reasons why i should be allowed to wear my kilt to school

[clan campbell]

im 17 and i attend a public school and i want to wear my kilt, but i dont wanna get in trouble for causing a distraction in the class, because im not allowed to wear it, so i wondered what are your thoughts on why i should be allowed to wear it

[Nick the DSM]

I've worn it to my high school over the past four years and got no trouble from admin whatsoever. Should be no problem.

[imnothng]

Why aren't you allowed to wear it? If it's public school I can't see how they could say no, but if it's catholic school, then you have to abide by the uniform rules.

[Mickey]

Public schools can and do impose and enforce dress codes, quite legally, even though some of which make no sense at all. My son, who is 16, along with his cronies, wear kilts to school with various stages of dress ranging from punk rock T-shirts to collars and ties.

However, they are not allowed to wear hats of any sort, jackets/hoodies/coats (even in wintertime) and even display bandanas of any design or color, regardless of whether it is on a head, neck, wrist or even showing from a pocket from the time school starts until in ends, even if outside. He even got in trouble for wearing wrist sweatbands that had the Bud Light logo on them (promoting alcohol)... We gave him white sweatbands the next day with Rozelle and Pluto written on them in Sharpie.... (some folks might get this jab)

I would recommend that you get your parents involved and bring up the double standard between guys and girls, along with culture/heritage, especially as I assume from your screen name that it may be a large part of your family history. I've lived in some pretty bad neighborhoods and even had an ex-brother in law who was an actual "crip" in LA, and I've never seen a gang member of any sort wearing a kilt. A kilt does not incite violence or turf wars. Unless kilt wearing is specifically forbidden in your student guidebook (which I only assume your school gives out) a bit of parental involvement, even a letter, can accomplish a lot.

You could even test the waters (with your parent's permission of course) by wearing the kilt and bringing along trousers to change into if it turns into a problem.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Nighthawk]

Public schools can and do impose and enforce dress codes, quite legally, even though some of which make no sense at all. My son, who is 16, along with his cronies, wear kilts to school with various stages of dress ranging from punk rock T-shirts to collars and ties.

However, they are not allowed to wear hats of any sort, jackets/hoodies/coats (even in wintertime) ...

Well, that makes sense...

im 17 and i attend a public school and i want to wear my kilt, but i dont wanna get in trouble for causing a distraction in the class, because im not allowed to wear it, so i wondered what are your thoughts on why i should be allowed to wear it

So now, I have to ask, because it's unclear to me from your post- have you already tried to wear it and been denied, or is this a hypothetical situation against which you're arming yourself?

[Whidbey78]

If the school has any written policy about culturally significant or symbolic clothing being an exception to the dress code you can always use that to boost your argument. Despite the impression given by most public institutions, the kilt is no less a culturally significant item than a turban or a yamika. The only downside to using this argument is that it applies more to traditional kilt and wearing them in a traditional style, so it probably wouldn't open the doors to wearing something like a Utilikilt.

Hopefully your teachers and administrators haven't been brainwashed into the all-too-common misconception that the word "ethnic" either can not apply to things originating in Europe or that it means "non-European in origin." Then you're saddled with correcting their misconceptions before you can move on to getting permission or changing policy. Been there. Its a struggle. Good luck.

[Father Bill]

Why aren't you allowed to wear it? If it's public school I can't see how they could say no, but if it's catholic school, then you have to abide by the uniform rules.

Actually, I note that you (unlike the OP) live in Ontario which does have the requirement that each school have a dress code, therefore it could be in violation of the individual school's code. It wasn't really intended that way when the legislation was passed, but putting something into writing often has a way of going awry. I wonder if the OP is in a similar situation.

Retired School Principal,

[longhuntr74]

School is a place to learn. If they said "No" to the kilt. Just wear it after school is over. Get your moneys worth out of school when you can and use your non school time to make a statement by wearing the kilt.

I think this is the best advice on here. I am unsure as to the true intent/meaning of the OP's question, but making some assumptions, I'd share the following opinion and insight.

If his school has a dress code or uniform, I think he should follow it. I can think of no good reason to fight against it. The "ethnic" attire argument is about as thin as they come unless the request is tied to some particular holiday that would give it greater meaning. In such a case, I would absolutely support getting permission to wear the kilt on certain days of the year, such as National Tartan Day, etc. as a way of honoring the OPs Scottish heritage - assuming he has some - and perhaps educating some fellow students about something new and different that they haven't been exposed to. But if the request was made simply as a personal desire (freedom of expression) over an establish dress code, as an administrator, I'd say NO (even as a kiltwearer myself). The question in my mind would be: What makes the OP think that he is so special that he deserves special treatment?

I say this from a perspective of someone who is typically in the rule enforcement business and is currently in the EXACT SAME POSITION as the OP (again, going on the assumption that there is some sort of policy in place that prohibits him wearing the kilt). I am a student and my institution has a dress code that specifies business casual, which for males is further defined as no shorts, no jeans...only khaki-type or some other form of dress pants are authorized. We are also prohibited from wearing sneakers, sandals, moccasins, etc...though I have skirted the line a time or two in wearing Skechers casual shoes. On National Tartan Day, a kilt-wearing classmate and myself were going to wear our kilts (applying the beg forgiveness rule)...but some events happened about a week prior that we felt made the atmosphere somewhat hostile regarding compliance with the dress code...so we simply opted to not push the limits and draw undue attention to ourselves or our program. As a military officer, there are two lessons that I think are very important for people to learn...it's part of maturity...Know your environment (ie. how much can you get away with) and choose your battles (how important is it to you...and what are you willing to risk).

That is all!

[Father Bill]

I think this is the best advice on here. I am unsure as to the true intent/meaning of the OP's question, but making some assumptions, I'd share the following opinion and insight.

If his school has a dress code or uniform, I think he should follow it. I can think of no good reason to fight against it. The "ethnic" attire argument is about as thin as they come unless the request is tied to some particular holiday that would give it greater meaning. In such a case, I would absolutely support getting permission to wear the kilt on certain days of the year, such as National Tartan Day, etc. as a way of honoring the OPs Scottish heritage - assuming he has some - and perhaps educating some fellow students about something new and different that they haven't been exposed to. But if the request was made simply as a personal desire (freedom of expression) over an establish dress code, as an administrator, I'd say NO (even as a kiltwearer myself). The question in my mind would be: What makes the OP think that he is so special that he deserves special treatment?

I say this from a perspective of someone who is typically in the rule enforcement business and is currently in the EXACT SAME POSITION as the OP (again, going on the assumption that there is some sort of policy in place that prohibits him wearing the kilt). I am a student and my institution has a dress code that specifies business casual, which for males is further defined as no shorts, no jeans...only khaki-type or some other form of dress pants are authorized. We are also prohibited from wearing sneakers, sandals, moccasins, etc...though I have skirted the line a time or two in wearing Skechers casual shoes. On National Tartan Day, a kilt-wearing classmate and myself were going to wear our kilts (applying the beg forgiveness rule)...but some events happened about a week prior that we felt made the atmosphere someone hostile regarding compliance with the dress code...so we simply opted to not push the limits and draw undue attention to ourselves or our program. As a military officer, there are two lessons that I think are very important for people to learn...it's part of maturity...Know your environment (ie. how much can you get away with) and choose your battles (how important is it to you...and what are you willing to risk).

That is all!

Excellent, mature, and thoughtful advice. Too many people quote their "right" without thinking what would BE right in the particular circumstances.

The question of "freedom" is often very one-sided. We need to ask whether we prefer to be "free to..." more than we want to be "free from...."

Cheers!

[biblemonkey]

Why aren't you allowed to wear it? If it's public school I can't see how they could say no, but if it's catholic school, then you have to abide by the uniform rules.

Even many public schools have extremely strict dress codes these days.