Should Public schools switch to uniforms?

sugboog29

My grandchildren go to public school and my grandson is now in high school..no more uniforms for him. His sister who is in 6th still has to wear one. I think it is great...levels the playing field, so to speak. I know some folks think uniforms are expensive, but the city they live in only requires khaki, navy, or black pants and the shirts have to be collared and can be white, or their respective school colors. I find that buying her school clothes at Wal-Mart, Old Navy, or the good old clearance rack works for me! Got her a cute black skirt for school at her favorite store, Justice, for $7. And trust me...she is a fashionista!

PBsMommy

I finished high school in a private school and had to wear a uniform daily. The great thing about wearing it was I never had to worry about selecting clothes in the morning and was never ridiculed for choice of clothing.
So should public schools switch to them?While I'm for individuality, I think that with the competitive nature of education and schooling, the last thing kids need to be distracted by is being concerned about being teased just because of choice of clothing. I know right now that "gang" paraphernalia isn't allowed to be worn and that there are rules about how short dresses and skirts can be. I bring it up because after having a client yesterday, she told me her daughter (in middle school) was being ridiculed by other girls for what she wore that day. It ended up being an argument and later she and a few other girls were taken aside by the principal to iron out the issue.
Even though kids will still find something else to tease about, possibly having uniforms can help to at least stop or reduce the teasing of clothing being worn.
Thoughts?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I went to a public middle school and they wore "uniforms". From my experience the only way uniforms will REDUCE kids teasing about clothes is if the administration says they can only wear one brand name or if everyone is made to purchase them from the same place or through the school. We had to wear tan or black pants and yellow, black, white or gray collard or t-shirts. Everyone still picked their own clothes chain and own brand name and kids with less money or "worse" clothes were still made fun of.

My personal opinion is it really doesn't matter. Even if kids are giving the same standard uniform it will not change a thing. It will give them one less thing to tease about. But realistically if a kid is a mean spoilt brat/heathen , he/she was raised to be that way or it's just in their personality. They WILL find something to point out on anyone they want. Honestly, it's just the real world. There are nice people and there are douche bags. The sooner kids/teens learn this, the better. But that is just my humble opinion.

fit_librarian

I think so, personally. I would've loved uniforms. And my sister takes forever picking out her school outfit everyday. I think a uniform would show her that there are more important things than what you wear.

cressievargo

Our school district doesn't have a uniform policy, but my son attends a magnet school w/in the district, and he does have a uniform policy.

As for those talking about the cost - either way, I am paying for clothing for my kid...so that argument is pointless. I buy most of my son's clothing at the resale shop - I rarely pay more than $2 a pair for pants and 90% of them are "name brand" (not that either he or I care). I bought his polo shirts for $3 a piece at Wal-Mart, and some of them at Kohl's on sale. I pick them up all year long when I see clearances.

And - for the record - EVERY KID in our school district gets free lunch. And we would qualify even w/o that - so we ARE low income - it's not about income, it's about shopping smart.

mcedes02

YES YES YES!!!! Having put up w/ a stepdaughter that thinks that she's allergic to anything BUT the highest dollar name brands when we nor her mother can barely afford 2nd hand prices (my hubby has 4 kids between his ex and I) I really think uniforms would be wonderful!!! The middle school she's getting ready to start DOES require them!!! With the trashy way some want to dress anymore uniforms would be a blessing!! It shouldn't matter WHAT kids wear...it's not a fashion show it's school.....a time for learning! Theres so much emphasis put on competition in schools that clothes should NOT be one of them! IMO!!!

rhonniema

Kid will make fun of each other uniform or not.
I did both got ridiculed when I went to public & private school.
Heck, uniforms cost just as much as regular clothes too.
I never had an issue of picking out what to wear when I switched from public to private school because my mother still picked out my clothes until I got to high school. :indifferent:

Nicolette_Karls

I attended a Catholic school from K-8, where we had to wear uniforms everyday except for special "Out of Uniform" days. It wasn't terrible, but bullies will find things to ridicule you about. In fact, I was bullied more while wearing uniforms than I was when I went to public high school with no uniforms. There's a small percentage of bullies that target kids because of what they wear. Usually the ridicule focuses on things like personality, physical appearance, intelligence, and interests. I wore sweat pants and over-sized tshirts almost everyday in high school, and I never got made fun of for it.

I guess my point is that what you wear doesn't prevent bullying. Even when everyone is dressed in the same uniform, people who want to be bullies will find something to say. The important thing is to teach kids to identify bullying and deal with it in a constructive manner.

kit8806

When I was in high school, my mom, a single parent, had to buy school clothes for me and my 3 sisters and we usually got them from Kmart or on the clearance rack.. so my 1 sister and I weren't exactly "trendy" with the best of the best... now, my youngest 2 sisters are in highschool and my mom has more money for them, and they shop at american eagle, hollister, etc..... the prices are crazy! my 1 sister pretty much refuses to wear anything that isn't "brand name". Even when I was in high school, I would have preferred uniforms! Just easier! I wasn't one who got picked on for clothes, I didn't really care what others may have thought, but I'm for Uniforms!!

Also, without the uniforms, I can't tell you how many times we had the skinny girls who wore their skirts just below their butts, but got away with it because of who they were/how they looked, but the girl who wore it an inch above the knee had to either have a parent bring in clothes or wear the "lost and found" sweat pants in the nurses office.... Uniforms would be so much better!!!

laurenellenmarie

I went to Catholic School. I wore a uniform from Kindergarten to Senior Year. I wouldn't have it any other way. LOVED it.

travisseger

My two daughters go to a private school that require uniforms, and while it may be expensive, I do like the fact that it eliminates kids picking on other kids over what type of clothes their parents can or can't afford. My favorite part is that it makes getting dressed for school quick and easy. No arguments or time wasted over what to wear.

ninerbuff

Lol, kids can't match clothing (assuming it wasn't a parent). Some funny mismatched colors (brown pants with grey shirt).

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

My daughter has worn street clothes and uniforms. From experience, kids find ways of mocking even uniform brands. Uniforms without the ponies, etc. They figure out how to mock each other one way or another. :ohwell:

ninerbuff

My daughter has worn street clothes and uniforms. From experience, kids find ways of mocking even uniform brands. Uniforms without the ponies, etc. They figure out how to mock each other one way or another. :ohwell:

No doubt. The one thing I like about uniforms is that it's not an argument in the morning when kids are dressing up for school. No "you can't wear that" or "you never let me wear anything" arguments.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

kenzietate

Kids are going to find something to tease and make fun of regardless of clothing. It is part of growing up. Learning to deal with teasing in a constructive way is also part of growing up. I have always been a bit of a geek. I played competitive sports but I always had straight A's and loved to learn. I was teased for that. I was teased for not caring about makeup or finger nail polish. I learned to ignore the teasing and get along with them anyway. I didn't depend on someone else for my self worth. It is a very good lesson that needs to be learned. Bullying has become and issue lately b/c parents are so much worried about it now. They don't want their kids feelings to be hurt! If you look into your past you most likely got bullied at some point in your life. It hurt, you learned from it, you moved on. Let today's kids do the same. Bullying hasn't changed in the last 20 years, people's reaction to it has.

Cost wise school uniforms might be good for a lot of people. But making the government in charge of something else right now is probably a bad idea right now. It won't work the way it is supposed to work I can tell you that!

ahviendha

i wish we had uniforms in high school.