Do Dress Codes Stunt Expression or Teach Kids How to Respectfully Function in Society?

Today I laid in bed staring at the clothes in my closet bemoaning the Entheos dress code. I knew I wanted to go to the temple after church, but it was also spirit week. I mixed and matched my clothes and all I could think about was my denim skirt with the diamond pattern. It's a nice skirt, and would be perfect for the day. However, denim is totally outside the dress code that specifies we have to dress to the level of the kids (polo and khakis) or better. Additionally, the rules for spirit week specifically said, "NO DENIM!" I miss the days of casual Friday, and even more the days when I could were whatever I wanted.

I started thinking about it though. My students are used to a dress code. Some of them try to fight it, but they conform. In Taiwan the kids never thought twice about their dress codes, in fact when we tried to get them to debate the topic, they always wanted to argue for the dress code because it made sense. My mom talked about having to adhere to dress codes in school, in fact she always had to wear a skit, and I've never heard my dad complain to have a casual Friday.

As I was thinking about all these ideas and facts, I came to the conclusion that when they did away with the dress codes in school, the students stopped seeing the need for outfits to fit occupations. All the older engineers I've worked with wore suits to work every day, regardless of what the day was. Now my question is, has that deterioration of structure also contribute to the disrespect that is running rampant in the school system? Has giving them so much freedom to express themselves created a generation that thinks that anything that doesn't allow that expression is an infringement on their rights? I don't know for sure... but I'm thinking the answer might be yes...