The image of the sexy schoolgirl has always been a fantasy for some men. Nabakov's Lolita didn't come purely out of nowhere - men wanting little girls is something that's been around forever.

And so men everywhere sighed a contented sigh when Britney Spears took the stage and asked to be hit one more time, baby. There she was with her big doe eyes, her little kilt, and her big round, uh, knees. The boys fell all over themselves (and probably did a few other things all over themselves), and the girls tried to emulate her by shortening their kilts and showing a great deal of downy pubescent thigh.

No longer are our Catholic schools run by strict and often violent nuns, so when the uniform issue got out of control, with schoolgirls dressing like Thai prostitutes, administrators and parents were at a loss as to how to deal with it. Yes - parents were at a loss, since they no longer know how to discipline their children, or teach them any type of decency or self respect.

Now certain schools are beginning to phase out the kilt.

"What motivated the change was, I believe, enforcing a decent length worn by our female students was becoming rather onerous," says principal Rory McGuckin.

"We would field calls from people — parents and former Power graduates — complaining that the length of the girl's kilt was, in their opinion, unacceptable."

The school understands replacing uniforms is expensive. Kilts are about $79.95. So after consulting with parents, staff and the student council, it decided to phase out kilts.

Returning students can wear them. New students can't.

It's a similar situation at John Cabot Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga. "Our primary issue is one of the kilts not being worn properly," says Bruce Campbell, spokesperson for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.

Board policy dictates kilts be a maximum of 15 centimetres above the middle of the knee. But "in many cases they're being modified well beyond the prescribed length."

John Cabot and five other Dufferin-Peel high schools are gradually eliminating kilts from their uniforms.

While I would happily accept this as a means of cutting down on teenage promiscuity (not to mention pedophilia), I think it's rather sad to see the uniforms go, just because parents and staff are no longer permitted to punish unruly kids. Sister Mary Margaret and her strap are what's required here - not skorts.