Should schools should have school uniforms?

[belfastuniguy 18]

Well I have always had a school uniform and actually liked wearing it, especially at my grammar school as there was a great sense of pride in wearing the uniform and being associated with the school which had a long and proud history.

I just don't think Americans get it to be honest. They don't have a uniform culture and it 'violates their freedom of expression' or whatever. I think that excuse is somewhat ridiculous to be honest.

The UK has always had a uniform and the vast majority of schools still do, including many that abolished it only to bring it back. It does allow for a fairer environment, it establishes respect and discipline (not for all students of course some will always be delinquents). It does bring about school pride and yes in state (public) schools also.

School uniform is a cultural things, Europe tends to like it, America does not. I loved my uniform, I was deeply proud of the school I attended and we all wore our uniforms with pride and respect. It also means that should you mis-behave outside school then you can be easily brought up on it the next day as by wearing the uniform you are represented the school. I know that sounds strange to some people, primarily to Americans, but our schools and school history is different to yours.

Oh and the cheap uniform thing is false, my uniform cost hundreds, the blazer alone was

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: MrCinatit I would rather live in a society where differences and individuality are something we can embrace and understand; rather than in a society where we must conform by attempting to get everyone to dress and look the same.quote>

Seconded.

[Frankie_Grove 32]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: MrCinatit I would rather live in a society where differences and individuality are something we can embrace and understand; rather than in a society where we must conform by attempting to get everyone to dress and look the same.quote>

Seconded.quote>

Thirded

[saltandsauce 0]

Sweet jesus no. Kids MUST wear uniforms

or you end up with these losers

http://www.dtbmusic.com/gallery/emo%20kids.jpg

or these nutters (offensive but impossible to find photo evidence of their existence without that)

http://www.glasgowsurvival.co.uk/pictures/nedGal25.jpg

in school you are there to LEARN, not to fight, swear or have high spirits .

uniform doesn't give you school pride unless you meet a pupil from a rival school.

nobody can tell who's rich or skint since everybody wears the uniform however the condition may give your families' income away.

as for not allowing pupils to wear religious symbols that is why they invented faith schools even though i attended a catholic school which was just as crap as the other comps in the county i was probably one of about 4 Catholics in the whole school anyway.

no uniform means that pupils group together based on more sane values like the actual person since they can't identify each other culturally

[belfastuniguy 18]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: MrCinatit I would rather live in a society where differences and individuality are something we can embrace and understand; rather than in a society where we must conform by attempting to get everyone to dress and look the same.quote>

Seconded.quote>

You don't spent your entire life in school...you are perfectly capable of expressing yourself outside of school and at weekends. School is meant to be a place to learn and studies do show that children that wear uniform are better behaved and more attentive and as such do better.

I would rather have educated and informed young people than those failing exams just becuase they wished to express their 'personality' at school. Which in itself is a falsehood as by not having a uniform you do compete on fashion, designer labels and so on...

I wore a uniform, all my friends did yet we are all still individuals and have our own personality and creativity, a uniform does not sap you personality...

[beebs 129]

belfast, you've always had a school uniform, that's simply the norm for you. Over here, the concept of being forced to wear particular clothing to go to a place many kids don't necessarily want to be isn't too appealing. I find it a bit hard to believe a school uniform helps improve marks too.. most of the guys i know who bombed out in school spent their afternoons and evenings with their drugs and booze, partying up most nights. They would probably be pretty unfocused in school regardless of whether they had a uniform or not.

[belfastuniguy 18]

As I stated its a cultural things, people in UK have it as a norm people in North America do not...

It does improve marks, but clearly if your druggie then it won't make a difference, it improves the attention and marks of normal students not those duped up on drink and drugs.

[hym 358]

I wore a uniform, all my friends did yet we are all still individuals and have our own personality and creativity, a uniform does not sap you personality...quote>

That depends on the opinion of the individual.  Plenty of females around here "wouldn't be caught dead" wearing the same clothes as another female.  I know guys that, if someone made a snide comment about them having to wear clothes they didn't want to wear, would ensure that same person would have a permanent physical reminder that the comment wasn't a wise one.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: saltandsauce

Sweet jesus no kids MUST wear uniforms

or you end up with these losers

http://www.dtbmusic.com/gallery/emo%20kids.jpg

or these nutters (offensive but impossible to find photo evidence of their existence without that)

http://www.glasgowsurvival.co.uk/pictures/nedGal25.jpg

in school you are there to LEARN not to fight, swear or have high spirits

uniform doesn't give you school pride unless you meet a pupil from a rival school

nobody can tell whos rich or skint since everybody wears the uniform however the condition may give your families' income away

as for not allowing pupils to wear religious symbols that is why they invented faith schools even though i attended a catholic school which was just as crap as the other comps in the county i was probably one of about 4 Catholics in the whole school anyway

no uniform means that pupils group together based on more sane values like the actual person since they can't identify each other culturallyquote>

I'm having difficult parsing your sentences.  Based on the pictures, I'm guessing you mean:

expletive no, kids MUST wear uniforms

instead of

expletive, no kids MUST wear uniforms

As to your first picture, the only thing I see that is odd is the use of bright pink in their clothes.  Otherwise, I wouldn't give their clothes a second glance.   Regarding the second picture, yes, their gestures are obnoxious but I see nothing wrong with their clothes.  I believe I am missing your point.

My favorite teenager on the planet usually dresses in jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie (if weather requires it), and has hair long enough to totally cover his eyes.  He also gets straight A's in school and is in several by-invitation-only classes.  Uniforms are not required to be successful.  but, as belfastuniguy says, it's cultural.

[nihonkaranws 88]

Well, as someone who grew up in Japan, I'm kind of used to school uniforms, since most Japanese middle and high schools use school uniforms. A lot of bullying goes on in all cultures, in all parts of the world, and I can clearly say that what you wear is a major cause. For some reason, one of the major ways to judge someone is associated with their apparel, and mostly what they wear in the topic in question. I don't think making school uniforms mandatory will get rid of all the school's problems, but can certainly solve some of them. As Hahayoudied mentioned, there are many pros and cons associated with school uniforms, so we can never be sure what would be the exact solution to many "status quo"-type problems in public schools.

[md_l 0]

I wore a uniform in South Africa (where it's the norm for schools), as do kids here in New Zealand (where I live now). No need to worry what to wear, whether it's cool or in fashion etc. You had plenty of time after hours, during holidays and weekends to express yourself through your clothes. But as so many people mentioned, it is a cultural thing. In the Commonwealth countries, that flows through to adulthood as well. Wearing the All Black Jersey (NZ), Springbok Colours (SA), Wallabies Jumper (AUS) etc gives alot of pride for the indiviadual and country! But Americans don't really compete in sports were the country and the jersey are unique. So it would make sense that it boils down to national identity and the way you grew up.

[hamsterTK 93]

It should be up to the school/school district. Depending on your culture and socioeconomic background uniforms could be a good or bad thing, so lets leave it up to communities to figure out what's best.

In the US public education systems are democratic organizations after all, concerned parents can bring up the issue in front of the school board.

All I know is being able to wear whatever takes on a new meaning to me when you are trapped into slacks and collared shirt at work for 8 hours a day.

[JanYpe 17]

Europe tends to like itquote>

Pretty much just the island parts that tend to like uniforms actually. I can't think of any other European countries where uniforms are the norm. The issues a uniform supposedly solves are way overblown. Nobody is going to fail exams because they wear a t-shirt. Uniforms don't make them any less distracted or any more well behaved. Making kids wear uniforms does not cause higher grades.

[coolotter88 2]

I agree with JanYpe. I don't see how wearing uniforms will make a kid get better grades. I don't wear a uniform and my grades are very good.

[Micah 16]

I don't see how wearing uniforms will make a kid get better grades.quote>

Because the argument can be made that those without uniforms can have shirts or pants that can cause a distraction or disruption in class which, in turn, can hurt their grades.

[dabadon5 295]

i went to a private school for 4 years (high school). there are some positive and negatives of uniforms .

positives:

1. don't have to worry about what to wear

2. don't have to waste money on a lot of clothes

3 don't have to worry about looking cool

4. prevents other students from harassing,or ridiculing others on their dress,fashion,style,etc.

5. makes things more professional

6. i liked it when the girls had on skirts !

negatives:

1. it gets boring wearing the same thing everyday.

overall i think uniforms are good. it makes things easier for students,the parents and the school itself

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Micah

I don't see how wearing uniforms will make a kid get better grades.quote>

Because the argument can be made that those without uniforms can have shirts or pants that can cause a distraction or disruption in class which, in turn, can hurt their grades.quote>

My mother claims that the clothes that teenage girls wear these days must be very distracting to the teenage boys.

[beebs 129]

Originally posted by: Micah

I don't see how wearing uniforms will make a kid get better grades.quote>

Because the argument can be made that those without uniforms can have shirts or pants that can cause a distraction or disruption in class which, in turn, can hurt their grades.quote>

There are other ways for the school to fight skimpy/distracting clothing than implementing school uniforms, though.

[belfastuniguy 18]

There are other ways for the school to fight skimpy/distracting clothing than implementing school uniforms, though.quote>

What like banning clothes or a dress code....

Surely that would infringe on the students 'freedom of expression' and damage their creativity and sap them of personality.....

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

There are other ways for the school to fight skimpy/distracting clothing than implementing school uniforms, though.quote>

What like banning clothes or a dress code....

Surely that would infringe on the students 'freedom of expression' and damage their creativity and sap them of personality.....quote>

A dress code about skimpy clothing exists in many schools, including mine, if you have your skirt higher than a certain length, and/or have any part of your stomach showing you get a dress code detention...

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

There are other ways for the school to fight skimpy/distracting clothing than implementing school uniforms, though.quote>

What like banning clothes or a dress code....

Surely that would infringe on the students 'freedom of expression' and damage their creativity and sap them of personality.....quote>

Well, when we baby boomers were teens, the adults told us we would be the downfall of civilized society.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Curious....to me

A dress code about skimpy clothing exists in many schools, including mine, if you have your skirt higher than a certain length, and/or have any part of your stomach showing you get a dress code detention...quote>

Kinda contradicts this...

I would rather live in a society where differences and individuality are something we can embrace and understand; rather than in a society where we must conform by attempting to get everyone to dress and look the same.quote>

To me by introducing dress codes and saying what kids can and can not wear does contradict the above. While I am in favour of uniform and dress code...just wanted to point this out..

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

I'm not sure if you'll understand, but there is a dress code in most schools with a few rules that usually only include that you can't wear clothes that reveal your stomach, or a skirt that shows a little 'too much'. Dress codes also adress that you can't wear things that associate you with a gang, or have curse words or something offensive on it. It doesn't make everyone dress the same because it's only a limited number of items that you shouldn't be wearing to school that they adress. It's not like a uniform rule where everyone has to wear the same thing.

I never really got it either, when I was in middle school, they had a few days where you could wear jeans, but the principal always says over the P.A system 'You may wear jeans, but they must be Broward County Dress Code', which basically says that you couldn't wear jeans in middle school (my district makes you wear polo and khaki uniform from 1st grade - 8th) It's confusing and makes no sense.

[belfastuniguy 18]

No I fully understand...but...codes and regulations regarding what people can wear at school does not allow them to fully express themselves as some have mentioned here. No matter how limited the rules are they still in some respects controlling what people wear. It's a simple observation.

[purpledaddy 6]

I think the world would be a much better place if everybody wore Italian made navy pinstripe suits!

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy No I fully understand...but...codes and regulations regarding what people can wear at school does not allow them to fully express themselves as some have mentioned here. No matter how limited the rules are they still in some respects controlling what people wear. It's a simple observation.quote>

Don't worry, nobody is complaining over it.

EDIT: I don't think our rules are the same everywhere around the U.S though.

[belfastuniguy 18]

I think the world would be a much better place if everybody wore Italian made navy pinstripe suits!quote>

Personally I'd prefer a nice dark grey and purple pinstripe. With a gorgeous purple lining. lol

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

No I fully understand...but...codes and regulations regarding what people can wear at school does not allow them to fully express themselves as some have mentioned here. No matter how limited the rules are they still in some respects controlling what people wear. It's a simple observation.quote>

Of course there are limits to "fully expressing" oneself.

Some people like to fully express themselves by wearing no clothes at all.

ain't gonna happen in school. 

[beebs 129]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

There are other ways for the school to fight skimpy/distracting clothing than implementing school uniforms, though.quote>

What like banning clothes or a dress code....

Surely that would infringe on the students 'freedom of expression' and damage their creativity and sap them of personality.....quote>

Not allowing kids to wear miniskirts, have shirts that allow the bellybutton to be seen, wear shirts with profanities or wear hats in the school isn't exactly to the level of having a school uniform implemented. And it still allows 'freedom of expression' and removes much of the distraction issue.

Edit: And for an example of cultural differences, the year they implemented the no-hats rule in schools in Edmonton (Gr. 10 for me), there was a lot of outrage among students, myself included. I couldn't see school uniforms being implemented very easily.

[Ded 30]

Hated wearing a uniform at the time, appreciate it now. A uniform teaches you some discipline. You can't be employed if you have crazy hair and thousands of piercings. Plus, in a small community like mine, the uniform was a way of connecting with people, and made you a larger part of your school community. It doesn't hurt to have a bit of school pride.