My wife has been teaching for 30 years. She sees better behavior with kids wearing uniforms than on days when the kids were allowed to wear what we want

I don’t think we should ban uniforms at all i think we should make them mandatory. First of All all the schools i have looked at that make uniforms mandatory have high test scores and most of the students go to college. And if you compare them to schools with no uniforms you can say schools with uniforms have a 20% more students going to college than schools without. Secondly school is just about 6 hours a day so after school and on weekends you can hang out with your friends and express yourself anyway you want. Uniforms also reduce the chances of kids being picked on because of there style of clothing or what they can’t aforrd. If everyone is wearing a uniform then it can’t be embarissing. And i would think the Phsical education uniform would be different more athletic clothes..at least that is how it was in all my schools. And i have been in public and private schools. with uniforms and none…but they each always had a school P.E uniform. Uniforms would actually increase school spirit because the school uniform would have the schools Name and Mascott on it let everyone know this is your school, where as if you just wore the latest fasion that would have nothing to do with school spirit just you trying to look good for school which is a place you should be going to for education. I would think Uniforms cost less because you are just buying a few pairs of the uniform to last a school week. Where as without a uniform you would go shopping for a ton of different styles every season usally for things that are in during the time. Usally schools are able to work with familes that can’t afford a uniform so i don’t think that is big. And if the school doesn’t change the uniform they can wear the same uniform again next school year if it still fits. Plus Not all school uniforms are expensive. My Middle School (Public School) just added uniforms after my 8th grade class left. Our parents and incoming parents voted Blue for 8th grade Red for Seventh grade. $7. For uniform if you have issues paying you can pay at the end of the school year the thing was if your parents don’t pay you get held back. But I think you should be able to pay some time between Sept-June.And if you weren’t leavong thats to school years you have to pay. My High school (Public School) added uniforms this year and we are cool with it. So as you can see in general i don’t think Uniforms are a discrimination to our freedom and opportunity and Should be ban.

I have worn uniforms and I have not worn uniforms.

I do not think they take away creativity or expression but they focus it on what American Schooling is about- where the expression can come from what you do and what you think oppossed to what you LOOK LIKE. Expression on the external is a very materialistic american philosphy that has created a very unhealthy balance of life in our world today.

I do agree that the uniforms can be costly and possibly the school could -have some on hand that parents coulr- rent out or check out- or if they parents could prove a certain income level then the school could provide them for the family-if unaffordable.

I personally hated the fact that kids had to always wear the “right” clothes to fit in- because it did create barriers. And even if people know you are not rich- it still creates- one less barrier between the rich and the poor to face.

I would much rather see a kid become insecure about their grades then just walking up to school in their older brothers or sisters clothes too big for them.

It does not change where someone comes from but it does help- and as far as cost- kids spend a lot more on clothes then on a few crummy uniforms.

I think your way off base. Uniforms give people more freedom and opportunity. The freedom to hang out with who you want and the opportunity to get to know other students that might shun you because you don’t have the right shoes or the right jeans. They do not stop or inhibit self expression, in fact they encourage it. A student of lesser means is more free to say what they think without being ridiculed for it. And there is know way you would look like everyone else because you are you. As far as phys ed is concerned you generally changed into phys ed clothes. Uniforms give rise to the meaning “don’t judge a book by its cover”. How can you suddenly dislike someone because they don’t come from your neighborhood when you’ve been good friends with them through the school year? I went to Catholic school, all the way through, and I was in the “right” neighborhood, but a few of my friends weren’t and I learned alot from them AND their parents when I would go hang out at their houmes. No one likes wearing a uniform, myself included. But in the end I can say it was valuable and the experience helped me to know the difference between real people and false people and money didn’t have anything to do with that. Lets just say I learned to make better decisions with regards to people. This is a subject you really need to have been a part of before you can make a judgement. By the way, my kid who is now going to college says wearing a uniform was not that bad.

it seems to me that you haven’t had to wear a uniform at school or just recently it has been imposed on you. your arguments make no sense & actually the opposite has been proven. just an example, why would you not change into shorts & shirt appropriate for physical education just as kids wearing uniforms do? or do you just wear ratty old clothes all day when you have physical education or ruin your nice clothes?

coming from Australia where school uniforms are the norm, i have noticed a totally different attitude to school here in America.

when everyone at school wears the same uniform there is no such thing as picking on kids because they wear a uniform. it also builds school spirit all the school year not just spirit WEEK like i have noticed with my own stepdaughters school in Michigan. also kids here in America seem preoccupied by what the next fashion is to wear at school instead of actually learning. ( perhaps that is why U.S. school kids are on average two years behind Australian kids of the same age in educational level). uniforms also help the parents financially because they are not being badgered by their kids to buy them the latest clothes to wear to school. i was shocked when my stepdaughter went “back to school” shopping with her mom & instead of coming home with books, pens, maybe a calculator etc. she came home with clothes, shoes, hat, bag …..simply put, if all the kids at all the schools wore uniforms it is better for the parents, schools & most importantly for the kids building team spirit, pride & confidence. these are things that have been proven to be a positive thing. you dont see a sporting team turn out in whatever they feel like wearing.

I have never had to wear a uniform a single day in my life, but I find that that are not helpful in anyway nor are they harmful. Buying school uniforms does not make buying clothes cheaper because you do not wear a uniform all of the time like on the weekend and during holiday breaks so what is the point in buying a school uniform (money) plus buying casual clothes as well (more money) and wearing a uniform does not make the poor and rich in one class. why? because you are still going to know who is rich and poor from other things and the poorer people may just get hand-me-down shirts and maybe buy their uniform from wal-mart or a thirt store, but the rich kids trust me will most likely get something from i dunno abercombie & fitch, hollister, etc…

and just because you were a uniform that does not mean you behave better. i know a lot of kids who have to wear uniforms and go to private schools and they are a lot worse then us public schooled children and we dont wear uniforms. i mean they get drunk, high, have sex all day long, and buy/sell drugs im not saying that does not happen in public schools, but from what i know the kids who wear uniforms do that more then the ones who dont.

As a teenager i can truth full say that 99% of what other teenagers have to express is total crap. I went to a highschool with no uniforms and barely any dress code and its not as happy and fun as many people think it would be. Girls wear tiny little skirts that show off everything to everyone, guys wear t-shirts with weed on it or. Go ahead and ask a teenager who our secretary of state is. Do you even know it? Or even harder who their congressman is. Most of the kids you ask will have no clue.

What im trying to get at is that most teenagers are still ignorant about generally everything except sex, drugs, music, and Lindsey lohands sex life. Yes they should be able to express themselves but by basically letting them dress like crap in a place where most American kids need to do better is just dumb.

I went to a school that had uniforms for 12 years. I now teach in a school without uniforms……. if you are one that wants uniforms, good for u! If you are one that does not want uniforms, you are being selfish to those who cannot afford to buy (or dont want to buy) all the so called “trends” that kids are into nowadays. Im sorry, but the trend of “frayed” and ripped jeans make you look terrible anyways!!! And who wants to see your *** in class???? NO ONE!!! Stick to a uniform, and maybe u can concentrate more on getting a good education so you caan succeed in life, rather than what everyone is wearing and who you can make fun of for not being “in” with the trends!!!

I agree with the original poster in that uniforms are very limiting to self expression. In my high school, I probably wouldn’t have met the people I did and dated the girls that I did had I not had my personal style. I always wore lots of necklaces and rings, and rock and roll t shirts. That’s how people came to know me as the “rocker” kid, and I was better off because of it.

This isn’t communist China. No one can tell us what we can and can’t wear. So, until I see a Red flag flying from our flagpoles (which will be never), uniforms will be an attack on our personal freedoms and expression, and especially since I am a college student, I will have none of it.

At my school, we don’t have “uniforms” but a dress code. It’s much easier and we get to show our personality through what we wear.

Rules:

Solid polo shirts only (logo’s must be smaller than a quarter)

Solid color slacks (no jeans)

No flip flops (shoes must have backs)

and so on…

Uniforms are expensive and for my taste restricting (no offense to anyone who wears them). All we need really is a set of guide lines that we should follow and staff members that aren’t afraid to enforce them.

Although we shouldn’t have to wear unigorms, we shouldn’t be able to wear whatever we want. When my brother went to highschool, they were allowed to wear whatever, and he said the girls wore pajamas and short shorts, and the guys had their pants around their knees. Thanks to those lovely fashion trends were probably have the uniforms.

So, no we shouldn’t wear uniforms, but no we shouldn’t be free to wear what we want. Simple rules are the way to go.