The way kids dress doesn’t define who they are

Rene Hill

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | midnight

I am teaching in a different school this year and have a new group of students to get to know. That is actually the best part of teaching: getting to know kids and helping them succeed in school.

It is interesting how diverse student interests are and how at 12 and 13 years old, they know so much. They are still, however, kids with all the interests and insecurities that come with adolescence. I suppose it was this topic that a group of us were discussing, and it seemed like a good topic for a column. Don't judge a book by its cover.

Many of our students try to dress the part of the groups with which they belong or hope to belong. The fashion trends among teens are, to say the least, diverse.

I do a writing exercise in my class in which students describe what they think they look like to people who don't know them. I have them describe themselves both physically and in personality. It is amazing how they see themselves.

We describe a type of person we know and discuss what about their appearance makes them seem that way.

The final analysis is that we all tend to judge people by the way they look. Even if they are not a gangster or a skater, they may project that to those who don't know them.

Parents and teachers tend to do the same thing. We see a student who tends to dress a certain way and project our expectations that a student will act in a way in accordance with their attire. Sometimes they live up or down to these expectations and many times they don't.

As a parent, ask yourself if you have judged a friend your child has brought home by the way the child was dressed and felt that your child should not associate with that particular friend. It is a basic human trait to judge on first impressions.

As my colleagues and I begin this year, we are making a conscious effort to get to know the kids beneath the tough persona. We are giving each and every one of them the chance they deserve.

Many of them are needy and just want to have the chance to prove they can achieve. Sometimes they don't have support at home and school or a friend's home is the place where they have that chance.

As parents, get to know your child's friends and find out who they are. They might need a bit of parenting because of their home circumstances, especially now with so many families losing everything due to economic hardship.

After all, children are the future and we can help make that future better.

René Hill is an English teacher and former special education teacher in the Clark County School District that writes for the Home News. She can be reached c/o the Home News, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074 or [email protected].