Another case of imposing censorship in OK Public Schools

[Jersey Boss]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-...38--ncaaf.html

Oklahoma youngster forced to turn his Michigan shirt inside out at school.


Young Cooper Barton wore his favorite Michigan shirt to Wilson Elementary in Oklahoma City and was told it violated the Oklahoma City Public Schools dress code and was asked to turn the shirt inside out. According to the dress code, students are only allowed to wear Oklahoma, Oklahoma State or apparel from another Oklahoma state school. Everything else is a violation (especially Texas).

[OKCisOK4me]

That's pretty lame...

[Achilleslastand]

Haha and people wonder why we are laughed at...............

[bandnerd]

The reasoning behind this was back in 2005 when the code was adopted, gangs were using professional sports teams as clothing options instead of just the colors like we already knew. I'm sure that OKCPS found it easier to just adopt the same policy for all grades, though I'm sure we all would have a hard time believing this kid is a member of a gang at all of 5 years of age.

I don't know if this is still something that is gang-related, and if it isn't, then perhaps it's time to re-think the dress code. And this is another reason I'm so glad I work in a school where they wear uniforms. They have more freedom with their hair than most traditional public schools, and the kids have a great time accessorizing with shoes, belts, ties, socks, leggings, and jewelry.

[HewenttoJared]

Perhaps this rule has outlived its usefulness.

[Jersey Boss]

Just like Coke has the pouring rights, the Bloods have the color rights.

[OKCisOK4me]

That article on Yahoo already has nearly 10,000 comments on it. Way to go Oklahoma Education Leaders! <---s-a-r-c-a-s-m

[UnclePete]

How or to whom do we complain about such silly policies? Is the Superintendent the man in charge?

[soonerguru]

Following policy is one thing, but what a hamfisted way to do it. The kid was five years old, for crying out loud. Could they not have spared him the indignity and embarrassment of turning his shirt inside out and quietly called his parents to remind them of the district's dress code?

And this isn't some podunk, backward school. This is Wilson, one of the top three elementary schools in OKC (where Heritage Hills and Mesta Park parents send their kids). Ridiculous.

[soonerguru]

I am directing my comments to the State Superintendent, Janet Barrisi: http://www.ok.gov/sde/webform/contact

Good luck with that. She's an alien space cadet. You're better off sending comments to the OKC superintendent, Karl Springer.

[RadicalModerate]

Back when I was in elementary school, wearing your shirt inside out was an invitation for bullying. The neck wedgies caused from the cruel and unusual pulling of the little tag flapping in the back were nearly as painful as the other type. And probably more dangerous.

Perhaps in order to level the playing field--especially in terms of keeping up with the folks on the other side of the globe--we need to have a focus group of teachers and adminstrators view this video and open up the discussion of priorities in schools.

[soonerguru]

They might as well have put a dunce cap on him and made him sit on a stool in the corner.

[bchris02]

I got three days detention when I was in high school for saying OU sucked in their game the previous saturday.

[OKCisOK4me]

I got three days detention when I was in high school for saying OU sucked in their game the previous saturday.

You Da Man!

[ou48A]

There is a serious gang problem in the OKC schools that goes largely unreported by the local media.
There were 7 students arrested just yesterday at one OKC middle school.
Crime and arrest are common. Rape, drugs and serious fights happen all the time.
.

[ou48A]

Gang Affiliated Sports Team Apparel or Logos



Atlanta Braves: People- initial “A” for Almighty
Boston Celtics: Spanish Cobras - Colors - Green/Black
British Knights: Crips - initials “B” & “K” for Blood Killers
Burger King: Crips - initials “B” & “K” for Blood Killers
Charlotte Hornets: 4 Corner Hustlers - initials “C” & “H”
Charlotte Hornets: Imperial Gangsters - Colors - Black/Pink
Chicago Bulls: Vice Lords, Latin Counts, Mickey Cobras - colors - Black/Red
Chicago Bulls: Black Peace Stone Nation - “Bulls” stands for “Boy You Look Like Stone”
Chicago Black Hawks: Vice Lords - Colors - Black/Red
Chicago Cubs: Spanish Cobras - initial “C”
Cincinnati Reds: 4 Corner Hustlers - put a “4″ next to the “C” and an “H” inside of the “C”
Colorado Rockies: Simon City Royals - sometimes place a white “S” in front of the “C”
Columbia Knights: Bloods - initials “C” & “K” for Crip Killer
Converse All Star shoe: People - five point star in the logo of label
Dallas Cowboys: People - five point star
Denver Broncos: Black Disciples switch “DB” for initials “BD”
Detroit Lions: Gangster Disciples - Colors - Black/Blue
Detroit Tigers: Folks - initial “D” for Disciples
Detroit Tigers: Gangster Disciples - Colors: Black/Blue
Duke: Folks - Colors - Black/Blue; “Duke” = “Disciples Utilizing Knowledge Everyday”
Georgetown: Folks - initial “G” for Gangster
Georgetown Hoyas: Gangster Disciples - Colors: Black/Blue; “Hoyas” stands for “Hoover’s On Your ***” (Larry Hoover)
Georgia Tech: Folks - initial “G” for Gangster
Indiana University: Imperial Gangsters - initials “I” & “U” overlapping appear to make the shape of a pitchfork showing “Folks” affiliation
Kansas City Royals: Folks - Colors: Black/Blue
Kansas City Royals: Simon City Royals - “Royals”
LA Dodgers: Gangster Disciples - initial “D” for Disciples
LA Kings: Latin Kings - “Kings”
LA Kings: People - “Kings” stands for “Kill Inglewood Nasty Gangsters”
Los Angeles Raiders: Folks - “Raiders” stands for “Ruthless *** Insane Disciples Running ****”
Los Angeles Raiders: People - “Raiders” stands for “Raggedy *** Iced Donuts Everywhere Running Scared”: used to “Disrespect” Folks
Louis Vitton Cap: Vice Lords Initials “LV” reversed
Miami Hurricanes: People - Color -Orange
Michigan: Initial “M” for Maniac Latin Disciples
Minnesota Twins: Initial “M” for Maniac Latin Disciples
NY Yankees: Gangster Disciples Colors - Black/Blue/White
North Carolina Tar Heels: Folks - Colors - Black/Blue
Nike: Folks - Colors - Black/Blue
Oakland A’s: Ambrose - initial “A” for Ambrose
Oakland A’s: Orchestra Albany Initials “O” & “A”
Oakland A’s: Spanish Cobras - Color - Green
Orlando Magic: Folks - “Magic” stands for “Maniacs and Gangsters in Chicago”; Colors - Black/Blue represents numerous “Folks” gangs
Philadelphia Phillies: People - initial “P” for “People”
Phoenix Suns: Black Peace Stone Nation - initials “P” & “S”
Pittsburgh Pirates: Colors - Black/Gold for Latin Kings; Bloods - Initial “P”; for Pirus (Bloods)
San Francisco Giants: Folks - switch initials for “Super Gangster Folk”
San Francisco Giants: Future Stones Initials “S” & “F” spelled backwards San Francisco (Any) Stone Freaks Initials “S” & “F”
St. Louis Cardinals: Spanish Vice Lords - red-colored hat
Starter Symbol: Folks - crack the five point star to disrespect the “People”
Starter Symbol: People - five point star
Texas Rangers: People - initial “T” looks like pitchfork pointing down
University of Illinois: Folks - initials “U” & “I” together appear to be a pitchfork pointing up
University of Nevada at Las Vegas: (UNLV ) -Vice Lords Colors: Red/Black; “UNLV” backwards stands for “Vice Lords Nation United”

http://www.nationalconcernedof...ogo_apparel.htm

[ou48A]

I think I am calloused then. I don't see schools as rehab. If they have issues, get them away from other kids. Restricting shirts doesn't sound like a solution. It sounds like a new rule made to look like a solution. Will gang activity actually go down as a result?

EDIT: Full disclosure. I homeschool my kids. And later they will probably go to a private or charter school. So I completely get that I am in the "easy for you to say" category with this one.

The real issue in this case is IMO the age of the kid, not the rule. Maybe they could cut it off at a certain grade?
But most of us have heard numerous stories of gangs adopting sports apparel as their own signature.
IMHO OKC students should all be required to wear school uniforms and then we can all focus on other problems.

But I could absolutely care less about how outsiders feel about this!
This rule is made very clear to all parents in print each new school year…... So I’m not sure why this is even an issue unless the parent just wanted to make an issue about it.... or more likely, they didn’t pay attention.

[Matt]

Michigan: Initial “M” for Maniac Latin Disciples

So does this mean young Cooper Barton was representing the MLD? Who's to say?

But probably.

[OKCTalker]

OU48A is on the mark with his posts above. I didn't believe it until I recently tutored a seven-year-old kid from a troubled school district. An OCPD officer spoke to us - tutors and kids - about gangs, colors, teams, symbols, gang signs, graffiti tags and the like. He asked for a show of hands which children had been approached to either join a gang, or had been intimidated by gang members. Every hand went up.

The kid I tutored is a wonderful, innocent little boy who you'd never think would attract the attention of a neighborhood or school gang, either as someone to recruit, or someone to intimidate.

Wake up, people. Getting that little kid to turn his shirt inside out was the right call. The story was poorly reported.

[RadicalModerate]

(sigh) If only all of that brilliant creativity could be redirected into something positive . . .
Like graphing functions or diagramming sentences.

Are you sure they spelled "Folk(s)" correctly in the examples provided, above?
If I was hooked on Fonics I'd swear there was a short "U" in there instead of the O with the silent L.

Notably absent from the list: OKC Thunder
Thug Homies Under Neocon Dominated Egregious Republicanism

OKC?:
"Okay . . . See . . ." (an homage to Edward G. Robinson, an OG (Original Gangster))

"Los Angeles Raiders: Folks - “Raiders” stands for “Ruthless *** Insane Disciples Running ****”
"Los Angeles Raiders: People - “Raiders” stands for “Raggedy *** Iced Donuts Everywhere Running Scared”: used to “Disrespect” Folks"
Indeed.

[OkieHornet]

michigan's athletic director has extended an invitation to the bartons to come up for a football game.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...t%7CSports%7Cp

[Midtowner]

The reason the policy is dumb as written and as enforced is that whoever wrote it apparently only thinks there are two schools in the state. If I'm a gang member and my colors are the same as Michigan, I can buy UCO gear... you know.. bronze and blue.

If someone wants to file a federal case, this policy will go down in flames. If the limitation is to in-state schools, well, there are enough of those that I'm guessing you could get any color combination you needed to rep your gang.

[Stew]

Yeah, gangs should have the indirect power to dictate what our children can't wear in school. That makes perfect sense.

[ou48A]

OU48A is on the mark with his posts above. I didn't believe it until I recently tutored a seven-year-old kid from a troubled school district. An OCPD officer spoke to us - tutors and kids - about gangs, colors, teams, symbols, gang signs, graffiti tags and the like. He asked for a show of hands which children had been approached to either join a gang, or had been intimidated by gang members. Every hand went up.

The kid I tutored is a wonderful, innocent little boy who you'd never think would attract the attention of a neighborhood or school gang, either as someone to recruit, or someone to intimidate.

Wake up, people. Getting that little kid to turn his shirt inside out was the right call. The story was poorly reported.

Good story^
The OKC schools do have a very serious gang problem. They had 9 arrests yesterday just at one school. People who are critical of this policy probably don’t face gang problems virtually every hour of their work day like the great majority of OKC teachers and administrators. Those folks along with police and others public in service are serving in the front lines. They have a much better understanding of the gang issues than a bunch of armchair, back bench, quarterbacks

[old okie]

IMHO OKC students should all be required to wear school uniforms and then we can all focus on other problems.

This!

Solves such problems as the bad publicity that has resulted, but IMHO, uniforms should be for all students in OK, not just OKC...and from preschool through senior year. Would elminate any 'associations' or avenues for 'bullying.' Levels the field, and if you think about it, most private schools [if not all] require uniforms. Public schools could save TONS of problems over dress codes by opting for uniforms and as OU48A said, "...then we can all focus on other problems."

My view is based on my 25-years of teaching experience in the public schools. Uniforms would have helped in so many situations where 'dress code' trumped real problems.