Should Public schools switch to uniforms?

The parents opposed the measure because they wanted their kids to be able to "express" their individuality. Not through art or music or anything stupid like that! Oh no, through a pair of $120 Miss Me jeans that all of the other bratty little girls have, too. It's ridiculous. The parents use the kids to flash their money and the kids who don't have that money get made fun of.

This is the reason that I am glad my children are out of school. Some people just should not be teachers.

I don't think it is about individuality as much as requiring children to think and make decisions for themselves from an early age.
Also, my children were active and clothes did not get worn twice. Body odor stays with the clothes and gives kids something to tease you about.

Wow...way to totally miss the point. And insult my character while you're at it! The point was the kids DON'T make the decisions. Their moms and dads do. There are absolutely other ways to encourage decision-making skills. Like in the classroom, about important subjects, for example. Out-dressing each other is an unnecessary skill. Period. The parents where I teach are nouveau riche soccer mom types who flash their money on their kids' backs. Unless you know of 12 year olds who go shopping by themselves for every piece of clothing they own I'm not sure how you can conclude that the parents aren't a major influence on the clothing choices.

Also, body odor? I was an extremely active kid, sweated a lot and never had this issue. Because I washed my clothes each time I wore them. Problem solved. It would apply exactly the same way with standardized dress polos. And 5 generic uniform polos are A LOT cheaper than 5 off-the-rack name brand shirts.

Completely agree with you! And I think the BO thing was about my comment. I noted that two pairs of pants a week should usually be fine, pants can usually be worn more than once before washing, but then I said that shirts might be different different because of BO and stuff. And two pairs of khaki pants and five polo shirts would not be terribly expensive , you can go to KMart for that stuff (we're not talking about prep school pleated skirts and stuff). And kids just aren't that active in school unless it's PE, in which case they should be in different clothing, if they're not then that obviously adds a different component. When they come home they can change into jeans and a t-shirt or whatever, but they still don't need a different home outfit every day either, except maybe shirts. Adding two pairs of pants and five shirts to a child's wardrobe isn't unreasonable. And for those who do need help, there are options.

My daughter has always wanted to go to a school with uniforms. I love the idea, myself.

At my high school they restricted our clothing options so much and we all got in trouble so often for breaking the rules that the senior class actually started a petition to GET uniforms so we would stop getting detentions.

absolutely NOT!

My daughter has always wanted to go to a school with uniforms. I love the idea, myself.

I always wanted them too. I hated watching people get picked on because their parents couldn't afford for them to wear everything that comes from Hollister and such.

I went to public school, and honestly, I don't think my education or experience would have been at all improved by the presence of uniforms. Sure we had a dress code that was enforced, but I have friends who went to private schools and they could still get demerits and fines for wearing their uniforms incorrectly (not tucking in shirts, not buttoning up all the way, hiking up skirts, etc.) The distractions and issues still existed, even though everyone was technically still wearing the same thing.

I don't necessarily buy the "express yourself" thing with clothing, but I do this it's a way to get kids used to making choices and doing things on their own. When I was in elementary school, every night my mom would help me pick out my clothes and let me choose what to wear. Guiding children towards making their own choices is a pretty important part of their development. Sure there are other ways to do it, but it doesn't hurt.

The only real benefit I see if the cost saving measure for poorer families. They can buy five shirts and two or three pairs of pants and their kid is set for school and there's less pressure to fit in with the other, more well to do kids. But other than that I don't really see a point.

Try taking away the individuality of adults and see what happens to society. :noway:
Don't do it to our children either.

Wow a Phillies fan and a Giants fan agree!

Here in Aussie all schools have uniforms.....When kids leave school and get a job, most places have uniforms.......Do you think that workers shouldn't have uniforms?????

I actually requested my work's uniform, I'm far too lazy to be bothered choosing what to wear each day.

With everything going on in our public schools, this is the issue? It's not crap funding, reducing the arts and falling behind in math and science, but what kids are wearing? Leave the kids alone and let them dress how they want while they still can.

My daughter's pubic school wore uniforms - Khakis and a polo shirt. Then it just became about where your khakis and polo came from. Unless they go the catholic school route of THIS polo from THIS store, the same old issue exists.

In my city all schools wear uniform, public and private. Most of the high school students use public transportation and many fight break out because of school rivalry. It is easy to identify what school a students goes to. From a parents' point of view I am for uniforms. When we lived in Mississippi my son did not have to wear uniform to his public school and it was a pain to dress him everyday. Uniforms are expensive, but I usually spend about $200 for the entire school year...I was spending a lot more on regular clothes.

The parents opposed the measure because they wanted their kids to be able to "express" their individuality. Not through art or music or anything stupid like that! Oh no, through a pair of $120 Miss Me jeans that all of the other bratty little girls have, too. It's ridiculous. The parents use the kids to flash their money and the kids who don't have that money get made fun of.

This is the reason that I am glad my children are out of school. Some people just should not be teachers.

I don't think it is about individuality as much as requiring children to think and make decisions for themselves from an early age.
Also, my children were active and clothes did not get worn twice. Body odor stays with the clothes and gives kids something to tease you about.

Wow...way to totally miss the point. And insult my character while you're at it! The point was the kids DON'T make the decisions. Their moms and dads do. There are absolutely other ways to encourage decision-making skills. Like in the classroom, about important subjects, for example. Out-dressing each other is an unnecessary skill. Period. The parents where I teach are nouveau riche soccer mom types who flash their money on their kids' backs. Unless you know of 12 year olds who go shopping by themselves for every piece of clothing they own I'm not sure how you can conclude that the parents aren't a major influence on the clothing choices.

Also, body odor? I was an extremely active kid, sweated a lot and never had this issue. Because I washed my clothes each time I wore them. Problem solved. It would apply exactly the same way with standardized dress polos. And 5 generic uniform polos are A LOT cheaper than 5 off-the-rack name brand shirts.

Completely agree with you! And I think the BO thing was about my comment. I noted that two pairs of pants a week should usually be fine, pants can usually be worn more than once before washing, but then I said that shirts might be different different because of BO and stuff. And two pairs of khaki pants and five polo shirts would not be terribly expensive , you can go to KMart for that stuff (we're not talking about prep school pleated skirts and stuff). And kids just aren't that active in school unless it's PE, in which case they should be in different clothing, if they're not then that obviously adds a different component. When they come home they can change into jeans and a t-shirt or whatever, but they still don't need a different home outfit every day either, except maybe shirts. Adding two pairs of pants and five shirts to a child's wardrobe isn't unreasonable. And for those who do need help, there are options.

I will try to explain my comments:
1. I wasn't attacking your character just the attitude you were displaying toward young girls in your school or district.
2. I was a single mother of 3 and my children went to a school district for a year that had to have uniforms and due to age they were in 3 seperate schools each of which had their own colors. I had to work obviously so i couldn't do laundry every other night which to me meant a uniform for each day. That was extremely expensive even at kmart and walmart for the cheap stuff compared to prior years where I bought 1 new outfit and 1 pair of sneakers each at the start of the school year. And I did the change into your play clothes when you come home but wasn't home to make them do that. Thankfully by this time the oldest one was old enough to babysit.
3.The BO comment was in response to the other poster. However, everyone is different and some kids sweat even when they are just sitting in their chairs at school. Just because you didn't have this problem doesn't mean other people don't.
4. The other options for uniforms I didn't qualify for I made to much gross income.
5. I didn't miss the point, I just didn't agree with it. Why is it when you don't agree with people they think you don't understand what they are saying, like your ignorant or uneducated. Even if the parents are there when they buy the clothes the children choose their clothes in the morning which makes them think and make daily decisions. And the reactions they get from their parents, siblings, teachers and anyone else they meet teach them alot.

I stand by my thoughts which were not meant to insult you. Schools don't need uniforms.

I know the elementary schools here, and I think even the middle schools, wear a "uniform" which is khaki bottom, and the school t-shirt. Not a polo, just a t-shirt with the school logo and name on it. That wouldn't bother me too much, but my kids are both under 4 right now, so ask me again when they're in school haha!

The thing that bothers me, is last I heard, teachers don't fail students any more. Not sure how much truth there is to that, but that's what I think needs to be changed.

This is off topic, but I'm going to respond here. Some things vary from state to state, but in my state the teacher may fail a student but:
1. It often reflects poorly on the teacher (even if in middle or high school and the student failed more than one class this is often seen as a reflection of each teacher)
2. Teachers don't get to decide if students are passed on. They can fail a student, the grade goes on the report card, but the student gets passed on to the next level anyway, often even though they may barely be able to read.

Why do people assume uniforms = prep school uniforms? A lot of the comments don't apply to the standardized dress code that many public schools today require (in the U.S.).

That's because all I've ever heard of are prep school uniforms. I'm not very well educated on uniforms/standardized dress codes, though... Just commenting on what I know. My school has no "dress code", I guess. Or if we do, it's very lax. The only thing we're not allowed to have are alcohol/drug/sex references. Anything else goes.

My son goes through pants like paper. I can't afford the high priced crap. Hell his $10 jeans from Wal-Mart hold up a lot better than his uniform pants do. And if he gets a rip in the knee, then it's a fashion statement :laugh: Now I'm stuck having to buy new gym shorts from the school and a gym shirt. He can't wear blue pants or any color shirt but Red, White, or Navy.

Can't get a rip in the knee in his uniform pants, he'll get sent home from school. My son is 8 years old and recently was switched to the same school my little sister (his aunt) goes to. He came home one day saying he wants to go back to his old school.

"My new school cares more about having your shirt tucked in than how good you can read." Those are words of an 8 year old.