Public School Dress Codes - uniforms

[luvmy3]

I guess I'll be the dissenter.
The way a person dresses is an outlet for their personality. Uniforms kill that and cause children to express themselves and act out in other ways. This can be particularly difficult in lower income districts.

It sure is easier to shop for though. I do see the appeal there for parents.

You do realize that uniforms have been worn in schools for decades already. Do you have actual proof that forcing kids to wear uniforms have had a huge negative effect, especially in lower income districts?

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I guess I'll be the dissenter.
The way a person dresses is an outlet for their personality. Uniforms kill that and cause children to express themselves and act out in other ways. This can be particularly difficult in lower income districts.

It sure is easier to shop for though. I do see the appeal there for parents.

Do you have proof of this, because I have never heard this before.

 

[Mishetta]

I haven't read thru all the posts but just wanted to add my 2 cents. Trust me, it will be soooooooooooooo good for you! All the neighborhood kids are all trying to outdo their parents financial situation by wearing all these expensive designer clothes/jeans but my kids are dressed in a uniform (they go to a parochial school tho), & I hardly spend any money on their school clothes! I buy 3 pair of pants & 3 shirts at the beginning of the year & sometimes I may have to buy 1 more pair of pants but other than that, they're set for the school year. I hate that they have to wear dress shoes. That's what kills us financially! My teen son wears a man's size shoe now & those are expensive, plus add in gym shoes...

One of the other things I really like about the uniform idea is that all kids are equal. The wealthiest kids in our school are dressed the same as my kids. I love it!

 

[bunny]

I love school uniforms. It is way cheaper than buying the kids regular clothes. I buy my sons each 5 new uniforms at the beginning of the year for around $150 or less. I just buy them street clothes for the weekends, but they only need a few outfits. There is no arguing in the morning or wasting time deciding what to wear.

We even have a uniform locker at our school. Parents donate uniforms that are still in condition when their child outgrows them or graduates. I have found some really great things in there and it is all free.

 

[cheermom1]

I don't know if wearing uniforms stifle a kids creativity but I do know that they have not stopped what they were intended to stop. The kids will find other ways to be clicky and let everyone know who has money and who doesn't. So again I am understanding the reason we still think uniforms are a good thing if they are not doing their job??? the only thing I can think of is that it is easier on the parent...

 

[Minnesota!]

How the heck is it a God-send to have to buy a special wardrobe for your kid to go to school?

Maybe because I have boys, but I don't see it being convenient in any way, shape, or form. Just one more huge expense and one more laundry hassle for me (oh my tomorrow is Monday and I didn't wash the dang khakies). I'd be WAY annoyed.

I have boys, too, and it's truly a God-send. No arguing about wanting to wear this and that. He knows he won't be allowed in the school if he isn't wearing the appropriate clothes. No arguments about wanting to wear his fave shirt that has a hole in it, and I know he always looks presentable and clean.

Our uniform is navy pants - cords, slacks, etc. and either a white polo or a royal blue polo. He can wear shorts in the warmer months.

Our school does a uniform exchange. You bring in the clothes your kid has outgrown and they give you $$ for them. Then they resell them to other parents for cheap. Last August we got 3 - 4 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of shorts for $7.

I guess I'll be the dissenter.
The way a person dresses is an outlet for their personality. Uniforms kill that and cause children to express themselves and act out in other ways. This can be particularly difficult in lower income districts.

It sure is easier to shop for though. I do see the appeal there for parents.

This made me laugh. Uniforms absolutely do not kill personality. I wore one from K - 12...and I can guarantee you...nobody was acting out because of what they were wearing. You can still express your personality in other ways - jewelry, hair, shoes, piercings, attitude, etc. Implementing uniforms in the lower income districts (I live in one...) has been absolutely the best thing for these schools. They can concentrate on SCHOOL and not on how they can score jeans like so and so.

Anyway, I think you will come to find that uniforms are not an evil entity. Go buy 3 pairs of khaki pants, 3 polo shirts and be done with the wardrobe for $60.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I don't know if wearing uniforms stifle a kids creativity but I do know that they have not stopped what they were intended to stop. The kids will find other ways to be clicky and let everyone know who has money and who doesn't. So again I am understanding the reason we still think uniforms are a good thing if they are doing their job??? the only thing I can think of is that it is easier on the parent...

Nothing wrong with that!

My DS11 is in middle school where that kind of thing (status symbols) probably starts. I don't know if that happens, but I do know that HE does not participate, and we are probably a little better off that most of the kids at his school.

 

[luvmy3]

I don't know if wearing uniforms stifle a kids creativity but I do know that they have not stopped what they were intended to stop. The kids will find other ways to be clicky and let everyone know who has money and who doesn't. So again I am understanding the reason we still think uniforms are a good thing if they are doing their job??? the only thing I can think of is that it is easier on the parent...

I don't believe that the sole intent of uniforms is to stop cliquie behavior. It could be so that the administrators do not have to waste so much time making sure everyone is dressed appropriately, it could be that they don't want the distractions of what people are wearing, or it could just be that they want to form an army of automatons to indoctrinate

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't get how kids all of a sudden don't know what labels are what just because they have a uniform.
Ralph Lauren is still RL whether it is a polo shirt or not. Banana Republic pants are stil BR even if they are in uniform color. Kids know this. They know the difference in the Route 66 au couture line () and the better designers if that is something that is important to them. Uniforms to me would not be any cheaper. It would just limit the colors and styles that I could buy.

 

[RadioNate]

The whole thing may be moot for me but I guess I'm not really onboard because I think it'll cause me more problems. We don't have clothes issues. In my house there aren't any morning fights about what to wear. I don't think my DS could name 10 major brands of clothes and I don't think he could tell me which are 'cool' and which aren't.

For awhile we had trouble finding stuff he likes and I did post about that. I thought some of the more 'in' places for boys his age might carry something he liked. However, from that post it seems like there wasn't really 'in' clothes for elementary aged boys.

I do know that I'm going to get arguments about wearing dress pants and the white shirt. He hates plan white shirts. I foresee A LOT of clothing arguments when we have to start the uniforms.

I don't really buy the stifling creativity argument. I'd also be more on board if the school was having issues but they aren't. I know enough parents who are at the school frequently, the former asst. principal lives on my block, I'm friends with a few of the teachers (who live in my neighborhood) and none of them have ever mentioned 'class' issues with clothing.

I also understand more at the JR level or HS where that stuff is more common.

I also think I'd be a little more on board if this was a district wide policy change rather than our principal just implementing uniforms.

 

[cheermom1]

I don't get how kids all of a sudden don't know what labels are what just because they have a uniform.
Ralph Lauren is still RL whether it is a polo shirt or not. Banana Republic pants are stil BR even if they are in uniform color. Kids know this. They know the difference in the Route 66 au couture line () and the better designers if that is something that is important to them. Uniforms to me would not be any cheaper. It would just limit the colors and styles that I could buy.

I agree, this is what I was trying to say but couldn't get it out like you did.

I still don;t understand why the uniform is still supposed be great when it is not doing the job it was intended on doing???

 

[MomofKatie]

DD's middle school is sending home ballots today to see if students will be wearing uniforms starting next year. DD and DH are against it, but I am voting YES!! It will be cheaper and easier than what DD usually gets for school. There are 4 other middle schools in our county that already have uniform policies in place. We had a "uniform committee" that has been doing surveys all year (teachers, parents, and students) to get input.

Our proposed dress code will be a little more lenient than most other schools':

*solid navy, khaki, brown, or black bottoms (pants, cargo pants, knee length shorts, capris, skirts). If the bottoms have belt loops, belt must be worn.
*solid short or long sleeved polo, crewneck, or turtleneck tops (white, black, gray, purple, navy, light blue, or royal blue). Shirts do NOT have to be tucked in.
*Hoodies can be worn, as long as no logos and solid colors same as tops.
*Students can also wear T's and sweatshirts in the same solid colors that have the school logo/mascot on them- "spirit wear".
*No restrictions on shoes, socks, or hairstyles.

DD already has several pairs of pants/capris that fit the dress code. We will need to get solid polos, T's and hoodies, but that won't be tough. I'm looking forward to less yelling at DD to hurry up and figure out what to wear in the mornings.

 

[bunny]

I don't get how kids all of a sudden don't know what labels are what just because they have a uniform.
Ralph Lauren is still RL whether it is a polo shirt or not. Banana Republic pants are stil BR even if they are in uniform color. Kids know this. They know the difference in the Route 66 au couture line () and the better designers if that is something that is important to them. Uniforms to me would not be any cheaper. It would just limit the colors and styles that I could buy.

At our school the students are not allowed to wear polos with anything on them. They must be plain. We are also only allowed to wear plain pants (no cargo pants).

 

[ilovejack02]

I guess I'll be the dissenter.
The way a person dresses is an outlet for their personality. Uniforms kill that and cause children to express themselves and act out in other ways. This can be particularly difficult in lower income districts.

Coming from someone that wore uniforms for most years in school, and watching her two children grow up with them, I have to say that this is the silliest thing I have ever heard.

 

[ilovejack02]

At our school the students are not allowed to wear polos with anything on them. They must be plain. We are also only allowed to wear plain pants (no cargo pants).

Our school is the same way.. shirts must be plain, no logos on front at all.

 

[luvsJack]

Our uniforms shirts cannot have any logo on them, so that stops anyone being able to tell what brand a shirt is. When the logo cannot show, the kids are just as happy with the cheap shirt as with the brand name. All of the kids in dd's grade wear shirts from the same place basically. Its the logo the kids care about not how the shirt is made--uniforms do away with that.

It is cheaper because there are several on line stores that sell polo shirts and uniforms pants at a deep discount and I can buy 3 gold shirts, 3 white shirts and 3 black shirts. No shopping all over the mall for the "just right" top to go with the "just right" jeans. I buy 5 pairs of khaki pants and an assortment of the shirts and I am done. And its under $100.

Her regular clothes are more expensive than the uniforms but she needs a lot fewer clothes and they last a lot longer. And she gets to be creative with her clothes at the skating rink on the weekends and she shows it in the way her room is decorated, in the stories she writes, etc. etc. etc.

I am not sure how anyone would see uniforms as being more trouble than regular clothes. You have to make sure your kid's jeans are washed for Monday--same thing with uniforms. They are washed with all the other clothes.

Many of you have the same arguements I had before we went to uniforms. But, if your school ever goes to them; I promise you will see the same things the rest of us do.

 

[klj27]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE uniforms. I loved wearing them when I was in school and I love that my kids now wear them.

I think the stifling creativity comment is silly. I always tell my kids that being a student in their "job". What is wrong with teaching kids that when they go to "work" they have to follow clothing guidelines. Like another poster said, they will be dealing with those same guidelines in the real workforce.

 

[RadioNate]

DD's middle school is sending home ballots today to see if students will be wearing uniforms starting next year. DD and DH are against it, but I am voting YES!! It will be cheaper and easier than what DD usually gets for school. There are 4 other middle schools in our county that already have uniform policies in place. We had a "uniform committee" that has been doing surveys all year (teachers, parents, and students) to get input.

Our proposed dress code will be a little more lenient than most other schools':

*solid navy, khaki, brown, or black bottoms (pants, cargo pants, knee length shorts, capris, skirts). If the bottoms have belt loops, belt must be worn.
*solid short or long sleeved polo, crewneck, or turtleneck tops (white, black, gray, purple, navy, light blue, or royal blue). Shirts do NOT have to be tucked in.
*Hoodies can be worn, as long as no logos and solid colors same as tops.
*Students can also wear T's and sweatshirts in the same solid colors that have the school logo/mascot on them- "spirit wear".
*No restrictions on shoes, socks, or hairstyles.

DD already has several pairs of pants/capris that fit the dress code. We will need to get solid polos, T's and hoodies, but that won't be tough. I'm looking forward to less yelling at DD to hurry up and figure out what to wear in the mornings.

See this actually sounds reasonable to me. There was no ballot vote at our school. No "uniform committee." No surveys. Just a note announcing that the school is going to uniforms and what is acceptable.

Ours makes no allowance for for 'spirit wear' or hoodies and sweatshirts. It does occasionally get cold in FL and there are no allowances for wearing cooler weather clothing aside from long sleeved polos.

It is just poorly thought out on many levels.

I also just spent about 15 min talking to the 5th grade girl across the street. She said that there is no brand envy or oneupmanship that she has noticed in the school. She said, among 5th graders no one really cares about who is wearing what or who has more money than someone else.

 

[harleyquinn]

DH is a teacher and this is a hot button issue for him, so I'll get him to come on and give you all more information.

I should have been more clear. It's not that uniforms actually cause more problems that can be quantified. It's that they don't do anything to solve real problems. I think the main problem with this is that it is usually portrayed that uniforms help solve problems: increase test scores, decrease punishments, etc and its not the case.

I just feel that a school shouldn't dictate what a kid is allowed to wear when there is no clear, good research that shows it has a positive effect.

Older article that's easier to read

Research Article Response

Book

 

[turkeymama]

We have lived in our current town for 2 years and never had to deal with school uniforms until living here. My daughter cried the first time I took her shopping to buy the monstrosities. (For the record, no she didn't pick up on my negative feelings since I originally thought it would be really nice and easy.)

We're moving back to our hometown after this school year is over and losing the uniforms is one of the things she is most happiest about. I'm sorry, but they're hideous. Because they end up being handed down, traded and swapped, they don't look neat and clean. And the kids with money are still wearing the expensive, name-brand shoes, watches and nicer jewelry (for girls).