School Uniforms: Your Viewpoint

[Kath2003]

Ariel-Mae, c'mon! If you were an adult and you got yourself a job which required the uniform, you either take it and wear it or don't take the job. You don't hear employees crying that they can't "express themselves!" or that they "don't want to belong!". Uniforms teach kids the distinction between work time, when they are required to abide by the rules of an organization - same as if they were at work! - and play time, when they can "express themselves" in a different way.

Would you turn up to a job where the dress code was smart business in ripped jeans and an old t-shirt because that's how you felt like "expressing yourself" that day? Would you turn up to a shift at Burger King wearing a McDonalds uniform because you "didn't want to belong"?

You don't HAVE to have a uniform but to argue against them seems futile. The very few negatives are vastly outweighed by the positives for the vast majority of students.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Again, personal experience. They put on a uniform and slipped into school. Code Red. (Or Blue, don't remember).

You should write an autobiography. It would be facinating! You've experienced so much more at such a young age than most of us do in a lifetime.

 

[Crankyshank]

But what if I don't have a phone, or a phonejack?

tin foil works as well

 

[Ariel Mae]

Are we buying pot or registering for school?

Oh my Goddess. Really, now. I know for a fact I'm not that hard to understand.

People don't just show up at new schools in new cities and say here I am. You have to register. You have to send in all sorts of paperwork. I have yet to hear of a school that doesn't let new students know of any dress code. If someone is "disconnected" or doesn't feel like reading the paperwork sent to them by the school then how is it anyone but the student and parents' fault that the child is out of uniform?

Yeah, but are the always told the 'truth' behind what goes on/what is needed? I know for a fact, from working in an office in a high school, factors are often left out. Important factors.

You refuse to spend $10 on a shirt that is uniform friendly but still stylish and will last several years, but you're going to buy your child what they want? Kids being..well kids will want what their friends want and are wearing. That's a lot more than $10 and a lot more frequently than every year.

I'll buy a kid what they want, not what everyone else wants. I want my kids to be themselves, not everyone else. The difference is that uniforms aren't what they want. (And, if they are, different story.) What they want is different than a mandated conformity.

"Kids being kids will want what their friends want and are wearing."

To be honest, this is the first time, on this forum, that I've ever heard of conformity amongst children. When I was in school, we were all very unique. We didn't want what Sally and Joe had, we wanted what we had, wanted what we wanted, not what everyone else wanted. And that is how I'm going to raise my kid.

 

[oxfordcircus]

tin foil works as well

In my community, we communicate by pheromones and dancing. That way no one is left out.

 

[Ariel Mae]

Ariel-Mae, c'mon! If you were an adult and you got yourself a job which required the uniform, you either take it and wear it or don't take the job. You don't hear employees crying that they can't "express themselves!" or that they "don't want to belong!". Uniforms teach kids the distinction between work time, when they are required to abide by the rules of an organization - same as if they were at work! - and play time, when they can "express themselves" in a different way

I'm not forced into getting a job with a uniform. I have a choice there. With school, I was mandated into it. That is the difference. Employees don't fuss because they know darned well they can't because they chose that job with that uniform. The education factor is greatly different. Period.

Would you turn up to a job where the dress code was smart business in ripped jeans and an old t-shirt because that's how you felt like "expressing yourself" that day? Would you turn up to a shift at Burger King wearing a McDonalds uniform because you "didn't want to belong"?

If I didn't like the uniform with a job, I wouldn't go there. End of story. I have a choice, unlike schooling where I am forced. Get it?

You don't HAVE to have a uniform but to argue against them seems futile. The very few negatives are vastly outweighed by the positives for the vast majority of students.

The bolding is an opinion, not a fact.

The italicized is an opinion, not a fact.

 

[Kath2003]

For the record, everyone I went to school with was VERY unique. They had their own personalities, styles, habits and talents. They weren't hampered by not being able to express this through their clothing. They expressed it through their work, their friendships, their successes at music, sport, english, math etc. You look at the subway at 8am - everyone's in business dress. They are ALL unique. They all have their own talents, their own families, their own traditions etc. Uniforms and dress codes don't hamper people - they make them belong, they make the distinction between work and play.

I'd be interested to know whether you think sports teams uniforms are appropriate - or would it be better to have kids playing soccer wearing whatever they fancied? How would you know who was on what team in the quick half a second before you got tackled?

There ARE always options about which school you attend. For a start, if you refused to wear the uniform of your local school, you'd be kicked out and forced to find another. They wouldn't give a second thought as to whether you lived "too far away" or whether that school "suited your needs". You choose a school, probably your local one, you accept the terms and conditions of going to that school. If you don't like it, don't go. Doesn't matter if you have to be home schooled or take a 2-hour bus ride each way over here.

 

[meandtheguys2]

In my community, we communicate by pheromones and dancing. That way no one is left out.

Watch out for the cell phone towers...

 

[meandtheguys2]

School trips were never a problem before the uniforms, here. We were always able to keep track of the kids. Really, if you have that much trouble distinguishing your kids from a group on vacation...nevermind. No comment.

Said by the girl whose never been responsible for 40 school kids on a field trip!

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Said by the girl whose never been responsible for 40 school kids on a field trip!

That's an opinion, not a fact. Oh crap, I'm on the wrong thread.

 

[DVCLiz]

Oh my Goddess. Really, now. I know for a fact I'm not that hard to understand.



Yeah, but are the always told the 'truth' behind what goes on/what is needed? I know for a fact, from working in an office in a high school, factors are often left out. Important factors.



I'll buy a kid what they want, not what everyone else wants. I want my kids to be themselves, not everyone else. The difference is that uniforms aren't what they want. (And, if they are, different story.) What they want is different than a mandated conformity.

"Kids being kids will want what their friends want and are wearing."

To be honest, this is the first time, on this forum, that I've ever heard of conformity amongst children. When I was in school, we were all very unique. We didn't want what Sally and Joe had, we wanted what we had, wanted what we wanted, not what everyone else wanted. And that is how I'm going to raise my kid.

I think you are pretty out of touch with the way most moms raise their kids, but to each her own. I find your budget particularly out of touch - a $10.00 shirt is hardly an extravagance or a budget-buster.

Most kids, while expressing their "own thing" want to also show they are like everyone else. Most kids don't go out of their way to stand out from the crowd - they want the same style of dress, the same toys and elctronics, the same privileges their friends have. If you've honestly never heard of that concept before, then you really are very young. I think you may need a few years to appreciate that there might be another point of view than the one you are expressing, held by women who actually have been parents and had first-hand experience.

 

[Kath2003]

We had to wear school uniforms on school trips because it wasn't just the teacher taking out 30 kids. It was parent helpers who DO NOT know the names and faces of the other 29 kids in the class. Being able to spot someone running off dressed in the uniform is easier than wondering whether that random kid should be in your group or not, given you probably only met them that morning.

 

[AmazingGrace]

I think school uniforms or standardized dress is a good thing and i wish my kids' schools had it.
You spend a good bit of money up front but then, you have your uniforms, you supplement what you need and life goes on.
There's no drama in the morning over what to wear to school. No worrying about who has what compared to who doesn't.
The kids look more professional. Yes, I know, kids shouldn't look professional per se, but it sure beats the snot out of miniskirts with Juicy printed across the butt. It's getting harder to shop for age appropriate clothing for my dd7, and uniforms would just make life so much easier.

 

[Crankyshank]

You have never heard of teens wanting to wear what their friends are wearing? Seriously? Have you never witnessed a gaggle of teens shopping together at A&F or anyplace else?

 

[meandtheguys2]

That's an opinion, not a fact. Oh crap, I'm on the wrong thread.

*sigh*

 

[va32h]

The bolding is an opinion, not a fact.

The italicized is an opinion, not a fact.

Well duh. We didn't need you to point that out. And I thought you were leaving this thread.

*sigh*

Not every sentence has to be prefaced with the phrase "It is my opinion" in order for it to be understood as opinion.

Guess what?

Everything I say is indeed, my opinion. Everything Kath2003 says is her opinion. We don't need to qualify that. Surely a seasoned debater such as yourself understands that concept.

But just to indulge you - my opinion is that you are a very silly little girl who thinks it is deep and profound to say "my goddess" and natter on about your uniqueness and individuality. Alas, you are not all that unique. I behaved much the same way when I was 15 or 16, as did many of my friends. We laugh now, when we read our overdramatic letters and poems, and the faux-intellectual things we wrote in each others' yearbooks. I can only hope that ten years from now, you will be able to laugh at yourself as well.

 

[Kath2003]

Most schools have "non-uniform" days 5-6 times a year anyway. The kids donate whatever they can afford - usually $1-2 - and wear non-uniform. The money goes to charity. Some days there's a theme, like we had a "say pants to poverty" day. People wore pants on the outside of their jeans - usually comical pants. In a school of 1100 pupils, raising $1500 for charity just by letting kids wear their own clothes is pretty good and something everyone can do without being excluded.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

LOVE LOVE LOVE uniforms! i loved wearing them all the way until college! Why? because it was easy! yes they were expensive, but they were fabulous!
My children are going to private school and i am looking forward to them!

 

[Kath2003]

But just to indulge you - my opinion is that you are a very silly little girl who thinks it is deep and profound to say "my goddess" and natter on about your uniqueness and individuality. Alas, you are not all that unique. I behaved much the same way when I was 15 or 16, as did many of my friends. We laugh now, when we read our overdramatic letters and poems, and the faux-intellectual things we wrote in each others' yearbooks. I can only hope that ten years from now, you will be able to laugh at yourself as well.

"Remember: you are unique. Just like everybody else."

 

[oxfordcircus]

Oh my Goddess. Really, now. I know for a fact I'm not that hard to understand.

This is what makes you one of my favorite posters on the DIS.