The policy-makers’ philosophy is this: Letting students wear what they’re comfortable in helps them feel welcome at school and more engaged in their learning. Before you act on translated information, we encourage you to confirm any facts that are important to you or may affect any decisions you make.

The basic translation goal is to capture the general intention of the original English material. But Ken Jeffers, senior manager of Equitable & Inclusive System Culture, who co-ordinated consultations on Toronto’s new policy, said school administrators aren’t engaging in a “throw-the-rules-out experiment.”, “It was about designing a classroom for the 21st century.”, Sept. 4: What readers really think of teens today. Such rules, Ms. Cook imagined, could provoke some serious teenage testing of limits. “There is adult oversight,” Mr. Jeffers explained, “but part of it is having our staff think twice about, ‘Why am I telling that student to take their hat off?

In a radical departure from the more disciplinarian school culture of years past, Toronto’s new dress code highlights concepts such as “self-identity” and “freedom of expression,” as well as the notion that school is both a learning and a social environment. READ MORE: For Grades 4, 5, 6 students - tank top straps should be a minimum of three fingers wide. Students have applauded the modernization of dress codes. “Penalizing them does nothing to support the connections that can help these kids succeed; it just pushes them farther away.” Ms. Watters added, “A kid can learn with a ball cap on.”. The policy will apply to all TDSB schools to establish fair and equitable standards and practices for student dress across the Board. But for Prof. Bialystok, the more important question is this: “How do we create a culture in which what people wear is not misinterpreted as license to objectify, sexually harass or shame them – and rather, just one of many forms of self-expression?”, The architects of the new policies stand particularly firm on the issue of female students’ clothing and male “distraction.” Said Toronto’s Mr. Jeffers, “The fundamental way that you change sexual harassment and unhealthy relationships in schools is through education, not through over-policing students’ bodies.”. Students are also not allowed to wear headwear that specifically obscures the face, although hats and other cultural headgear are now allowed. “I think it’s genius,” the teen said. You cannot apply yesterday’s solutions to today’s population,” said Mr. Ali, who graduated from Scarborough, Ont.’s Sir John A. MacDonald Collegiate Institute in the fall. This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Most employers have rules that apply to everyone in the workplace equally. The purpose of the dress code policy is to ensure reasonable and appropriate standards are maintained at all Golf Canada championships. “My kids don’t have anything in their wardrobe that I don’t approve of because I buy all their clothes,” Ms. Reichelt said of her two teenage sons. Although Ms. Cook felt her daughter’s junior high school in Calgary was overzealous about student dress, she wondered if Toronto’s new rules might be too lax. Across the country, several school boards – including the Toronto District School Board, Canada’s largest – are doing away with the concept of modesty in their policies, replacing it with a new priority: “student voice.". But some workplaces require a more sophisticated dress code policy. Focused, explicit, persistent and determined action is required to challenge and overcome this history.”, It goes on to say that some of its objectives include recognizing “that students have both the right to express themselves and the shared responsibility to maintain respectful, safe and positive school climates” and also “that dress plays a fundamental role in how students build healthy relationships and explore self-identity.”, READ MORE:

In Toronto, the board began a critical rethink of its dress codes last year. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to, To view this site properly, enable cookies in your browser. Day-to-day discussions about clothing – and the values attached to that clothing – ought to happen at home, with families getting final veto power over what children wear out in the world, policy-makers say. “The negative reaction has only been from adults,” Mr. Jeffers said. Staff are to avoid embarrassing students or disrupting their learning time over dress-code violations, which are to be treated as “minor.”, When she pushed to modernize her board’s dress codes, Edmonton Public School Board trustee Bridget Stirling looked to Victoria as a model. The Toronto District School Board is committed to equity and community engagement, and by providing this tool, we are making our information more accessible to families whose first language is not English.

Student should not wear short-shorts, tank tops, muscle shirts or bare midriffs. This, instead of students having their lessons disrupted, being sent to the principal’s office or shamed in front of their peers over short shorts or a halter top.

Culture change is playing out inside the complicated institution of the school dress code, as students call for modernization and administrators rethink the role of clothing in the classroom and the impact of punishing children for what they’ve got on. Vous utilisez un navigateur désuet qui n’est plus accepté par Ontario.ca. WATCH (May 26, 2015): Toronto students hold #croptopday to protest school dress code, The report acknowledges that the school board’s student dress policy has “been written and enforced in ways that disproportionately and negatively impact: female-identified students, racialized students, gender-diverse, transgender and non-binary students, students with disabilities, socio-economically marginalized students and Indigenous, First Nation, Métis and Inuit students. Renaming the policy to Student Dress Policy (formerly the Appropriate Dress Policy) Creating a system-wide dress policy to establish fair and equitable standards in all schools; Ensuring the student dress code is based on the equity-centred standard and framework consistent with the Board’s commitments While teachers reprimanded her discreetly, Ms. Larrondo said she also remembers days when friends were dress coded in front of the class. The culture of the workplace or the industry expectations drive dress codes in these cases. Determined to end what she saw as an unjust policy, Ms. Reichelt put forth a motion this spring to overhaul the district’s dress codes, arguing that the old rules discriminated on the basis of gender. Maddie Di Muccio, a Newmarket, Ont., mother of three sons aged between 15 and 20, says she feels the new rules are shortsighted. Also available in French and Mandarin. Google Translate is a free service and currently offers translation in over 100 languages, but does not capture all languages or dialects. “This isn’t a contest between student choice and parent choice,” Edmonton’s Ms. Stirling said. Is ‘modesty’ no longer the best policy?

'You cannot apply yesterday’s solutions to today’s population,' says Amin Ali, 18, shown outside his old school in Scarborough. School principal’s use of the word ‘skanky’ leads to protest. The new, student-centred direction in dress codes worries some parents. Chilliwack’s Ms. Reichelt suggested the purchasing power of parents should not be underestimated in this debate. Victoria, B.C., revamped its guidelines in April, 2018, with Edmonton following a month later. “Clothing can be distracting when it’s too ostentatious, suggestive or revealing,” Newmarket parent Ms. Di Muccio said.

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“It’s the responsibility to have a conversation with young men, but it’s also the girls’ responsibility to recognize human nature,” Ms. Cook said. “Our schools look fundamentally different than they did 30, 40 years ago. Frustrated, Ms. Dennie turned to a novel solution – a Little Red Riding Hood cape she’d worn for Halloween that hung in her locker. Ms. Cook explained that she and her husband advocate for a modest dress style for their children – no cleavage or sky-high hemlines, they’ve told their three daughters, who are aged between 13 and 17.

All Golf Canada competitors and caddies must adhere to the Golf Canada dress code anytime the competitor or caddie is on host facility property.

Asked whether schools (and their dress codes) shouldn’t serve as more of a training ground for the workplace, Mr. Jeffers responded that students “are not professional employees getting paid to be there, or interns.”, “[School] does prepare students for their careers,” Mr. Jeffers said, “but it also socializes them fundamentally.”, 'It makes for an awful day,' Maya Larrondo, 17, says of reprimands from teachers for dress-code violations.

“It was an easy solution to an absurd problem,” said Ms. Cook, who never felt her daughter dressed inappropriately for school. School dress codes have long been a battleground: Young people want to express themselves, sometimes with skin, while protective adults in their lives prefer more subdued clothing choices. Mothers complained about teenage daughters shopping in frustration for shorts that met school requirements – longer than the fingertips on a lowered arm. “A year out, I’m very happy to report that the sky has not fallen,” Victoria’s Ms. Watters said. On dress codes, Canadian schools begin to change their approach. En savoir plus sur les navigateurs que nous supportons.

This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. The TDSB seems to tackle such parental concerns directly in its FAQ: “Does this mean that students could just wear pasties and boxers or a string bikini and thong to school?” it reads. Despite their frustration with school staff, these mothers viewed skin exposure, attention and gendered harassment as deeply tangled issues. become responsible, contributing members of a democratic and sustainable society. “As adults we don’t dress any way we want to when we go to work. Dress codes varied widely between schools, and, students complained, were often inconsistently applied within each school. Maezy Dennie is going into Grade 12. The overwhelming concern from students was unfair treatment.

The Greater Victoria School District’s new dress code states that students’ clothing decisions “are intensely personal,” reflecting the socio-cultural norms they grew up with as well as their economic backgrounds. Les navigateurs désuets ne disposent pas de caractéristiques sécuritaires permettant d’assurer la sécurité de vos renseignements.

Have a conversation with your kids about why they want to wear it – and try to come an understanding.”. Students cannot wear underwear as the only layer of clothing. Ms. Cook said they’ve also talked with their teens about what kind of attention they hope to attract, and about sexual harassment. We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate.

French as a Second Language (FSL) Programs, FSL Review, Recommendations and Implementation Plans, Special Education & Inclusion in FSL Programs, English Language Learners in FSL Programs, Revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum, International Languages - Elementary and African Heritage, Guide to the Revised Ontario HPE Curriculum, Year 3 - Strengthening the Implementation, Year 4 - Integrating, Enhancing and Embedding, Renaming the policy to Student Dress Policy (formerly the Appropriate Dress Policy), Creating a system-wide dress policy to establish fair and equitable standards in all schools, Ensuring the student dress code is based on the equity-centred standard and framework consistent with the Board’s commitments, Focusing on student voice, impact and engagement in development, review and revisions, Ensuring student engagement in any uniform policy development as well as an equal right to vote in any uniform policy decision, Enhancing knowledge and awareness of assumptions or stereotypes that are based on or reinforce bias, prejudice and discrimination and may lead to discriminatory application of dress codes, Providing a continuum of choices for enforcement to remedy any inappropriate dress.