Pajama Bottoms
by hannah riggs
On those mornings when you roll out of bed late and are rushing to get to school on time, you may feel that your morning would be much less stressful if you were able to just wear your pajama bottoms to school. But, according to Shelby County policies, that will never be the case. Shelby County rule number seven says “sleepwear, pajamas, and/or blankets cannot be worn at school.”
“I think that is good. Part of the reason we have a dress code is to prepare students for the workplace,” principal Ted Horrell stated.
This view is shared with other faculty members as well, including history teacher Steven Reeder.
“This is a training ground for the workplace, and no job in America is going to hire someone in pajama bottoms,” Reeder stated.
Not only are pajama bottoms inappropriate in the workplace, but they are not commonly worn outside of the home anyways.
“I think it is important to learn to make the distinction between things that, really, you shouldn’t wear outside of your home. And I think pajama bottoms fall into that category,” Horrell stated.
Assistant principal Jon Stencel brought up another possible issue as well.
“Pajama bottoms are made out of material that is meant to be comfortable and is sometimes thinner and even see through, which can serve to hinder the educational process,” Stencel stated.
While students do wish to achieve the best education possible, many do not see this as an issue.
“The thin material in pajama bottoms is really loose; it’s not like you can see anything. I see a lot more around school, and if you put pajama pants on them, they would be covered a lot more appropriately,” senior Michelle Pleasant said.
Junior Reilly Pierce shares Pleasant’s view on the rule as well.
“I don’t understand how it could be abused. They are pants; they won’t be too short,” Pierce stated.
Though it is claimed that some pajama pants may be “see through,” other possibilities exist regarding students who would choose to wear those types of pajama pants.
“There are rules against the tightness of pants and see through clothing. So if someone did wear inappropriate pajama pants, they could get them on that,” Pleasant said.
History teacher Rob Thomas sees both sides of the issue.
“It doesn’t seem like that bad of a rule. Most learning environments and work places establish a dress code of some sort,” Thomas said.
Thomas also brought up a very valuable argument in response to pajama bottoms being more appropriate than other things seen on campus.
“To say the pajama pant rule is not valid because enforcement of the others are at times lacking is not necessarily a fair comparison to make,” Thomas said.
While this is true, many students will be headed on to college before they enter the work place.
“When most students go to college, they are going to walk around in sweats, because they roll out of bed to make it to class on time,” Thomas said.
Fortunately, high school students are allowed to wear sweat pants to school, which can be just as comfortable as pajama bottoms.
“It can be hard to learn when you aren’t comfortable. You have to be comfortable in some way, and you can’t be comfortable in jeans all of the time,” Pierce said.
But some think appearance can affect the effort one puts forth into learning. If one dresses nicely, there may be an improvement in their overall attitude and grades as well.
“Mr. Mac was really one of the first to pioneer this [dressing nicely at school] with the well dressed Wednesdays and other things,” Thomas said.
But in the end, wearing pajama bottoms at school is still against Shelby County policy. It is the job as students to follow this rule, and the job of teachers and administrators to enforce it; there could even be some good in that rule.
“When people dress well, they tend to, as a whole, act a little bit better,” Thomas said.
“I think that is good. Part of the reason we have a dress code is to prepare students for the workplace,” principal Ted Horrell stated.
This view is shared with other faculty members as well, including history teacher Steven Reeder.
“This is a training ground for the workplace, and no job in America is going to hire someone in pajama bottoms,” Reeder stated.
Not only are pajama bottoms inappropriate in the workplace, but they are not commonly worn outside of the home anyways.
“I think it is important to learn to make the distinction between things that, really, you shouldn’t wear outside of your home. And I think pajama bottoms fall into that category,” Horrell stated.
Assistant principal Jon Stencel brought up another possible issue as well.
“Pajama bottoms are made out of material that is meant to be comfortable and is sometimes thinner and even see through, which can serve to hinder the educational process,” Stencel stated.
While students do wish to achieve the best education possible, many do not see this as an issue.
“The thin material in pajama bottoms is really loose; it’s not like you can see anything. I see a lot more around school, and if you put pajama pants on them, they would be covered a lot more appropriately,” senior Michelle Pleasant said.
Junior Reilly Pierce shares Pleasant’s view on the rule as well.
“I don’t understand how it could be abused. They are pants; they won’t be too short,” Pierce stated.
Though it is claimed that some pajama pants may be “see through,” other possibilities exist regarding students who would choose to wear those types of pajama pants.
“There are rules against the tightness of pants and see through clothing. So if someone did wear inappropriate pajama pants, they could get them on that,” Pleasant said.
History teacher Rob Thomas sees both sides of the issue.
“It doesn’t seem like that bad of a rule. Most learning environments and work places establish a dress code of some sort,” Thomas said.
Thomas also brought up a very valuable argument in response to pajama bottoms being more appropriate than other things seen on campus.
“To say the pajama pant rule is not valid because enforcement of the others are at times lacking is not necessarily a fair comparison to make,” Thomas said.
While this is true, many students will be headed on to college before they enter the work place.
“When most students go to college, they are going to walk around in sweats, because they roll out of bed to make it to class on time,” Thomas said.
Fortunately, high school students are allowed to wear sweat pants to school, which can be just as comfortable as pajama bottoms.
“It can be hard to learn when you aren’t comfortable. You have to be comfortable in some way, and you can’t be comfortable in jeans all of the time,” Pierce said.
But some think appearance can affect the effort one puts forth into learning. If one dresses nicely, there may be an improvement in their overall attitude and grades as well.
“Mr. Mac was really one of the first to pioneer this [dressing nicely at school] with the well dressed Wednesdays and other things,” Thomas said.
But in the end, wearing pajama bottoms at school is still against Shelby County policy. It is the job as students to follow this rule, and the job of teachers and administrators to enforce it; there could even be some good in that rule.
“When people dress well, they tend to, as a whole, act a little bit better,” Thomas said.