Rob Famularo has been a sixth-grade teacher at Brookside Middle School in Allendale, New Jersey, for seven years.

In my very first year as a teacher, I quickly realized the numerous and varied job responsibilities that undoubtedly come with the profession. On any given day a teacher may be asked to be a coach, friend, counselor, helping-hand, disciplinarian, or facilitator, to name just a few. What I did not realize quite so quickly, however, was the number of important decisions I would make on a regular basis. Many of these decisions carry moral, ethical, or legal implications. Consider, for example, the decisions involved in enforcing my public school's dress code.

Although the United States Supreme Court has stated that students relinquish some of their First Amendment rights in school, teachers nonetheless often struggle with the legal and ethical ramifications of controlling student dress and deeming what is "appropriate or inappropriate" attire for school. There are, of course, lots of theoretical legal and ethical questions surrounding dress codes, such as, "Is it the responsibility of a public school to determine what attire is appropriate dress for school?", " Can a school still make this determination even if a parent objects or disagrees?", and " How can a teacher make an objective and consistent decision for every student?" These questions, which contain deep moral, legal, and ethical significance, are worthy of thoughtful reflection and consideration by anyone entering the teaching profession.

The situation becomes quite real, however, when the administration sets a specific dress code that I am expected to enforce when students enter my classroom first period in the morning. Can (or should) I tell a female high school student that her skirt is too short or that her shorts are more appropriate for the beach, rather than for school? Or, should I simply turn a blind eye to the situation, saving both the girl and me the embarrassment? Am I really doing my job by ignoring the situation? This is when teachers get the chance to truly define their own personal meanings for what seem like abstract legal and ethical questions.