Dillards 85: Ungodly Swim Suits It's a Cruel Summer

[KSmom]

I’ve said before that my daughter is an elementary art teacher. I’ve found that my role this fall is listening to her rant over the phone a couple days a week. She needs somewhere to release the frustration.
The problem is there is no leadership from the top, school districts are on their own, with very little guidance. There are no clear guidelines for school boards to follow, and don’t even get me started on the parents demonstrating to get sports going this fall. We have a good governor who has done all she can to provide leadership, but frustratingly the legislature curtailed her emergency powers in the spring. And hello! Where are you Betsy DeVos? Haven’t heard a word from you in awhile. This is YOUR JOB! (I believe she’s hiding in her mansion). 

[SassyPants]

28 minutes ago, KSmom said:

I’ve said before that my daughter is an elementary art teacher. I’ve found that my role this fall is listening to her rant over the phone a couple days a week. She needs somewhere to release the frustration.
The problem is there is no leadership from the top, school districts are on their own, with very little guidance. There are no clear guidelines for school boards to follow, and don’t even get me started on the parents demonstrating to get sports going this fall. We have a good governor who has done all she can to provide leadership, but frustratingly the legislature curtailed her emergency powers in the spring. And hello! Where are you Betsy DeVos? Haven’t heard a word from you in awhile. This is YOUR JOB! (I believe she’s hiding in her mansion). 

Yep. My own daughter, a secondary school principal resigned in June, although the district put her on a sabbatical. She couldn’t do the job under the current conditions AND home school her own child. Her health was actually being to suffer.

[KSmom]

20 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Yep. My own daughter, a secondary school principal resigned in June, although the district put her on a sabbatical. She couldn’t do the job under the current conditions AND home school her own child. Her health was actually being to suffer.

I’m so sorry to here that. It’s frustrating how short lived the appreciation for educators was. 

[Glasgowghirl]

Here uniform is the norm, some schools are stricter than others. We were never told in primary or high school that we couldn't have certain folders or pencil cases. The only rule both schools had was no football tops for gym, nephew accidentally broke that rule today because he had forgot to pack an extra t shirt for gym. 

[Meggo]

1 hour ago, Markie said:

My friend went to a Catholic school with uniforms. She kept her kilt in her locker and would wear jeans to and from school. She’d arrive, put the skirt on over her jeans, drop the jeans and stuff them in her locker. She said she had one skirt for all of high school. She wore school shirts and sweaters. 

that's how I spent high school. 

I had one skirt, I had a few of the button down oxfords (in white or in the blue - because I look sickly in yellow), I had a few white turtlenecks maybe (no logo, so those could be gotten anywhere), I had two sweaters (but only liked one of them- the embroidered navy blue crew neck). We all cut our skirts up after graduation, I probably wore the oxfords for a few more years (they weren't monogramed) and might have given my sweater to a younger student maybe? no idea.
I don't think it would be as easy for little kids (because they out grow stuff SO fast) - but for high school, I'm sure it saved a boat load of money. 

I talked to a teacher a few weeks back who said that she loved uniforms for her two kids - but they were SO basic that she could swap them between her two kids (a boy and a girl). So it was khaki pants, it was black yoga pants maybe? and then I think white polo shirts. I'm sure there were parameters around what kind of yoga pants (her kids were both under 13) but... seems basic enough. And at least if you had to buy THE yoga pants from the supplier - white polo shirts are easy enough to find anywhere. 

 

[HeartsAFundie]

My son went to a Catholic school for K-8 and a Catholic high school for 9-12.  I took full advantage of the used uniform sale room in the grammar school basement and the "$5 rack" of used uniforms at the high school store.  Sometimes you got brand-new or like-new items for a fraction of the cost, especially if someone transferred out mid-term and had no use for the clothing any longer.  

When my son was in grammar school, he could wear tan chinos from any place and was not beholden to the uniform supplier.  So for his nine years at that school, all we bought from the uniform supplier were the polo shirts with the embroidered logos and the gym uniform with the school logo, which was another savings.    It was a fairly liberal policy and was also like that in high school for the first two years.  Then, in his junior year, the high school announced that all pants (tan chinos again) had to be purchased solely through the uniform supplier.  Which were double the cost.  My sister, who was divorced at the time, pinching pennies as a single mom and whose son attended the same Catholic high school as mine, pitched a fit to the vice-principal over it especially since she had stocked up on clearance pants from Old Navy and Target months prior for subsequent school years and was now unable to return them.  She was SOL on multiple pairs of tan chino pants and lost money on them.  To this day she swears the high school received some sort of kickback from the uniform supplier as an incentive to use their pants only.  

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by HeartsAFundie

[mpheels]

3 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I now understand how uniforms can be a pain in the ass!

I was just thinking even if they are expensive you wouldn't need as many outfits as you would when you have to wear something different every day...but apparently it's not as easy as I'd thought.  

I just really hate having to decide what to wear every day...first world problem I know.

You should look into capsule wardrobes, if you haven’t already. The basic idea it to build a small wardrobe of clothes to all work together, then just mix and match. I’m working from home indefinitely now, so my capsule is just yoga pants and T-shirts. Pre-covid, I used a capsule with neutral slacks and jackets that worked together as suits or as separates, plus a few neutral and pastel blouses. I swap in a few dresses or “statement” blouses at the change of each season. 

[JanasTattooParlor]

Y’all who have uniforms are blowing me away with how expensive and involved the uniforms are! My middle school did uniforms and we could wear navy or khaki pants or knee-length skirts and a polo in our grade’s appointed color (every grade had a different color so that it was easy to distinguish if someone was in the wrong part of school) or a T-shirt in our color with the school logo on it. We also had to get a pullover sweatshirt with the school logo for when it got cold. But that’s it! The pants and skirts were easy to get at Walmart or Target since they usually have small uniform sections during back to school and the T-shirts were $15 a piece, polos $20, and sweatshirt $30. 
 

Not to start a uniform debate, but I hated uniforms and much rather preferred being able to pick out my own outfit each day when I got to high school and didn’t have uniforms. I like that, especially for older kids, they get to express themselves during a time when they are learning about who they are or what they like and are able to “try on” different personas through their clothing. 

[adidas]

On 8/28/2020 at 7:12 AM, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Just out of curiosity aren't uniforms so much cheaper than having to keep them in regular school clothes?

I think it’s very much regional, and whether it’s public vs private school.

Public school uniforms are available at KMart, Target and BigW at very inexpensive prices (eg $2 for a polo shirt, $10 for a pair of shoes).

There are problems with this, of course - there are a lot of debates about factory conditions to be able to sell items for $2.

[monkeyrocks71]

We were fairly poor when my daughter was young and almost all her clothes were hand me downs from a wealthy friend who had two daughters. I would supplement from thrift stores or the occasional Kohl’s “$10 off any minimum $10 purchase” coupon or gift cards we received as presents at Christmas/birthdays.  I don’t think my daughter had “non-free” clothes until she was nine or so. Uniforms would have killed me financially

Edited August 28, 2020 by monkeyrocks71

[GuineaPigCourtship]

I went to Catholic high school and I LOVED wearing uniforms.  I had 4 shirts (1 short and 1 long sleeved of white and blue), 4 skirts (2 winter wool skirts, one blue and one kahki for warm weather) and one sweater.  These lasted me all 4 years and I'm sure saved my parents a ton of money during that time.  One of my only sorrows when i was heading off to college was knowing I had to start picking out my own clothes every. single. day.  I love wearing scrubs every day because it's basically the same thing, although one of my nurses loves to match with me so we did arbitrarily decide on certain colors for certain days which requires a wee bit of thought in the mornings.

[Kailash]

Although I love uniforms for myself, it would have been a nightmare if they had been required for my daughter. She has sensory issues and only wears certain types of clothes. I call them “soft” pants- no buttons or snaps, elastic waist and soft material. She doesn’t wear jeans ever. Wool skirts would have never worked for her. Ugh, I feel terrible thinking about kids who struggle with sensory issues and are forced to wear uniforms. 

[Audrey2]

I'll be subbing this year in schools, but I joke that I wear Garanimals  grownups. I just shop at the Loft outlet or the Ann Taylor outlet, and make sure that I have at least two tops that work with each skirt and two skirts that work with each top. Dressing is easy, especially since I lay my clothes out the night before.

[SassyPants]

1 hour ago, GuineaPigCourtship said:

I went to Catholic high school and I LOVED wearing uniforms.  I had 4 shirts (1 short and 1 long sleeved of white and blue), 4 skirts (2 winter wool skirts, one blue and one kahki for warm weather) and one sweater.  These lasted me all 4 years and I'm sure saved my parents a ton of money during that time.  One of my only sorrows when i was heading off to college was knowing I had to start picking out my own clothes every. single. day.  I love wearing scrubs every day because it's basically the same thing, although one of my nurses loves to match with me so we did arbitrarily decide on certain colors for certain days which requires a wee bit of thought in the mornings.

This was my exact life too. Catholic school With uniforms for 12 years~college~ Uniform wearing nurse for 35 years.

Edited August 29, 2020 by SassyPants

[JazzyFresh]

20 hours ago, medimus said:

I understand most of the school supply things, but why do children have to supply tissues for the class? Surely if your child needs tissues, they bring a pocket packet of tissues or a hankie and just use it for themselves as they need? 

 

Students and teachers never know when a cold or allergies are going to pop-in with a sneeze, so teachers do ask parents to supply a box of quality tissues so the classroom has them available "just in case" (and the teacher doesn't have to purchase them out of pocket). Same with hand sanitizer (at least before Covid 19). One year the cold/ flu season hit early and my kids teachers were buying tissues and hand gel out of pocket before winter break.

I'm assuming with covid, teachers are probably now stuck buying a supply of disposable masks, clorox wipes, and lysol spray along with the tissues and hand sanitizer for their classrooms.

[medimus]

Oh Aldi, LIdl and all the supermarkets do uniforms here too, but generally only for primary schools and obviously only if your school will allow non uniform trousers/polos/shirts/skirts. This is more likely for primary and more likely for boys (girls are more likely to have a plaid skirt/pinafore or kilt that can't be bought anywhere else). Primary schools also all have more informal jogging suit type uniforms which in some schools they can wear any day and in others only on PE days.

Rules were brought in to make uniform less expensive in primary, but now on balance all the savings made by having generic bottoms and tops have been lost to logo'd tracksuits. There is some call for all schools to allow generic uniform items and for them to sell crests to sew on. Which would be a great idea I think.

[Melissa1977]

10 hours ago, adidas said:

Public school uniforms are available at KMart, Target and BigW at very inexpensive prices (eg $2 for a polo shirt, $10 for a pair of shoes).

There are problems with this, of course - there are a lot of debates about factory conditions to be able to sell items for $2.

I have never heard about uniform shoes. Here, even elite schools let families decide about the shoes (with some restrictions). Every kid has different feet and may need a different model of shoes. In addition, I would be very pissed if my kids had to wear 10$ shoes that surely are very bad quality (shoes are the only item I buy expensive because some brands are much better for their feet and back development than others).

Regarding the 2$ shirts, I understand your point. My youngest kid school has uniform only for sports (jumpsuit, T-shirt and shorts). It's a bit expensive, but quality is great and it's made local. Some parents are angry about the price, but the truth is those jumpsuits last years (can easily be worn by 2 kids) and are supporting our regional factories. My child wore his jumpsuit twice a week for 2 years and now a neighbour is going to wear it. It would be impossible with a cheap brand.

[adidas]

4 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

I have never heard about uniform shoes. Here, even elite schools let families decide about the shoes (with some restrictions). Every kid has different feet and may need a different model of shoes. In addition, I would be very pissed if my kids had to wear 10$ shoes that surely are very bad quality (shoes are the only item I buy expensive because some brands are much better for their feet and back development than others).

Regarding the 2$ shirts, I understand your point. My youngest kid school has uniform only for sports (jumpsuit, T-shirt and shorts). It's a bit expensive, but quality is great and it's made local. Some parents are angry about the price, but the truth is those jumpsuits last years (can easily be worn by 2 kids) and are supporting our regional factories. My child wore his jumpsuit twice a week for 2 years and now a neighbour is going to wear it. It would be impossible with a cheap brand.

Re uniform shoes, I may not have been clear. There are no requirements re brand. Just colour (sometimes style, for private/elite schools). 

When it comes to the $10 shoes I mentioned, some shops offer cheap options so that all students can wear them as set out by the school in the uniform policy. Having said that, if a student’s family can’t afford the uniform, the school is obliged to give them one.

[Lemchop]

I follow the Duggar snark subreddit, and just saw a post listing several instagram posts Jill has liked. I haven’t posted on FJ myself in a while and am not sure if including the reddit link is allowed, so I will err on the side of caution.

The topics of the posts include children’s bodily autonomy/expressing boundaries, the BLM movement, and the innocence project (dedicated to the exoneration of wrongfully convicted prisoners). What a massive departure from the sheltered, ignorant, and abusive views she was raised by.

I am so fucking proud of Jill and the progress she has seemingly made in unpacking her trauma, understanding oppression, and raising her children to be educated/emotionally healthy.

[mpheels]

Jill liking a post about boundaries and bodily autonomy is especially powerful - I hope she is finally understanding just how wrong Josh’s behavior was, that she was 100% correct to try to tell an adult that something was going on, and her parents’ response was massively inappropriate.

[Bobology]

21 hours ago, Kailash said:

I wear what I call my uniform when I’m not at work. I have 2 favorite T-shirts and 2 favorite jean shorts and I alternate them until they are so worn out I have to replace them. If I find something that I like and that fits well, I often buy 2 or more. I’m boring like that. I do have other clothes but rarely wear them. As it gets colder I’ll switch to capris and then jeans. I try to look clean and be comfortable. People notice and I just shrug. I like what I like, and I have a washing machine and dryer and use them as needed.  (I even try to wear only one color/brand of underwear.)

Sister!!

[DarkAnts]

I think Israel will surpass his cousins due to being in a good public school and having parents who are invested in his education. Jill was doing homeschooling with him from a young age. I don't think she will stop working with him just because he is in school all day. I think she is the type who will fill in her learning gaps so she can continue to help him.  
 

Derick wants Israel to be Pistol Pete. He needs a good education to get into OSU and keep his grades high enough to qualify to be a mascot. He also needs good study skills. Derick will invest his time and energy to help make this happen. 

I am happy that Jill is no longer posting things about how to keep your husband from cheating. I hope therapy has helped her feel secure in her marriage. I hope it's helped her to see that she is not responsible for her husband's actions. I hope it's helped her see that she was not responsible for Josh molesting her and her sisters. She has moved away from dressing the way her parents told her to dress so she would not "defrauded men". Posting about body autonomy is another step in the right direction. 

[GuineaPigCourtship]

14 hours ago, Kailash said:

Ugh, I feel terrible thinking about kids who struggle with sensory issues and are forced to wear uniforms. 

I don't know about all schools, obviously, but mine was pretty tolerant when someone had a doctor's note for something.  I was (incorrectly) diagnosed with crohn's disease my senior year and had a lot of stomach pain/bloating.  We were required to wear tights during the winter months and they pressed on my belly and caused a lot of pain.  A simple doctor's note and I never had to wear them again, nor did anyone ask.  In a situation like that I imagine a student would be allowed to wear the cotton summer skirts all winter without an issue.

[Four is Enough]

23 hours ago, Markie said:

My friend went to a Catholic school with uniforms. She kept her kilt in her locker and would wear jeans to and from school. She’d arrive, put the skirt on over her jeans, drop the jeans and stuff them in her locker. She said she had one skirt for all of high school. She wore school shirts and sweaters. 

That's good if your kid doesn't have a growth spurt or two during high school. My daughter required three different sized uniforms blouse and skirts.

[SassyPants]

1 minute ago, Four is Enough said:

That's good if your kid doesn't have a growth spurt or two during high school. My daughter required three different sized uniforms blouse and skirts.

Agreed. I was lucky. My daughter had 1 skirt and a couple of pairs of uniform pants, and when she grew, it coincided with a job relocation, so she needed a new uniform for the new school. My son hit his big growth spurt in HS and his boys’ school only had a dress code. Also the boys and girls wore the same shorts in elementary school, so I could pass down. The kids could also wear any plain white polo, so Target sales came in handy. The school sweatshirts were expensive and often went missing. I would tell the kids to go shop the lost and found. It got so bad at my daughter’s HS, that I had her write our last name along the back shoulders of the gray sweatshirt. No one ever docked her for it and the SS never went missing again.