Essay Sample on School Dress Code
For as long as schools have existed, there have always been dress codes. To this day, debates continue to arise about the benefits and discrimination of said dress codes, causing a lot of division and imbalance amongst schools within the US. While author Donna St. George succeeds in convincing the audience that dress codes are sexist using emotions and credibility, the appeal to logistics could have been stronger.
In her article, George sets the tone with an interview with Eboni Banks, the mother of a young daughter who personally faced the harsh reality of dress codes. George kickstarts her essay with the appeal to emotions, bringing in dialogue from the mother that illustrates her anger and frustration with the school. Her daughter had to miss 30 minutes of her class, due to the fact she was wearing leggings, which left her infuriated. She then goes into the underlying issue of how violating these dress codes are, believing that they have a “negative impact on girls and their self-esteem” and that they’re “blatantly discriminatory.” Rather than simply stating how Banks feels, George emphasizes Bank’s more aggressive statements to allow the readers to feel what she feels, rather than just knowing.
She continues to add emotion through an interview with 13-year-old Sola Beers-Arthur, who blatantly states how “the dress code is really sexist” and how it had a “bunch of rules for girls and almost none for boys.” With George doing this, it allows for real, raw emotion from personal experience to convey the message she wants through her writing without inserting any of her own opinions. She minimizes the potential for bias by allowing others to speak up and discuss their views.
Stemming from the way George limits any opinions and views she may have on this topic, this gives her a boost of credibility. It gives the reader the impression that the author is mindful, knowledgeable, and observant, rather than being emotional and aggressive by ensuring to restate the people who were interviewed by The Washington Post verbatim. George also delves into any of the rigid rules placed by the county, which include no “suggestive, provocative, or excessively tight clothing” and that “leggings be worn only with shirts that extend to the fingertips” which was added as a resolution for unnecessary “distractions.” The author took the time to ensure her understanding of the specific rules set within the Charles County district.
However, George overall falls a little flat with her logic, providing only minimal resources to get by, such as the dress code rules set in place by the Charles County district. Yes, she has the interviews done with real people and has proven that she is a credible author. However, with this topic, statistics could’ve been used to provide just how large of problem dress codes are for women and students in general. Statistics that would’ve shown us the issue of sexualization, disruption of learning, and or even providing more interviews with minority groups to provide a different point-of-view would solidify her facts even further.
Although George wrote this for the sake of unveiling the struggles that a mother and daughter face with the unfairness of school dress codes, it’s a topic that is easily relatable for all students of the United States. However, I feel as though she would’ve benefited from providing more facts and statistics to shine a light on issues that aren’t discussed often but are heavily impacted by dress codes. The essay was to touch on the mother’s point-of-view of dress codes, but it would’ve benefited from having good research, numbers, and data to add more emphasis on the emotional aspects and create a well-rounded and thorough article.
