What Do You Think?

I'm just curious what other people may think about something that has bothered me about the dress code at my boys' school. Of course, no matter how many of my cyber friends may agree with me, it's not going to change anything, but I sometimes like to know if my feelings are reasonable or not. My boys attend a VERY small, traditional Catholic school. So, of course there is a uniform, which is perfectly fine. But there are some things about their particular dress code that bother me.

The boys uniform consists of navy pants, white oxford shirt, black belt, navy or black socks, a tie (yes, a tie!), and black dress shoes. Now, I actually have two issues with this particular uniform. One is the tie. I HATE the tie. I mean, I don't really think it's necessary, but the real issue I have with it is that it's more work for the parents. We've had lost ties, broken ties, untied ties (they're the kind that come already tied), and it never fails that I will do laundry just to wash ties and then they will come home covered in who-knows-what the very next day. Yes, I just love to run an entire load of laundry just for a tie.

My other issue is the shoes. They have to wear black dress shoes to school, but they have to have tennis shoes for recess and PE. Now, that means we have to send a separate pair of shoes to school. So, both the boys end up having to have a number of pairs of shoes; their school shoes, their play shoes for school, nice shoes for home, and play shoes for home because their other play shoes are at school. And on days when they have PE, they also have to dress out, so they come home with those tennis shoes on. So then guess what happens? They sometimes forget to bring them back to school and they have to stand by the wall for recess if they don't have their tennis shoes. Today was one of those days, as Alec realized halfway to school that he had forgotten his tennis shoes. He's 6. Now the poor kid can't play at recess. (And somehow only one of Joey's dress shoes made it home yesterday. He better find the other one because I am NOT buying another pair!) Yes, I realize I am the mom and am supposed to help remember this stuff. But, you know, I have quite a lot going on, too. In my opinion, it would be just as acceptable for these kids to wear some nice black tennis shoes to school, eliminating the need for extra shoes, and the extra expense.

I brought the shoe issue up at the school meeting before the beginning of this year but was quickly shut down and put in my place about the shoes. Something about looking nice. Yes, I understand that, but who really looks at your feet? (Besides, you should see how these shoes end up looking after a little while.) I was actually a little surprised that I was the only one who said something as there are quite a few families with more children at the school than I have (including a few families with 10 children, so they might have 5 or 6 at school). I don't know how they keep track of all of those shoes! So, do I have a point here, or am I just a whiny mom that needs to get her act together?