Board Member Jacqueline Smith
Jefferson County Board of Education
2100 South 18th Street
Birmingham, AL 35209
Dear Ms. Smith,
I just read about the proposed changes to the dress codes in your area schools. I am writing to discourage you from banning flip-flops. It sounds reasonable at first to want to protect youngsters’ toes from wayward falling objects, but I have incurred more injury to my feet as a result of an elementary school policy against flip-flops than I would have if I had been wearing the sandals every day of my life.
As a child I had very sensitive feet, and socks caused me a great deal of discomfort. Flip-flops were the most comfortable thing to wear. In second grade a teacher informed me that I could not wear them to school. I went back to the shoes and socks, and got out of the habit of wearing flip-flops at all. As a result, when I finally put flip-flops on again, they hurt my feet, which were no longer accustomed to them. I spent years going through various kinds of sandals and winding up with endless chafes and blisters before finding a sandal that I could wear. Still, I rue the day I was made to retire those flip-flops.
You are quoted in the news as saying that flip-flops are not practical in the rain or for running. I disagree wholeheartedly. If you are walking in the rain with flip-flops, you do not have to worry about getting your socks and shoes wet. The sandals, and your feet, will dry off quickly and not be damaged! They can be removed quickly if one needs to run during an emergency, unlike many of the styles of shoes young women wear these days.
In general I am against imposing any more restrictions on kids than are absolutely necessary. Unfortunately we live in the Age of Litigation, but even with all the paper in the school budget you could not write enough rules to completely protect the school district from that.
Truly,
Liz Mann
