School Uniforms: Your Viewpoint

[JennaTX]

I think there might be a difference of what people consider uniforms.

Religous schools tend to have a much more strict uniform code. (Not that there is anything wrong with that)

But there are school districts where I live that it is just khaki or navy shorts/pants/skirts with polo type shirts. Now this is usually just for the elementary schools.

And yes I really wish my DD went to a school that had uniforms that other school districts do. In Elementary school, they are running, getting food on their clothes, paints, etc. and most clothes don't last through the school year.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Individuality doesn't come from what you wear. It comes from who you are. Maybe uniforms help children learn that.

 

[epcotfan]

I wore school uniforms in Catholic grade school and high school. I loved it. No stressfull "what to wear" decisions in the morning. For me, it was great. I hate having to pick out clothes. The only rule I would have changed at the time was allowing girls to wear pants, instead of pleated skirts. Fortunately at my old School they are up to date with the times and girls can now wear the pants.

 

[Andy B]

Ok I am from the UK, I wore a Uniform for all my school life until 16, my children wear uniform, either polo shirts and jumper in school colours with grey, navy or black trousers or skirts sweat shirts , shirts and jumpers available with school logo but not required. OR black trousers or skirt, white collared shirt or blouse school tie and blazer.

Yes all children think that uniforms stifle individuality, in real life it does no such thing, people are who they are, I find it more depressing when I see groups of kids dressed in the same wannabe street gang type clothing.

Uniforms can be expensive but that is down to the specifying school, I think some do deals with a supplier so they get benefit from the sales. If a school specified generic type clothing it would be cheaper. In this country before the school year all of the big chainsstores have promotions on bog standard uniform clothes and they are cheap.

Kids on a school trip look better in Uniform and for an event makes it easy to distinuish one school from another, it also fosters pride in the school.

To those who say that school uniforms are too constrictive to be able to concentrate well I have to say that most are not as constrictive as much non uniform clothing and I never felt unable to complete an exam due to my clothing, my knowledge or inteligence maybe but uniform no.

As a parent it is easy getting the children dressed for school as they know what they have to wear.

Many adults wear uniforms or highly uniform clothes, I wear a suit and tie and to be honest find it better than 'dressing down' as I know what to wear when. I allways think it looks stupid when a senior manager then talks at an event with no tie and a shirt unbuttoned at the top.

 

[auntpolly]

Individuality doesn't come from what you wear. It comes from who you are. Maybe uniforms help children learn that.

Very well said.

DD had no trouble expressing herself and she wore a very conservative uniform in HS. She really came to like it - she figured out ways to be different and still stay with the dress code - trust me.

In a way it's no difference than wearing a team uniform - it can create a kind of pride in your school. A collective identity.

 

[MAKmom]

I hate the idea & the expense of uniforms. I wore a nylon jumper with a Peter Pan collar for many years.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Individuality doesn't come from what you wear. It comes from who you are. Maybe uniforms help children learn that.

Make kids learn to express themselves, rather than just playing dress-up.

 

[JoyG]

My kids wear uniforms.

Blue or Tan khakis with a solid color polo. The polos can be any solid color which really gives us flexability.

I don't think they're very expensive. I like that I don't have to buy much in the way of clothes. The school uniform requirements are nice enough that they can wear them to church. My kids have one pair of jeans each for Saturday use. I've saved alot of money this year.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I wore uniforms for 12 years of Catholic school and while they weren't the most attractive or comfortable stuff to wear, it didn't bother me at all. My son is now in Catholic school as well and he's pretty much the same way about them. I don't think it takes anything away from him being an individual.

 

[Christine]

I have a personality, and I don't buy into trends merely because they happen to be what everyone else is wearing. I know that, for me, uniforms helped me develop my own style as far as clothing went. I didn't know what everyone else was wearing, so I chose what I liked. I actually liked my uniform for junior high and high school. It was pretty comfortable, and definately made the morning rush easier.

My DD is in 10th grade and you could be describing her.

While she does wear a uniform M-F, she is very stylish during her "off" time. She creates wonderful outfits and is quite different from the Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle "automotrons" (I like that ) that she knows. Just recently she bought some purple jeans from Urban Outfitters and was the envy of the party she went to.

If anything, being stuck in the uniform all day has caused her to really think outside the box when it comes to weekend clothing.

In our family, we all like the uniforms. They are easy and, while expensive, they hold up well. My DD is wearing "used" skirts that I got at the uniform sale and I'm sure they've been worn for years. While my DD hates going out to the grocery store an stuff in the uniform, she finds it a relief to just know what she is wearing in the morning.

 

[powellrj]

Our Public School district voted to have school uniforms for next year and I am so angry about it.

My #1 problem is the money. I live in Indiana which means we pay "bookfees" to enroll our kids in public school every fall. With middle and high school you are looking at over $200 per child each fall. That doesn't include the cost of school supplies which usually add another $100 or so dollars to the cost. Add extra -curricula fees and you are looking at $1,000s. DS made show choir this year and the permission slip to audition stated that the fees were $700 for costumes, $900 performance fees, plus the cost of transportation. We were told to expect it to be $2,500 when all is said and done.

Everything you do, you pay for.

We live in a very hard hit former GM town. When we moved here there were over 30,000 GM jobs, the last I heard it was down to 300.

When my kids started at their school 20 years ago, very few kids were on free lunch, now 50% of the school is on free/reduced lunch. Many schools have 99% and the whole district is over 50%.

Who is going to pay for these uniforms. Our wise school board had 2 suggestions. Goodwill and scholarships. They want the kids who can afford the uniforms to adopt a child who can't and buy their uniforms. I guess that would be me. I am going to have trouble buying my own childrens uniforms so there is no way I can buy another childs. While Goodwill may sound like a good idea. We have a population of 50,000, I doubt our 1 Goodwill has enough to supply that many people.

The other argument was a level playing field. Thats going to happen. My kids are already talking about where we are going to buy their uniforms. They will all know who got their uniforms from the cheap places and who didn't. Without the uniforms, kids could fake it. There will be no faking it with uniforms. You will be able to tell a "good brand" from a cheaper polo without any effort. You can get nice things at goodwill from holister and A&F and nobody will know they came from goodwill, when you have the entire town shopping at goodwill now, there just isn't enought to go around. With gas at over $3 a gallon, there won't be kids visiting other goodwills to find more of a selection.

When the kids were little and we were sending them to private school. Many of the schools had uniforms and we were able to decide if we wanted to attend a school with uniforms or not. We decided not to attend schools with uniforms. That was the key. We could decide.

When a public school adopts uniforms, you don't decide.

Like I said earlier, I am not sure where the money is going to come from. My kids donate their gym clothes every year because there are kids that can't afford the $5 shirt and the $5 shorts and now they are going to have to come up with the money for a school uniform? We had a larger neighbor boy who wore my DHs hand-me downs because they had no money for clothes for him and he wore the same size as my DH. DH gets lots of free clothes from his job (major soft drink company) so he would give this kid lots of free shirts that he could wear and nobody knew where they came from. Thats not going to happen now.

Sorry this was so long, but this has really been bothering me and once I got started, it was hard to stop!

 

[Christine]

Our Public School district voted to have school uniforms for next year and I am so angry about it.

My #1 problem is the money. I live in Indiana which means we pay "bookfees" to enroll our kids in public school every fall. With middle and high school you are looking at over $200 per child each fall. That doesn't include the cost of school supplies which usually add another $100 or so dollars to the cost. Add extra -curricula fees and you are looking at $1,000s. DS made show choir this year and the permission slip to audition stated that the fees were $700 for costumes, $900 performance fees, plus the cost of transportation. We were told to expect it to be $2,500 when all is said and done.

Everything you do, you pay for.

We live in a very hard hit former GM town. When we moved here there were over 30,000 GM jobs, the last I heard it was down to 300.

When my kids started at their school 20 years ago, very few kids were on free lunch, now 50% of the school is on free/reduced lunch. Many schools have 99% and the whole district is over 50%.

Who is going to pay for these uniforms. Our wise school board had 2 suggestions. Goodwill and scholarships. They want the kids who can afford the uniforms to adopt a child who can't and buy their uniforms. I guess that would be me. I am going to have trouble buying my own childrens uniforms so there is no way I can buy another childs. While Goodwill may sound like a good idea. We have a population of 50,000, I doubt our 1 Goodwill has enough to supply that many people.

The other argument was a level playing field. Thats going to happen. My kids are already talking about where we are going to buy their uniforms. They will all know who got their uniforms from the cheap places and who didn't. Without the uniforms, kids could fake it. There will be no faking it with uniforms. You will be able to tell a "good brand" from a cheaper polo without any effort. You can get nice things at goodwill from holister and A&F and nobody will know they came from goodwill, when you have the entire town shopping at goodwill now, there just isn't enought to go around. With gas at over $3 a gallon, there won't be kids visiting other goodwills to find more of a selection.

When the kids were little and we were sending them to private school. Many of the schools had uniforms and we were able to decide if we wanted to attend a school with uniforms or not. We decided not to attend schools with uniforms. That was the key. We could decide.

When a public school adopts uniforms, you don't decide.

Like I said earlier, I am not sure where the money is going to come from. My kids donate their gym clothes every year because there are kids that can't afford the $5 shirt and the $5 shorts and now they are going to have to come up with the money for a school uniform? We had a larger neighbor boy who wore my DHs hand-me downs because they had no money for clothes for him and he wore the same size as my DH. DH gets lots of free clothes from his job (major soft drink company) so he would give this kid lots of free shirts that he could wear and nobody knew where they came from. Thats not going to happen now.

Sorry this was so long, but this has really been bothering me and once I got started, it was hard to stop!

As I stated earlier, I am "pro" uniform but, for the reasons you've stated, I've never been "pro" uniform when it comes to public schools. The public schools can't seem to enforce MOST of the little rules they have, much less trying to burden them with enforcing and handling a uniform code correctly.

My kids go to a private school and both of those private schools are very strict when it comes to the uniforms. this is something I've never seen a public school be able to do--be strict. There are certain pieces of the uniform that are monogrammed. These would be the polo shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, etc. This is to not only make your school uniform look unique to your school but to avoid having people go to Target and pick up the low-quality polo shirt or sweatshirts.

It seems to work well. The only thing that we can buy generic is the white shirts/blouses and the boys pants. They tried to enforce that you buy the boys pants from the uniform company because the Target and Kohl's ones looked so bad after a few washings, but they couldn't enforce that. Still, most parents ended up going with the uniform company's pants because they discovered that one pair of pants made it through the whole school year versus the Target/Kohl's pants which lasted only 4-5 months.

 

[rie'smom]

Our Public School district voted to have school uniforms for next year and I am so angry about it....

Sorry this was so long, but this has really been bothering me and once I got started, it was hard to stop!

In our public schools,all of these things-extra curricular are free except uniforms which cost at most $200.00. There are no peformance fees. The only expense besides the uniforms is for school supplies.

 

[Ariel Mae]

Ariel, your school's dress code was hardly draconian, and it did not require a specialized $85 pant. I also did not see suspension as a listed punishment for noncompliance with the uniform policy.

The new punishment policy isn't on that list. Suspension is one of the punishments, now.

And, yeah, it did require pretty expensive pants...if I wanted them to last and be comfortable! Don't tell me they didn't, because you didn't go shopping for my clothes, now did you?

Yea there are exceptions to the rule, but in the most part, sorry this is what I've witnessed.

Ha, where I live, the exception to the rule is to follow trend!

Oh and Ariel I *seriously* doubt that school actually turned kids away after Rita

They didn't turn away the kid, they turned away his, "I don't have a uniform". Now, you weren't in that office when that happened. I was. Don't go assuming something you cannot know, mmk?

The kids w/out uniforms were as accepted as any other.

"You're not in uniform. They have plenty at Good Will. Why didn't you come prepared?"

Exact words heard in my school. And, unless you were there, you can't say, "They didn't say that! They couldn't have!". Guess what? They did, and they continue to.

Individuality doesn't come from what you wear. It comes from who you are.

I disagree. I express myself both through what I wear and who I am. What I wear is a part of who I am. And if I'm in uniform, I'm not being/expressing myself.

In a way it's no difference than wearing a team uniform - it can create a kind of pride in your school. A collective identity.

Or it can create, "You're wearing Dollar Store clothing!".

Oh, wait, that's just like it was before the uniforms....*shrugs*

Or, "Where'd you get that shirt? It's ratty. It's used, isn't it? You cheap child!"

There are no peformance fees.

Let's see, we paid fees for books, school supplies, went out and bought our uniforms, we even paid for the band and cheerleading, even if we weren't a part of it.

 

[Crankyshank]

I went to Catholic School from K-12 and wore a uniform every day of my school life and I liked it for all of the reasons posted here by former Catholic schoolers.

I think anyone who says wearing a uniform discourages creativity and uniqueness has very limited personal experience with uniforms. If anything, I think it fosters creativity because one has to learn how to insert their uniqueness and individuality into a strict uniform or dress code.

 

[Ariel Mae]

I think anyone who says wearing a uniform discourages creativity and uniqueness has very limited personal experience with uniforms.

6 years of uniform is 'very limited personal experience', now?

Wow. So, I'm guessing those 6 years my friend has been working as a bank clerk mean nothing in experience, either?

If anything, I think it fosters creativity because one has to learn how to insert their uniqueness and individuality into a strict uniform or dress code.

And how can one insert 'uniqueness' into a strict dress code, where you can't have decor on your clothes, you can't have logos, you can't have frills/trills/hems/lace, where you're required only the colors listed, and only the styles/types listed?

I find it rather hard. Especially when they start to say you can't have anything other than school colors as underclothes. And when they start to say you have to wear the uniform on the bus. I always ignored that and changed right out of my shirt on the bus, flashing everyone, the rules be darned. I wasn't under the principal's eyes, then. It was my bus driver who regulated the rules, not the principal. The principal only came into play if something 'negative' arose.

No, seriously, how can you express yourself/add to the uniform when the code strictly forbades it? "Blue, Green, or White shirts; Blue, Green, or Navy pants; Pants, shorts, or skirts; Polo shirts only. No logos, no decor, no words...no pins; Blue, Green, or White socks; Blue, Green, Brown, or Black belt;...." Fail to see how one can express themselves if it goes against the rules.

 

[Ariel Mae]

Uniforms are contradicting what children are taught. Uniforms take away individuality.

I agree.

First, they want us to be ourselves...then they want us to be just like everyone else...makes no sense.

My younger brother now goes there and uniforms are actually costing MORE money. My parents are forced to buy him his uniforms, but of course, as a teen, he wants "cool" clothes to wear when he's not in school. For him, he needs jeans, shorts, expensive shoes, and the skater/surfer brand shirts. Even if they told him "no" to the name brand stuff, he would still need more clothes to go out and play in.

Exactly! Having two to three clothing types (school, work, fun, play, home, etc.) gets costly!

The dresscode actually works if people would enforce it.

Ditto. Personally, I'm seeing more 'rebellion' with uniforms than when we had a dress code.

 

[Pigeon]

I am completely opposed to them in public schools. I'm a mother, and yes, they would make my life easier. However, that's too bad for me. Fortunately, the public schools here don't have them and are unlikely to. If they did pass that kind of regulation, I wouldn't comply. What happens in a public school setting if the parents Just Say No? My guess is not much. There are a lot of things our public schools try to do that we don't comply with.

I went to a dreadful catholic school and we had uniforms. I loathed them. I still can't look at a certain color blue without feeling ill, and it's been over 25 years now. Of course they discourage individuality--that is their purpose.

 

[Ariel Mae]

HOWEVER - manufacturers do not sell many things that adhere to the dress codes!!!!

That's when you start looking elsewhere.

Target, Walmart, JcPenny's...the Junior Sections there are pretty standard, and they cover, well. They're not 'look at me, look at me...' flashy, but they're just right. If you search it out, you can find clothes that adhere to dress code. If not, that's when you start sewing things!

 

[Maleficent13]

In my non-uniform middle school, there were a group of girls who would go shopping together on the weekend and all buy the EXACT same outfit and then wear them all the same day. It was clearly a "I'm in the clique and YOU are not!" move, and they comported themselves as such. Middle school became all about trying to schmooze the "in girls" to get invited to go shopping with them, so you too could look like a fembot. It was definitely very disruptive.

Just yesterday, one of my employees was talking about how her 10 yo HAD to have this particular t-shirt because "Ally and Jenna and Meg" all had it.

So IMHO, the argument about individuality is rather moot. YMMV.