School uniforms in public schools- a good idea or not? (identities, economic)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do they look smart? Do they actually keep students well behaved? Are they representative of a school? Or are they an unconstitutional infringement on personal liberties? What are your thoughts?
In Boston, school uniforms have made a comeback at many public elementary and middle schools as well as publically funded charter schools. Yet it requires an additional degree of enforcement. The debate over school uniforms is not over yet.
I work at a public school. We do not have a uniform. The traditional school and charter schools do have uniforms. I work with kids who would behave the same regardless of what they wear.
The idea of uniforms are horrible:
For one, it can be an economic problem. The I work at a public school is in the process of becoming title 1. Many of the students I work with are lower income. Some have only a few pairs of pants. Unless a student is to wear the uniform after school and at home, many need other clothes. This is on top of normal clothing woes for children.
It can open up to a lot of nit-pick issues. I know of a few students that got hit with wardrobe violations or as it called dress coded. Some are entirely warranted (midriff, leggings, spaghetti straps, vulgarity, etc.) and some aren't. I can see with uniforms (and I know this through Boy Scouts) that you need to have exact color matches. If you have light khaki pants and shorts (or skirt) and a blue shirt but all you can get in your child's size is a cyan shirt and medium khaki pants, your child will be dress coded at school.
A lot of shoes for school uniform can be uncomfortable. I always had foot problems. I have high archs and cannot be on my feet all day in dress shoes, even with orthotics inserted.
Another problem is student individuality and individual expression. Expression isn't just thoughts but how someone dresses. I mean I always wore roller coaster shirts, rock band shirts, pro-wrestling and even Boy Scouts shirts to school all the time. I didn't wear any "bad" shirts. Hell, I think only my Hangman Page shirt has a censored curse on it. I know not to wear Deadpool shirts to work on comic days.
Do they look smart? Do they actually keep students well behaved? Are they representative of a school? Or are they an unconstitutional infringement on personal liberties? What are your thoughts?
In Boston, school uniforms have made a comeback at many public elementary and middle schools as well as publically funded charter schools. Yet it requires an additional degree of enforcement. The debate over school uniforms is not over yet.
None of the above, at least not all the time.
Do they keep students well behaved? Well, how? Only if the uniform removes the cause of the fight, which it can, but not every case.
They aren't representative of a school by any stretch since they're the same
There are plenty of instances when they can aid educators. If a school needs to break down identities of antagonistic subgroups, uniforms come to the forefront. Also, if it is in an area that has gang problems, it solves that problem.
But I don't think they improve anything in the absence of a notable problem they're designed to solve.
Do they keep students well behaved? Well, how? Only if the uniform removes the cause of the fight, which it can, but not every case.
They aren't representative of a school by any stretch since they're the same
There are plenty of instances when they can aid educators. If a school needs to break down identities of antagonistic subgroups, uniforms come to the forefront. Also, if it is in an area that has gang problems, it solves that problem.
But I don't think they improve anything in the absence of a notable problem they're designed to solve.
About gangs that logic is flawed. I know of people asked at both schools and amusement parks to turn Kurt Warner St. Louis Rams football jerseys inside out. Why, it has a 13 on it so it MUST be related to gangs... https://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic...bers-at-elitch
When I went to a catholic school briefly, even though kids all had to wear the same uniform, the wealthier kids STILL were able to flaunt their wealth, by wearing only the popular brand names, and shoes are BIG too, a kid in catholic school can be easily judged by his peers based solely on what kind of shoes he is wearing!
So, basically the same thing happens, even when kids are forced to wear uniforms! Sweaters were another big thing too, our dress code required a red sweater...well naturally the wealthier kids all wore expensive cashmere sweaters by the popular brand names, the poor kids wore cheap cotton sweaters.
My only experience with a dress code was over 50 years ago.
Everyone had to buy their clothes at a certain place. They had to go to a certain salesman at that store. That way there was no confusion. Only shoes and socks were the choice of the parents and they had to be black with laces.
My only experience with a dress code was over 50 years ago.
Everyone had to buy their clothes at a certain place. They had to go to a certain salesman at that store. That way there was no confusion. Only shoes and socks were the choice of the parents and they had to be black with laces.
Sounds like pure nepotism or a kickback was in play...
Uniforms are essential, so the rich kids and poor kids dress alike.
My school had uniforms and I never knew if a kid was poor.
All the uniforms were purchased from the uniform shop which was located inside the school (and the sweaters and blazers had the school logo on them), so there was no chance of anyone having different brands.....except for school shoes, but that didn't really tell you if someone was poor, because wearing worn-out shoes was considered cool anyway (from a boys perspective).
Uniforms are essential, so the rich kids and poor kids dress alike.
My school had uniforms and I never knew if a kid was poor.
All the uniforms were purchased from the uniform shop which was located inside the school (and the sweaters and blazers had the school logo on them), so there was no chance of anyone having different brands.....except for school shoes, but that didn't really tell you if someone was poor, because wearing worn-out shoes was considered cool anyway (from a boys perspective).
It doesnt work that way in the real world though.
I remember my days at a catholic middle school, we had uniforms, but we could wear any shoes, At that time, I wore 'Jordan 1s', so everyone assumed I was wealthy (but they were wrong)! the kids who had to wear the cheap 'payless' shoes, were ridiculed constantly for being poor. Strangely, Jordans are still as popular as ever, even though most of the kids wearing the shows were not even born yet, when he was playing basketball!! Very strange a shoe brand like that would stand the test of time.
Point is, kids will always find a way to judge others and form 'cliques'.
Actually, when I went to a public school after that, I saw much less 'judging' of this type, even though kids could wear whatever they liked.
I remember my days at a catholic middle school, we had uniforms, but we could wear any shoes, At that time, I wore 'Jordan 1s', so everyone assumed I was wealthy (but they were wrong)! the kids who had to wear the cheap 'payless' shoes, were ridiculed constantly for being poor.
Point is, kids will always find a way to judge others and form 'cliques'.
Actually, when I went to a public school after that, I saw much less 'judging' of this type, even though kids could wear whatever they liked.
Well my school did not have cliques based on rich/poor, and not having the latest school shoes (whatever those look like) was not considered an issue.
But I can only speak from a boys perspective.
Being the best at sport or the smartest or most comedic is what made us popular, not having new shoes.
Girls may have had rich/poor cliques, since they are obsessed with each other's looks....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
