider being home-schooled. He had only been a student at the school for three days.

"I told myself I can't accept this," said Escobar, who wore a pink wig to school last Wednesday.

Escobar said the assistant principal told him his style of dress had caused a fight between students at the school. Two days later, he withdrew himself from the Kennesaw school.

"You can't wear clothing that causes a disruption," said Jay Dillon, spokesman for Cobb County schools.

Dillon said he believed Escobar arrived at school in a dress and heels. But Escobar said he never wore a dress. He says he opted for "skinny" jeans all three days with flats.

The district lists the dress code on its homepage. The rule states that students should "refrain from any mode of dress which proves to contribute to any disruption of school functions."

School administrators and teachers are the final judge of the appropriateness of clothing, according to the rule.

Escobar said he moved to Cobb County from Miami to live with his older sister. His Florida school didn't have an issue with the way he dressed, but his parents did. His sister, Veronica Escobar, urged her parents to let Jonathan come to live with her. Now she says she's shocked by what has happened.

"I didn't think they would take it this far," Veronica Escobar said.

Jonathan Escobar says he wasn't a disruption in the classroom, but he attracted attention in the lunchroom. "Everybody was surrounding me," he said.

On his second day of school, Escobar says he was pulled out of class to speak with a police officer who told him he was concerned about the student's safety.

"They should've told the students to back off," Escobar said. "They should have never given me the option of homeschooling or changing who I am."

In his short time at the Kennesaw school, Escobar apparently made quick friends. By Tuesday evening, nearly 900 supporters had joined a Facebook group called "Support Jonathan." Many were planning to purchase a bright pink T-shirt with the same phrase.

Escobar says he wants to be allowed to attend school and eventually graduate. But he doesn't want to stifle what he calls his art.

"If I can't express myself, I won't go to school," he said. "I want to get the message out there that because this is who I am, I can't get an education."


Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/news/c...56500.html

I think that kid is dressing like that because he wants to get attention. Since when did 16 year olds know "Who they really are". follow the rules or stay home and stay ignorant and in 10 years we'll see what you really become.

This is why our public school system should make it mandatory for students to wear school uniforms. Too often young folks use the school system to make a fashion statement by the clothes they wear. That's not the reason they should be coming to school in the first place. It's an educational institution where its staffs' job is to educate students and help guide them through to their future career choices.
[Edited 10/9/09 6:31am]

Dayclear said:

2elijah said:

babynoz said:

I am for uniforms too but things like that would not be a distraction of the school's did not flip out over them.

Like many school's ban ear rings in boys! WHY? "it is a distraction!"

That is not true. If boys could ware them there would be no distraction. The distraction is when the teachers over react.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

i'm actually not a fan of school uniforms, but...

let's call this what it is. dressing in conformist boy clothing or uniforms is not going to stop this kid from being bullied. clearly, if this kid is comfortable enough to dress such as he does, he is visibly wearing his identity proudly regardless of what his sexuality might be). you could force him to wear a mullet, confederate flag hat and monster truck t-shirts, but it isn't going to affect his personality.

and giving in to the small-minded bullies does no good. singling out the prey because a pack of bigoted predators want to have a victim is not the answer at all. do we tell black people who are the victims of racism "well, act whiter, then they will leave you alone"? obviously not. do we tell women who have been raped "well, don't dress like that and you won't get raped"? sadly, a few morons do, but most of us are smarter than that.

and this is something that always bugged the shit out of me during scool...

we used to have a strictly enforced unisex rule about no shorts more than 2 or 3 (i forget which) inches above the knee, yet the school chosen uniforms for cheerleaders, which they wore every damn friday, barely covered their ass. it always struck me as hypocritical.

is it that the stereotypes of americana get a pass where those who don't fit into that barbie bullshit do not?
[Edited 10/9/09 16:21pm]

babynoz said:

cborgman said:

cborgman said:

But I am still for uniforms. Especially in schools with a high number of economically disadvantaged children. As clothing becomes a way to discriminate against others. So with the uniforms they all dress the same. And they are cheaper. You can get 3 sets for $25.

babynoz said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

I'm definitely FOR school uniforms.

I attended Catholic school up until the 8th Grade, then went to the public schools.

I can honestly say that those stupid green & yellow uniforms DID even out the playing field. I never felt bad about my appearance even when surrounded by classmates that were much, much better off than me. (My only hang-up was the fact that I never learned to tie a tie so I used clip-ons 'till the end!)

Then came the madness of the fashion shows in public school! Personally I have never been a slave to brand names, so I definitely got my fair share of teasing in Public School. Worse than that, I could not believe that so many kids from low income homes walked around with name-brand clothing and those giant gold chains that were in style back then. (Remember "door-knocker" earrings?)

School is for learning. If you cannot define yourself without a costume, then you are in trouble.

1. I'm totally against school uniforms in the public school system.

HOWEVER.....

2. I'll sided with the school administrators and teachers in this debate. I feel that all teen boys (regardless of human sexualities and/or cultural backgrounds) should be require to dress more "butch" and less "metro" or "pretty" in the classrooms. If all men are created equal, they need to dress like it in an educational institution.

End of.

TonyVanDam said:

TonyVanDam said:

1212121 said:

cborgman said:

1212121 said:

cborgman said:

would you also tell black kids they should dress more white?

That's retarded^...Yet funny.

Dayclear said:

cborgman said:

Actually, I'll tell them to look like Malcolm X.

And besides, why should white kids be THE only people to wear a business suit?

there were 2 flaming gay boys in my high school (one cross-dressed)

guess what? they are still gay years later

did they get made fun of? yeah

will uniforms change that? no

should uniforms be mandatory? yeah, but that is just one of about a million changes needed in America's school system

here in japan there is a middle class and an upper class

how did they get that way? education

the kids study before school and after school, wear uniforms and don't question authority
[Edited 10/13/09 2:46am]
[Edited 10/13/09 2:46am]

babynoz said:

cborgman said:

Other than the pink wig, what is the problem? Skinny jeans? Hell, just because shit hop has set the norm that big baggy slouchy ass jeans are the norm for boys, doesn't mean that everyone else has to have bad enough taste to follow that trend. Skinny jeans feminine? Hell, when I was in school, everyone, including boys, wore skinny jeans all the way down to the ankle and the tighter the better. It was the early 1980s and the 1970s had just gone out of style. The last thing we wanted our jeans to look like was bellbottoms. I remember if there was any slack whatsoever in the pants legs, some of the boys used to grab that excess material and roll it into a ball down by the ankle so the jeans would appear to be tapered at the bottom because people would accuse you of wearing bellbottoms in a minute.

A little make-up? So what. Why can't a male wear a little base and powder to cover any hint of shaving and make their face look flawless? If females can do it, why can't males? And vintage clothing? Well hell, vintage clothing is unacceptable but the thug look is acceptable? The boy is just copying era when people had better taste. If that's his taste, then leave him alone.

And as for all these fights and disrupting the class. The boy isn't doing that, the other students are. Why should he be punished because some other students can't mind their own damn business? If the other students harass him, discipline them, not him. If they continue, suspend them for three days. If they still continue, expel the little bastards. And if it means disciplining damn near the entire class, then so be it. Part of going to school, is also learning how to deal with the real world such as being around other people. Students have to be in class at 8:00 on the dot to teach them to be on time, just like in the real world. Well, in the real world, they are also going to encounter people who are different than they are and have different tastes than they have. Stop punishing the child who is different and start punishing the little bastards that are harrasing him. And if it means continuously punishing entire classrooms, then keep doing it until the little bastards break and give in, start keeping their damn mouths shut, and start minding their own damn business. Disrupting the class my ass. That's like saying that the students have control of the classroom. The teachers are supposed to have control of the classroom.

cborgman said: