School Uniforms. warning wall of text.

[Least Common Factor]

merixthexninja

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And saves time getting ready in the morning.

bull shat i just get up am look 4 clothes i dont care wat i have on cause it usaly works

[Lemon Scented Teacup]

The FDA

Lemon Scented Teacup

I'd have to disagree with you.

I think that you made a mistake by saying that all uniforms are expensive, there are many schools out there that offer a affordable uniforms and there are many stores out there that offer more traditional clothing, you just have to know the right places to look. Heck, there are often rows full of more traditional style clothing in local thrift stores.

I find that when a lot of kids are "expressing" themselves they just dress up in whats is popular at the time. A lot of girls at my current school come to school in very short shorts and skirts and low shirts and other clothing that should not be worn in a school setting. It's not practical, it's sets them up for sexual harrassment and if all the kids are wearing the same style of clothing already then what differance does it make getting them to wear uniforms. They can still express themselves through things like hair, shoes and little add-ons like pin and jewlery.

Not making a uniform rule is easier than making one. At my school we didn't wear slutty clothes or whatever because we had a dress code. It's like a compromise. Kids can still wear whatever they want as long as it isn't too extreme.

Your school still had guidelines though. I went to a school with no rules regarding clothing and kids went crazy. It may be harder for a school to make the uniforms rule or a guideline rule but if they keep it up eventually most kids come around and realise that in the real world you need to dress proffestionally in places like schools and you can wear your party clothes at parties. I really think uniforms help in giving kids that kind of mindset, I know it helped a lot of the kids I went to school with.

[Kemeoth_Othyre]

Hmm... come to think of it, I never had to worry about this sort of thing. I always dressed to impress because I thought I was better than everyone else and lo I was better than them and for me, it did not cost much being as I knew where and when to shop.

[Elendinel]

merixthexninja

Minuialear

merixthexninja

I'm against uniforms, just because it's a pain in the a** to find uniform-acceptable clothing that looks good, fits well, and is cheap. Hell, it's hard to find clothing that's like that PERIOD, uniform-accepted or not. It doesn't do a damned bit of good, and is a huge hassle for students and parents.

Aye.

I remember having to pay upwards of $100 for one outfit when I had to wear uniforms (outfit = white polo shirt and navy blue or plaid jumper; I'll pretend the other stuff like the brown dress shoes would have been bought anyway). I pay $30 max for an outfit now, and it actually fits and feels comfortable. And it's easier to adapt to the seasons when your options aren't "polo shirt" or "polo shirt under sweatshirt or sweater" for your top and "skirt" or "corduroy pants" for your bottom, with "brown dress shoes" or "brown dress shoes" to complete the ensemble.

A hundred bucks? American? Holy ******** s**t. D= (Pays thirty maximum as well.) I said overpriced, but I didn't expect it to be MURDER. With those prices, I'd only be able to buy one outfit, one or two pairs of shoes, and under-clothes on my budget. And I think I'd need a little more than that to get through a year of school. D=

(You'd need two pairs of shoes: one pair of sneakers for gym and sports, and the uniform shoes.)

Yeah. The polo shirts were pretty expensive cause they were legitimate Polo shirts and supposedly lasted longer.

I forgot about gym. I think we had to wear black sneakers, but style was a little more variable. I dunno, it was stupid, and it didn't help me concentrate any better when girls were hitching up their skirts to try to look more fashionable and were pulling out $500 bracelets and earrings just to remind everyone how much more rich they were. Or when my uniform never fit cause I was too tall for the sizes that actually fit me (no skirts/jumpers above the knee). Or when a host of other things happened that really didn't make us any more productive or happy than just wearing normal clothes would have made us.

[The FDA]

Lemon Scented Teacup

Your school still had guidelines though. I went to a school with no rules regarding clothing and kids went crazy. It may be harder for a school to make the uniforms rule or a guideline rule but if they keep it up eventually most kids come around and realise that in the real world you need to dress proffestionally in places like schools and you can wear your party clothes at parties. I really think uniforms help in giving kids that kind of mindset, I know it helped a lot of the kids I went to school with.

I thought you said your school had no rules about clothing?

[Spatterdash]

Minuialear

Spatterdash

The cost issue is certainly problematic in certain areas, but that doesn't make school uniform bad in itself. It's just that the school really should take into account the budgets people are likely to have - something the PTA should discuss.

Thing is, if the school's in a bad area, chances are there isn't enough money to sponsor buying uniforms for students who can't get them. How are the kids who can barely buy any clothing going to raise the money to buy the more expensive uniforms?

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just as nurses, policemen, soldiers and security guards put on their uniforms when they go to work to give them an image of professionalism and make them easier identifiable.

They also get the choice to don on those uniforms, or to choose another profession. Kids in public schools don't exactly get that choice.

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Not to mention that there's plenty of leeway in school uniform; I was always required to wear uniform at school, but could express my tastes in style with my choice of footwear, backpack, pencil case, etcetera.

A lot of uniforms don't let you choose the shoes you wear, limit the styles of backpack and lunch bag, etc. Depends on the school.

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But it helped cut down a little on the tribalism associated with teenagers and dress sense, which toned things down.

Again, depends. If some kids are wearing gold Rolexes or necklaces from Tiffany's while others have only friendship bracelets and plastic hair clips, there's still going to be quite a bit of tribalism or division.

Quote:

And saves time getting ready in the morning.

Only if it takes you half an hour to figure out which t-shirt you're going to pull on. But then that's your problem, not anyone else's.

You make good points, and argue this more coherently than a lot I've seen.

I think the cost point is the biggest count against uniform. But uniform isn't inherently expensive. Many schools, at least in the UK, have uniform requirements of a sweater and polo shirt that don't cost much more than non-uniform equivalents, or have a dress code involving items which can be bought cheaply from major supermarkets.

Still. I think for the most part, it's not as if it does any harm. I personally kind of liked wearing uniform because of the sense of belonging and professionalism it gave me. It creates identity, of a sort, if you all look vaguely similar. And I still think that there are far better ways to express one's personality than appearance - I don't accept the individuality argument at all, because it's such a shallow attitude to expressing oneself. Not that it's bad to express yourself via one's appearance, but it's pathetic to rely on it. Especially since, given the choice, teenagers tend to dress like their friends and adopt 'uniform' to fit in with their preferred social group.

*shrug*
I can see why it's resented, but I really don't think it's exactly something one suffers through. Asides from the affordability issue, it's not damaging. And it's useful from the point of view of teachers and adults in that you can immediately tell which pupils are yours when it comes to school outings, etcetera.
It's also good preparation for adult life, since most people don't wear just whatever the hell they feel like when they go to work.

[l Meri l]

apathetic insinsitivity

merixthexninja

Quote:

And saves time getting ready in the morning.

bull shat i just get up am look 4 clothes i dont care wat i have on cause it usaly works

If you're going to alter someone's post, leave the original there but crossed through and then put the alteration after that.

Jeans and a tee. It's not rocket science. If I want to get fancy I'll put on a dress, but, hell, that only takes half the time.

[l Meri l]

Minuialear

merixthexninja

Minuialear

merixthexninja

I'm against uniforms, just because it's a pain in the a** to find uniform-acceptable clothing that looks good, fits well, and is cheap. Hell, it's hard to find clothing that's like that PERIOD, uniform-accepted or not. It doesn't do a damned bit of good, and is a huge hassle for students and parents.

Aye.

I remember having to pay upwards of $100 for one outfit when I had to wear uniforms (outfit = white polo shirt and navy blue or plaid jumper; I'll pretend the other stuff like the brown dress shoes would have been bought anyway). I pay $30 max for an outfit now, and it actually fits and feels comfortable. And it's easier to adapt to the seasons when your options aren't "polo shirt" or "polo shirt under sweatshirt or sweater" for your top and "skirt" or "corduroy pants" for your bottom, with "brown dress shoes" or "brown dress shoes" to complete the ensemble.

A hundred bucks? American? Holy ******** s**t. D= (Pays thirty maximum as well.) I said overpriced, but I didn't expect it to be MURDER. With those prices, I'd only be able to buy one outfit, one or two pairs of shoes, and under-clothes on my budget. And I think I'd need a little more than that to get through a year of school. D=

(You'd need two pairs of shoes: one pair of sneakers for gym and sports, and the uniform shoes.)

Yeah. The polo shirts were pretty expensive cause they were legitimate Polo shirts and supposedly lasted longer.

I forgot about gym. I think we had to wear black sneakers, but style was a little more variable. I dunno, it was stupid, and it didn't help me concentrate any better when girls were hitching up their skirts to try to look more fashionable and were pulling out $500 bracelets and earrings just to remind everyone how much more rich they were. Or when my uniform never fit cause I was too tall for the sizes that actually fit me (no skirts/jumpers above the knee). Or when a host of other things happened that really didn't make us any more productive or happy than just wearing normal clothes would have made us.

Right. So, even though there were uniforms, the line between the so-called haves and have-nots was still there, blatant and obnoxious as ever. Fat lot of good uniforms did. =D

[Lemon Scented Teacup]

The FDA

Lemon Scented Teacup

Your school still had guidelines though. I went to a school with no rules regarding clothing and kids went crazy. It may be harder for a school to make the uniforms rule or a guideline rule but if they keep it up eventually most kids come around and realise that in the real world you need to dress proffestionally in places like schools and you can wear your party clothes at parties. I really think uniforms help in giving kids that kind of mindset, I know it helped a lot of the kids I went to school with.

I thought you said your school had no rules about clothing?

Sorry, I didn't really explain myself. I went to a private school in elemtary shcool then I went a public middle school and then I went back to a private school. THe thing I noticed was when people came to the private schools from public school they had some rough spots in the beging but then they eventually got what the uniform was for. I also saw that when people made the transition with me from private to public that we were dressed a lot more practically, like we were coming there to learn and not to party with friends.

[l Meri l]

Blind Guardian the 2nd

I find that anyone who complains about school uniforms has an incredibly spoiled and disgusting personality. I've yet to be proved wrong.

So let's all, instead of forming a decent argument, insult the people who disagree with you.

[shureloche]

Teki

Let’s start with the cost. It has cost my mom more this semester in "Uniform" school clothes than any other year in any of the lives of me and my two siblings. Now at first I thought this was just us, because my sister got brand name polo's etc. So I talked to some other parents who have children attending my sister’s school all of which told me the same thing. That it cost them a small fortune.

Actually, considering the cost of clothing in stores, and having to have all sorts of different clothes to match I dont see uniforms cost being a factor as you do not need to buy nearly as much to accomplish the same thing. Also, depending on the uniform they are often better manufactured and able to stand up to wear and tear. Would you like me to post an actual cost comparison between the uniform clothing of some popular uniform providers and the cost of clothing in stores in the mall?

Teki

I also believe kids should be able to choose what they wear and express themselves through their clothing (with in reason of course I don’t think kids should go to school naked or anything). Kids have everything chosen for them from when the go to bed to what they eat the least we can do is allowing them to pick out what shirt they wear each morning.

Are you an artist? I don't think so. Normally when we let children express themselves 90% of it is complete and utter crap. Really, what parts are you wanting to express? Could it be your tits, a**, legs, or whatever else you are going to expose when you go out and dress up as your favorite hollywood bimbo. When you let boys express themselves you normally get curse words and dumb a** porn drawings. OK, so maybe omne or two actual artists are in your school. They can go express themselves in many ways including art class, music, literature, drama club,. and all sorts of other ways people who actually want to express themselves in a worthwhile fasion express themselves. The fact that you cant wear a dental floss skirt and some pasties to school isn't hindering your expression. Some day you will be able to get your own pimp, get knocked up, and whore yourself out. Just maybe you will haqve a high school diploma when you do it.

Teki

Lastly kids make fun of each other it’s a fact of life. When you put all the kids in the same clothing they no longer can make fun of the shirt or shorts you wear, so they will turn to more permanent things like your nose, freckles, weight, size of feet, teeth just about anything. Kid can change the kinds of clothes they wear; they can’t change their nose (at least not without costly surgery). I also think that uniforms lower self esteem. When I'm in my work uniform I certainly don't feel good about myself. When I'm in my street clothes thinking I look cute or whatever my self esteem is much higher. I can’t see it being different for a child.

Oh, so you want kids to be able to make fun of this oh so important self expression you were talking about a point ago? Wow, that makes a lot of sense. Like you said kids are going to make fun no matter what so the point is irrelevant. At least this way the people who make fun of you will have to do it in a dorky school uniform. See, there is a bright side to everything.

[EnterHere]

Uniforms create a sense of equality throughout a school.
I would rather my school have uniforms because then I don't have to worry about what I am wearing being the sole reason why some people judge me differently.

I think it would be a wise idea for public schools to start making the switch to uniforms.
It's pretty much done everywhere else in the world.

[Blind Guardian the 2nd]

merixthexninja

Blind Guardian the 2nd

I find that anyone who complains about school uniforms has an incredibly spoiled and disgusting personality. I've yet to be proved wrong.

So let's all, instead of forming a decent argument, insult the people who disagree with you.

In a country in which all school children are required to wear uniforms, I am so frequently astonished by how much bullshit I see American kids spouting when it comes to uniforms.

If you have to express yourself through clothing, instead of through your words and work, you must be terribly uninteresting. Complaining about the cost of uniform is also not a problem inherent with uniforms themselves, but with the society in which you live. In England, you can buy a whole school uniform, with multiple spare shirts, trousers etc. for under $20. Which will last for at least the year. The reason why? Because everyone will need to buy them. In America, where everyone does not have to buy a uniform, prices will be higher. That's not a downside of uniforms, that's a downside to the lack of mandatory uniforms for all schoolchildren in America.

[Fury of Jude]

I've worn uniforms my whole life, besides one semester I spent at public school. Uniforms are FAR cheaper then buying clothes on top of clothes, and as for creativity, seriously, save that bullshit for art class or creative writing. This is systematic education, not a playground.
School uniforms actually bring kids together. They all have to wear the same stupid s**t. Kids who have goofy noses with uniforms have goofy noses without uniforms, and they'll still catch s**t for it. Uniforms don't make his goofy nose more obvious. If you think they do, you're just dumb.