Jaleel White aka “Steve Urkel” earned fame and fortune for
his well-known pants style in the 80’s sitcom Family Matters.
Urkel is synonymous with high waisted high water pants that
no boy in his right mind would be caught dead in. But lately, I
have taken the name Urkel – a proper noun – and made it
into a verb – to be Urkeled – as in to have your pants lifted
up. Here is how it works:
• If a boy’s pants were sagging down below his hips, I
used to remind the child of the dress code, nag him
to pull them up, and ultimately write an office
referral if he did not comply. It rarely resulted in
lasting compliance with the dress code.
• Now, if a boy’s pants are sagging, I simply take a zip
tie (or two for a big boy) and thread it through two
belt loops. I connect the two ends of the zip tie and
tell the boy to snug the zip tie.
• The result is the pants immediately become snug
around the waist and no longer sag. The boys must
leave the zip tie on their pants at least until they
leave the building. Taking them off early results in an
office referral.
The effect of Urkeling on sagging pants has been dramatic.
Whereas before, boys would temporarily pull their pants up
and then let them fall back when I walked by. Now they walk
the other way until I call them or they even come up and
voluntarily put them on figuring it will save them the time
later.
I must confess that I did not dream the idea up – it was
shared with me by our chorus teacher Liz Torres who saw a
principal in Memphis who implemented the strategy with
success. The link to the page follows:
http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/saggypants/
Content?oid=2462785
On a personal note, I am grateful to parents and students
who have inquired about my wife Lynn’s medical condition.
You may recall that she seriously injured herself in a fall on
October 29. The fall landed her in the hospital for a week
followed by hospice care at home. She actually made a
remarkable recovery in November into December. She was
able to travel cross-country to New York for Thanksgiving and
celebrate Christmas at home from her wheelchair. She is still
able to walk around the house although her overall health
continues to decline slightly week by week. I continue to
make regular posts on Caring Bridge about her health.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lynnbateson/journal
Thanks to everyone’s support, I have been able to come to
work on a regular basis. Pam Meyer deserves a huge pat on
the back for shouldering much of my workload on days I need
to be with Lynn. Thank you from the Bateson family!
