Date: June 13th, 2016

Teachers: Megan Bos and Karissa Smith

Topic: School districts should impose a school dress code.
Lesson Length: 20-30 minutes
Resources:
- Smartboard
- Brainstorming Sheets
- YouTube (maybe)
Learning Objectives:
- Have an understanding of why schools have a dress code.
- Learn about how respect for self and others relates to dress code.
- Learn about how dress code prepares students for a future in the work force.
Assessment:
- We will maintain eye-contact with the students throughout the lesson.
- We will facilitate discussion with the students to keep them engaged.
- We will use PowerPoint to guide our students through our main points.
Introduction: (~4 minutes)
-

Give a definition on what dress code is.

o a set of rules specifying a type of clothing to be worn by an individual
or group under specific circumstances regarding a school district
Give a brief history on dress codes.
o Dress codes came into place in the late 1960s and early 1970s when
there was an era of self-expression. In this time dress codes became
popular because it enforced conservative traditional images of males
and females (Smith, 2012, Pg. 253).

Main Body: (~15 minutes)

-

First reason for dress code: Respect

o Respect for self: students should dress appropriately so they respect
themselves.
o Respect for others: if students are dressed in a way that distracts other
students, they are not respecting the educational rights of that
student.
o Public school dress code enjoys some measure of freedom of speech
within the schoolhouse gate, but that freedom is balanced against the
need to foster an educational atmosphere free from undue disruptions
to appropriate discipline. Students are free to express themselves in
many ways outside of the schoolhouse gate, but inside the
schoolhouse gate, it is another matter (DeMitchell, Fossey, & Cobb,
2000).
o Respect can also be in terms of slogans or symbols on shirts. If they
target specific groups of people or have offensive words, they are not
respectful.
Second reason for dress code: Prepares them for future workplace

Almost any job that you might get later in life, there is a certain dress
code imposed.
o For example, a doctor in the operating room of the hospital must wear
sea green scrubs. They must wear these for identification purposes,
but also as a mark of their profession. It identifies them as
professionals. A teacher on the other hand, must wear casual business
attire. This provides a sense of authority and professionalism.
o Teaching students in schools to dress for their current stage in life can
transition them into understanding proper professional attire in the
workforce.
o In essence, dress codes improve student behaviour, reduce studentto-student sexual harassment, and prepares students for the realities
of the work world (DeMitchell, Fossey, & Cobb, 2000).
Conduct a brief activity (8 minutes)
o Hand out brainstorming sheet.
o Ask students to come up with 2-3 reasons as to why a school should
impose a dress code.
o After ~4 minutes we will come together as a class to share these ideas.
o

Sponge Activity: If we have time during the lesson we will play a YouTube video
demonstrating the power of school dress code.
Closure: (~3 minutes)
-

Conclude by repeating our main points about respect and preparation for the
future
Finish off with any questions or comments.

Self-Reflection:

Reference List
DeMitchell, T.A., Fossey, R., & Cobb, C. (2000). Dress codes in the public schools:
principals, policies, and precepts. Journal Of Law & Education, 29(1), 31-49.
Lethbridge School District No. 51. (2016). 502.1 Appendix A Student Code of
Conduct. Retrieved from
http://www.lethsd.ab.ca/documents/general/Appendix%20A
%20502%201%20Student%20Code%20of%20Conduct%20FINAL%20March
%2022% 202 016.pdf
Smith, N. (2012). Eliminating Gender Stereotypes in Public School Dress Codes: The
Necessity of Respecting Personal Preference. Journal of Law & Education,
41(1), 251-259.