The other day in calculus class, in front of all of my classmates, I was measured to see if my skirt was the proper length. After a three-inch notecard was placed at the back of my knee, my teacher announced that I was short by one inch and in violation of the dress code.

With a red face, I sat down and watched as the rest of my female classmates failed the same test. Not a single student passed the three-inch rule.

In addition, three men were told that they needed to get a haircut by this weekend if they didn’t want to get a detention next week.

Though the situation seems comical as I look back on this morning, I can’t help but question what our school’s priorities are. It appears that searching for dress code violations takes precedence over teaching subject material. I know the administration is trying to crack down on uniform violations, but this is beyond ridiculous.

Understandably, our teachers want our appearance to reflect our school’s values, which I fully support. But there’s a time and a place for addressing uniform issues. That could be in the cafeteria or the hallway, but not in the classroom.

Teachers tell us that we distract them by playing computer games and talking to each other, but they’re equally distracting when they take 10 minutes to check skirt lengths and men’s haircuts. I find it interesting that they complain about how all the snow days affected their lesson plans, yet they manage to find time for calling us out on uniform violations.

Go ahead and give us detentions if that’s the way the administration feels teachers should enforce the dress code. But please, for the rest of us, don’t use class time to check for violations.

Jenny Hottle is the Online Chief for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com.