Principal Protested for Enforcing Dress Code

I saw a news story today about a school where students were protesting what was billed as a "new addition to their dress code" The principal of Niel Armstrong Middle School in Forest Grove, OR has come under attack for banning leggings. 20 to 25 students wore the banned leggings to school today in protest. According to a local news report, some students and parents are upset about the "impractical" and "ridiculous" ban.

Several facts which are not emphisized in this news story are:

• The school's dress code already bans immodest clothing and clothing that "disrupts the educational process." Thus, the principal was not instituting a new policy, just enforcing an old one.
• The leggings in question are in fact immodest and revealing (just look at the footage in the news video --or better yet, don't look!) They were distracting students and teachers, disrupting the educational process and thus violating the school's existing dress code.
• School dress code policies are within the normal jurisdiction of the school. Students should not be championed for deciding to purposely and blatantly violate a ban that is within the normal scope of the school's existing dress code. Protests are not praiseworthy because they are protests. There must be a just cause for a protest to be honorable.

In truth, what is ridiculous are the arguments cited against the ban:

"I don't see anything wrong with them" Since when have teenagers been the best judges of what is or is not appropriate? That is exactly why schools have dress codes. There will always be those, such as the student quoted above, who do not see anything wrong with the things prohibited by a school's dress code. Proverbs says "Foolishness is bound up in a child" -and despite what they might think, teenagers are still foolish children in many respects. (Before you get too upset with that last remark, remember that I was a teenager not very long ago, and remember how foolish I and my friends have been.)

"I have a hurt foot and it's hard to put jeans over it." This same student's mother also chimed in: "It's impossible to find something they can wear." Since when have leggings been the only option for ladies' clothing? It is far easier to wear a dress with a hurt leg than leggings! Also, the ban only applies to leggings without a dress or top that covers between the hip and the thigh.

Another student was quoted in one news video stating: "The guys are going to stare anyway. If you can't stop them, what's the use?" Yes, some men will "stare", but why encourage them? . Women ought to dress in a way that protects them from the eyes of ungodly men, instead of inviting improper attention.

One comment I read on this story accuses the principal of being a pedophile because he speaks of teachers being distracted. One of men's greatest weaknesses is their thought life. We should encouraging those who are trying to fight their sin nature in this area, instead of attacking them! Additionally, it is the duty of a principal to protect the students in the care of his school from distracting influences.

The following are quotes from Principal Hundley about this decision:

"We are trying to make it clear. It's a place of academics and immodest attire can get in the way of that, "

"We are simply saying this is a school. The expectation is that you come here like you're coming to work."

The purpose of school is learning. Students (and their parents) should applaud this principal for upholding the dress code, thus insuring a better learning environment for each student.

Insightful Advice...

"To prepare you to carry out the duties of your future mission with ease to yourself, with satisfation to a husband, and with comfort to a household, pay attention to the minor virtues: punctuality, love of order, and dispatch. These are all of immense importance; the want of them in the female head of a family must necessarily fill the home with confusion, and the hearts of its inmates with sadness. Set out in life with a deep conviction of the importance of habits, and a constant recollection that habits for life are formed in youth -and that these habits, if not acquired then, are likely never to be.

Aim at universal excellence. Do little things well. Avoid with extreme dread a loose, slovenly, and careless way of doing anything proper to be done. "

~John Angell James, from Female Piety

Improvised Snowflakes

After looking at several stores for snow-themed decorations for my classroom and finding nothing suitable, I decided to try to make some myself.

****

I started with large paper doilies (Small ones should work just as well)

And then I folded and cut them just like an ordinary paper snowflake

And when I unfolded it:
I'm going to hang them from the ceiling of my classroom. : )

Christmas at the Store

It was my fourth attempt at finding a store with Christmas decorations for my classroom. As I wandered the aisles I thought, surely they must have their Christmas decorations all in one place somewhere. But my eye spotted a lone nativity scene and I knew that wasn't the problem.

Every store I have gone to (including two specialty teaching stores) has had an extremely slim stock of Christmas supplies. --And I do mean Christmas, not Santa or happy holidays or "winter break". At this particular store I was expecting that there would be a fewer amount of Christmas supplies, but I was hard put to find more than two Christmas things in the whole store!

I mentioned the nativity scene already (which, strangely enough, had a header that read: "A Savior is Born For" and no room under it to put any other words.) The second "Christmas item I found actually made me laugh. The cardboard top of the packaging said "Christmas Bulletin Board", but when I looked at the board itself, it said "Happy Holidays".

Now really, since when is "Happy Holidays" a specifically Christmas phrase?

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

My Favorite Thanksgiving Hymn

We Gather Together

~

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:

Sing praises to His name; He forgets not His own.

~

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom diving;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning:

Thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be Thine!

~

We all do extol Thee, thou leader triumphant,

And pray that Thou still our defender wilt be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation:

Thy name be ever praised, O Lord, make us free!

A New Song

The last month has been a very busy one. Between teaching school, teaching piano, and all my other responsibilities, I have hardly been at home! Yet, through this busyness I have been learning a very important lesson. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) Even on my most difficult, rushed, busy, stressful day, I have always had all I needed to not only get through it all, but to find joy in the midst of it.

Today was one of those days where I was so busy, it seemed there was no rest in sight! Even though I teach half-days, I ended up heading out of my classroom just about the time school got out. I then had three stops to make on the way home, and I had to hurry to be home in time to look up the directions for the home visit I had scheduled tonight.

Driving home in rush-hour/school zone/road work traffic, I got stuck at a particularly slow (as in not moving) spot, and I was just about to give in to the temptation to get into a bad mood about it, when I suddenly remembered having seen a "random" copy of a hymn stashed in my Thomas guide map the other day. I pulled it out and started singing, and before I even realized it, that stray thought had completely changed my attitude! (That's 1 Corinthians 10:13 at work.) : )

All the way home, I marvelled about the difference that is made by a simple song. It made me think of Psalm 40:3 "And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it , and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Others around me might not have had anything to sing about. It was hot, and we were stuck in heavy traffic at the end of a long and busy day, and there was nothing we could do about it. What a difference to use the time to praise the Lord, rather than grumble!

There's a hymn that comes to mind as I write this:

O Say, But I'm Glad

"There is a song in my heart today,

Something I never had

Jesus has taken my sin away

O say, but I'm glad!

~

Chorus:

O say, but I'm glad, I'm glad

O say, but I'm glad!

Jesus has come and my cup's overrun

O say, but I'm glad!

~

Wonderful, marvelous love He brings,

Into a heart that's sad;

Through darkest tunnels the soul can sing,

O say, but I'm glad!

~

Won't you come to Him with all your care,

Weary, and worn and sad?

You, too, will sing as His love you share,

O say, but I'm glad!"

Gentling Influences Part 3: Attitude

Mommy and I were at a store today when I found this mug.

Attitudes can be quite contagious.Have you ever noticed how when one family member is in a bad mood, everyone else quickly joins them? I seem to be particularly susceptible to bad attitudes.It is so important for us as ladies to keep a good attitude. If we easily "catch" the grumps of others, our homes will soon be full of contention, anger, and selfishness.

I recently realized that a bad mood is actually just selfishness. Think about it. What usually sets off a bad mood? It is usually some mistreatment or neglect (real or percieved) directed towards ourselves by another. Of course, things of a serious nature do need to be dealt with, but are we holding onto the little things that don't even matter? Even if another is grumpy, we do not have to join them. We have a choice whether or not to be selfish!

You know, a good attitude is just as contagious as a bad. Mommy and I have a game we play when driving through road work areas. We have noticed that the "flaggers" almost always look decidedly grumpy, with either a frown or a scowl on their faces, so one day, we decided to try to make the flagger smile. As we drove by, we smiled at her and waved a thank you. She smiled and waved back! And after that we have always tried to make the flaggers smile as we drive by.

That game works in our homes as well. Just as one bad attitude can cause the whole household to be grumpy, one with a determined good attitude can completely reverse it!

~Try it and see!