Dress Codes Help Students, Rile Parents

The same parents who demand better performance from schools spend time resisting new dress codes in Detroit's struggling school system. Says one administrator: "It has had a strong effect on their behavior, especially in the cafeteria. They're much more relaxed and the noise level is much lower."

But some parents can't see the connection between dress and academic performance, and are taking time to fight the new codes. One father laments: "How can teachers be teaching her anything if they're sitting and watching what she has on? As long as she's decent, that's all I ask."

Hey, dad, your schools are failing. Support this new idea; give it a chance to work. The parents paying several thousands of dollars per year for private schools mostly face this same dress code, which seems to work. I would turn your question on you: "How can your student learn when you are assisting her resistance to a new rule that works so well in more successful schools?"