Chapter 3: The letters from no one

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Chapter 3, Book 1 The letters from no one!

Harry is coming to terms that he'll be going to Stonewall High with Dudley's old clothes dyed grey, when he gets a letter so specifically addressed to him that it says

"Mr. H. Potter
The cupboard under the stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey" !!!!

Wow wow wow. How exciting is that! And how even more hilarious is it how no matter how much Uncle Vernon tries (and he tries HARD) the letters keep coming, identifying every change of location and status.

My topic for discussion is:

School uniform? Or free dress?

Letters addressed to u: intercepted by parents or passed on without question (when u were 11.)

As for me, my school was free dress, meaning no uniform. It often showed who had more money than others, but this can ring true to the condition of uniforms as well. I found free dress allowed ppl to show their personalities a bit more. Such as, skaters, preppies, jocks, etc.. all dressed to suit their stereotypes. I reckon, the muggle populations sure missed out with Harry by being bullied into hating him by Dudley. Sometimes ,the best ppl are the quiet ones who seem to have it pretty tough.

Letters addressed to me.. I used to have penpals, emails were not around when I was 11. So.. I used to get letters from friends and cards from relatives. I'm pretty sure my mom and dad were watching me when I opened them.... parents have to be protective!

[DucksRMagical]

I am very anti-uniform. I think everyone should be allowed to wear whatever they want (well, as long as it's not too revealing at school) in order to show off their personality. I don't like the idea of everyone having to conform to one standard uniform. All the schools I went to were free dress and I'm very happy about that. There were rules against certain clothes, some of which I don't agree with. One thing is the no-hat policy. I just don't understand that. All through public school, we weren't allowed to wear hats inside. Other districts near us were.

Another thing is, the dress code needs to be age-appropriate. Something that's not appropriate in high school might be in elementary school. Example, spaghetti strap tops. They are banned in every school in my district. This make sense in middle/high school because they are kind of revealing. But in elementary school? Come on. Kids don't think like that when they're that age. And it gets really hot in the schools too in the spring/summer.

Letters- When I was eleven, I opened my own mail. Most of the mail I got was from the school (report cards and such) and I opened them and then my parents read them, too. I didn't have very many pen pals. Nor did I have my own e-mail address, which I got when I was 12.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

I like the idea of restrictions regarding revealing, but if ppl are going to look, they're going to look, u know? A girl in a jumper/sweater is still a girl. I don't think there were any restrictions at our school. One girl wore spikey dog collars and chains around her neck and so on... and she was never told not to. (funny, she actually reminded me of a princess with her long wavy hair before she shaved her head and started dressing like that.) but mostly, ppl just wore jeans and tshirt.

I think about how much it costs parents to clothe their children for school when there isn't a uniform. Here in Aus, it's a polo shirt, dress shirt, skirt, pants or tracky pants and u can alternate them. THat's for public school. Everyone looks the same. lol so ya, if someone goes missing, u'd be all like.. "they were wearing... whatever everyone else was! oh, but they look like... every other girl who has long brown hair... oh wait their bag! oh... is the same as everyone else... (although some schools allow u to bring your own bag and THAT can be your personality outlet.)

No piercings are allowed at schools except for one earing in each ear. (so many kids have nose, tongue, eyebrow and lip rings to name a few)

Let's see, certain colour in your hair are not allowed either.

I suppose, in a way, it's preparation for the real world, where if u want to get a job, u have to conform. Or u can be like the chick on NCIS who works in the basement so she can dress all 'gothic' and listen to her mournful tunes!

I forgot about letters from school. Usually, those were opened straight away by my mom and dad! and then put on the table for me to see. Especially if it was good news. I was a bit of a goody two shoes in school........

[DucksRMagical]

See, I think that is just crazy! Can't dye your hair or wear piercings?! My school definitely wasn't like that. Plenty of people dyed their hair all sorts of colors and had piercings all over the place. And plenty of people wore chains and other different jewelry. And most of them were very nice people. A lot of my friends wore stuff like that. Heck, some people would probably consider some of my earrings to be crazy.

Jobs, yes, you do often have to conform, but I don't think you should have to in school. Plenty of people wear unique clothing and piercings in their spare time and then conform for jobs. But I think jobs are different. You're being paid to be there, no one's forcing you to go. With school, you HAVE to be there, whether you want to or not (unless you're 16 or older and want to drop out). Although, at the store I work at, you're allowed to wear your piercings and have dyed hair. I've seen some of my coworkers with pink or blue hair before. You just have to wear the standard uniform. But you can wear whatever jewelry you want. I wear my Gryffindor necklace and DA necklace all the time at work.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

omg, u have Griffindor and DA necklaces? that's so cool! where did u get them?

[DucksRMagical]

Hot Topic, the ultimate place for HP merchandise (besides the Internet, of course. ). I'm not sure if there are Hot Topics in Australia or not. But you could probably order online www.hottopic.com However, they've gotten rid of most of their HP stuff. I'm sure they'll re-stock when it gets closer to the HBP movie, though.

[Scellanis]

You know, that hats inside thing is pretty much polite ettiquete (sp??) that you don't wear your hat indoors anyway, especially not at a meal or in church and why would a classroom be any different given the hat hides your head and eyes and so would make talking to the class a little distracting.

As for uniforms, I wholeheartedly support them. Its a lot less stressful when all you have to do is wear the same thing every day and you don't have to worry about whether anyone else will be wearing it too or what everyone else will be wearing and whether you will be wearing the right thing or whether you are rich enough and have the correct labels. Also it'd be alot less annoying if someone knicked your school shirt in P.E. rather than your fancy top you spent ages picking out and probably spent a fortune on not that anyone would want to knick a school shirt especially if its exactly the same as theirs. And then also there is the whole spilling chemicals on your clothes as well, I'd rather burn a hole in my school uniform.

And finally we have the whole issue of safety. If all of you are wearing the unifrom its very obvious who is the wrong one out...its also very obvious if you get lost on a school trip and could stop confused tourists accidently getting on your bus instead.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Good points all around Scellanis. I have to say, it's such a fashion show when there's no uniforms. Then I guess u can parade around in other situations (eg, recreational activities) wearing your 'fancy' threads.

Still, it totally sucks when parents can't afford to get their kids new uniforms and they end up with stuff that is too small, faded, holey, etc. And poor Harry wearing 'elephant skin' on his first day of high school! High School is hard enough!

Yes, hats seem to be a cultural thing, where u have to remove them in order to be polite. I remember hearing once that a boy in my friends school wore a turban (I think that's what they are called) and someone knocked it off, and his hair was really really long. I think if you wear a hat for religious purposes (or head dress), then that is fine. I remember ppl used to wear a hat when their hair looked terrible (from a bad hair cut, etc.) But in High School the teachers are onto that, becuase then ppl wear hats to cover their unwashed hair, and jackets to cover the smell from not showering.. and pretty soon it's just all a bit ferrel!

So.... I like uniforms for high school for the ease of it... but then out and about we should be able to wear what we want and not be persecuted! (as for piercings, it's a tough one, because it's personal choice. If u have to take piercings out for school, won't the holes grow in? Should u bring them to school and take em out and put em in before and after school right away? And would u get in trouble if u're seen in public wearing your piercings and school uniform......... What a conformist society we live in...)

[Scellanis]

Well to be honest I can see the school's point of view on peircings. Well it looks bad cos they are generally associated with the rougher unruley sorts of people anyway but the other thing is its for your own safety.

You get asked to take your jewelry off in P.E. but if you take out peircings specially for P.E. it'll be unhygenic to leave them in the valuables box with everyone else's jewelry but if you wear it for P.E. accidents can hamper for example catching your ring in the basketball hoop and ripping your finger off, catching your earring on a tshirt and ripping your ear. Someone just posted on DA of how their mother had to have her ring cut out of her finger after a door blew shut on her hand, well I imagine getting hit by a hockey stuck would have a similar effect. If you are wearing a necklace the worst that could happen is that you strangle yourself, I can see why the school wouldn't want you to be wearing jewelry for school cos if you just take it off for sports they still have to worry about keeping it safe while you aren't wearing it.

I always think, if they can't afford uniform at the sort of school Harry was going to surely they can't afford normal clothes either so uniform or not makes no difference.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

I just can't help but think about HOW can they be so cruel as to not even bother to buy him a proper uniform???? Dying some clothes grey?? I mean, has anyone ever tried dying clothes? Unless u do it properly, there's no WAY it will come out even. Poor Harry. He is just a child, how can they really feel no love for him as to give him the minimum, never cherish any mile stones in his life, no photos of him anywhere.... I know I know it's because they try to pretend he isn't there, and make sure no one else notices him either.

I'm sorry, I just can't imagine being so unkind to someone. If I was genuinely concerned about him being magical, i would go about it a different way.. I would embrace it, identify it and try to advocate for being 'normal' rather than magical (IF i was that way in thought, which I wouldn't be...)

BUT, any attempt to smother someone into being someone they are not can only lead to heartache and damage in the end for everyone involved. You can't stop Hogwart's from getting that letter through! (Except, I reckon mine got lost in the mail! lol)

[DucksRMagical]

I disagree about the hat thing. Yes, it is polite to take them off during meals and church and I agree that you shouldn't wear hats during those events. But school just seems different to me. People wear hats at my school (college) all the time.

I see your point about uniforms being easier, but I personally wouldn't want to sacrifice my freedom to express myself through clothing for ease. As far as gym class goes, I don't know about other places, but my school made you change your clothes for gym. You'd get points taken off if you didn't.

In my elementary school, if you had to wear your earrings during gym, they made you put scotch tape over them. Where's the logic in that? I don't think a piece of tape would stop them from being ripped out, and it seems kind of unsanitary to put a piece of tape over your healing piercing. In middle and high school, you could wear whatever jewelry you wanted to in gym. It was your choice. I think in middle school you had to take out dangling earrings, but I don't really remember.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

They've got this special tape you can use to put over your long nails, rings and earings when we go play basketball at a local recreation centre. It's so ppl don't get clawed or scraped by someone else's nails and jewlery, and so their jewlery doesn't get caught by other ppl's fingers resulting in breakage or even tearing of the skin. It was for insurance purposes too, some ppl got so cheeky as to try to charge the rec centre for losses and damages when that rule wasn't in place! Ppl are constantly covering their butts now.

Regarding ease of school uniform, I think the ease is more for parents than for the kids, because it's less expensive to provide the uniform than at least 5 different outfits and combinations (and competeing lables, etc) for school clothes. I remember we went shopping every year before school started for new school clothes. I guess if u have a job and can buy what u want to wear to school that's cool, but my parents never bought any designer label things for me, just basic jeans, pants, tshirts etc. Some of the girls at school dressed so beautifully, wearing designer labels because their parents bought them. It didn't bother me so much because i didn't really care, and when I got a job I bought what I wanted to wear...

lol I think of this funny ad where the receptionist at a law firm was transfering a conference call from her firm to Hong Kong, and the waiting music was off her ipod, and it was death metal music (u know, die die die! Rar rar rar.. etc. screaching guitars and so on...) but to look at her she didn't seem to be the sort who would listen to that music. She had her business dress on and her hair tied back ,but then she picked up the phone and u caught a hint of who she really was by a chunky purple streak in her jet black hair, and black nail polish and her make up was a bit dark.

Do we really establish what personalities are by the way ppl dress, do their hair, what music they listen to and so on? Darn straight we do! How hard is it to work out who u might want to hang out with when everyone looks like a bunch of penguins? I guess it forces us all to talk to each other instead of making assumptions...

wow.... pretty full on subject.... I guess because I missed out on uniforms, I kinda want to wear one now.... hmmmmmmmmmm..... but when you're young, u don't have to work in a full time job and so on you should be allowed to dye your hair and have piercings where ever as long as u can before you have to become a conformed, so called responsible adult.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Here's another question.....

How can parents screen our mail when we can recieve it all now online? What age should a person be "trusted' to recieve their own mail (eg... could be from unknown sources, advertisements, 'creeps' etc.) Are ppl actually taught how to screen email and messages so u don't get virus' or wind up speaking to some creepy preditor? Emails didn't come in till I left High School, so by then it was up to me to learn.

Just curious.....

[DucksRMagical]

I think parents definitely need to teach their kids about what is safe and what isn't on the Internet. I also believe that they need to keep an eye on their kids' Internet usage. But that being said, I don't think parents should go and read their kids email. What they should do is before they let them have email, join a forum, or even just browse the Internet, is sit them down and explain what can happen online and what is safe and appropriate.

Too many parents just have no idea what their kids do online. They buy their kids computers and put them in their rooms, which I think is inappropriate. Then, kids are able to hole up in their rooms and do whatever they want and browse whatever they want. If the computer is in a frequently trafficked area of the house (living room, family room, kitchen), then kids will be less likely to do inappropriate stuff online.

As far as being taught this stuff in school, I wasn't. But when I was in elementary school, not as many kids used the Internet and it wasn't nearly as advanced as it is now. I know at Fawkes's school last year, a bunch of kids (we're talking 10 and 11 year olds here) were going on MySpace in school. The school sent home letters about it telling parents. Now, I don't think it's the school's place to tell kids whether or not they can use MySpace at home (in school is totally different, the school can monitor them then and tell them what they can and can't go on, but not at home), but I do think schools should educate children about the dangers of the Internet. I think the school did give an assembly to the kids after this took place (Fawkes, correct me if I'm wrong). That was a good idea, because too many parents don't educate their kids.

I think the best thing parents can do is just educate their kids. There are tons of ways to do this and parents have all different ways of protecting their kids from the Internet. I know my dad told me and my siblings about what not to do online, how not to give away private information, secure websites, etc. I know Fawkes has a couple friends who aren't even allowed to join forums, but that's their parents' choice. I personally don't think banning kids from the Internet altogether is the best route to take, because they'll just rebel the first chance they get. But rules and guidelines with education about the Internet is definitely needed.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Well said! Parents should take ownership on educating their kids on the internet. There are many programs and websites and collabortive teacher/parent activities that can be done to help kids do the right thing online.

Lol, I can't believe how easy it is to see some of the things we would not have seen in our wildest nightmares/dreams (depending on who you are...) when i was a kid. Information is really really too easy to access now... but I still like being able to have it, just use it sensibly.