School uniforms: yay or nay?...

[TabascoNatalie]

Singledad, why don't they have skirt-shorts to avoid exposing themselves?

As for rich vs. poor, children are very aware of haves and have nots. They know about who haves the newest phone or videogame beside wearing the same to school.

 

[singledad]

My daughter is 7. She's one of the only kids in her class who has a phone (any phone) and she definitely isn't showing it off at school. I know that because her best friend didn't even know until a few weeks ago that she has it. What you say is true for older kids, not grade 1 and 2's.

But I guess you can argue threat it's stupid to implement something for 12 years when it only really makes a difference for the first year our two...

As for skirt shorts - if it's what I think it is, that would be awesome. Any ideas how I can convince the governing body? Considering that they thought it reasonable to make 6 year olds wear stockings....

 

[cybele]

We call them skorts. Lux pretty much lives in them at school. Even in winter which I don't think is the best idea, but hey, if she wants to freeze her legs off, they're her legs.

Maybe get a petition circled around the parents?


We haven't really encountered the have and have not problems, probably because everyone in our area earns around the same amount, we're all pretty equal.

 

[cybele]

Ours look like this:

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Then at the back they are a regular pair of shorts, it's just that the front has these flappy bits that make them look like a skirt.

 

[akmom]

I can see the value of "equalizing" appearance through uniforms.

I must have grown up in some very different communities than others on this forum. My peers just didn't segregate by clothing style. Or economic status. At least not that I ever noticed. I don't see it at my daughter's school either, but it is kind of an exclusive demographic.

 

[cybele]

In some areas its a thing, others not. Where I live now it isn't, where I grew up kids used to ask each other which street they lived on and teased those living on the less prestigious streets. We learned that from our parents. I went to school a few suburbs over and all my friends were from the same suburb as me, and we were horrible about it, on the tram on the way home we used to pick on the girls who got off in Hawthorn or Burnley because, well, they lived in Hawthorn and Burnley (not cheap suburbs by any stretch of the imagination, but cheaper than where we lived). Something we learned from our parents. Not something I'm proud of.

Funnily enough, I think I'm so ashamed of my prior behaviour in that regard that I really struggle answering the question "Where did you grow up?" I usually mumble something about inner Melbourne, but it takes a bit to get me to admit that I grew up in Toorak.

 

[TabascoNatalie]

Singledad, is there such a thing as parents board or comittee?

Akmom, where i grew up, there was some discrimination according to what you wear but it was to do with your dress sense. I mean, if you're filthy rich but dress like a scarecrow... you'll get the reaction. So you always had to think what you wear. Uniform fans' key argument is... You don't have to think what you wear.

Cybele, the neighborhoods thing... We live in inner city by choice, so we can afford holidays abroad and other nice stuff. A lot of other people simply don't get it. For example, they see shopping in a German supermarket as a worst degradation possible... Well, fancy going to an overpriced supermarket and then whining about how you can't afford crap?

 

[JakeW]

My whole take is that school uniforms are mainly used for profiting purposes and a prestige on the school, and not so much used for discipline. Maybe these customs have changed now, maybe they haven't. But that's how I currently still see it. Children need to go through the trials and tribulations even it means being criticized what you wear. It helps build character and to become independent and strong, so as long as it doesn't get out of hand of course.

 

[TabascoNatalie]

Well, when school signs up a contract with one specific dealer, on something that make sure can't be bought nowhere else, then it is nothing but rip-off.

But when uniforms are reasonable and practical-- they do help to keep some public order in school, at least, that nobody turns to class dressed like to a beach.

 

[JakeW]

Well the next best thing to that are dress codes and school assemblies for parents and students

 

[NPRhead]

As someone else noted earlier, school kits have become a fetishy thing, which is concerning. But as the following poster said, almost anything can be fetishised. Our society will never be perfect.

I went to four high schools only one of which had a uniform. It was a large Catholic school in FL. Back then, it was either dark blue or gold pants or skirt, and pastel blue, pink, yellow, or white button up shirt. It was a pain, and pitifully boring, but it equalized many of us. However, there were these two (very nice, fwiw) punks in one of my classes who wore wallets with chains, punkish haircuts, and band tees underneath.

I guess there's loopholes to everything.

 

[IADad]

My sons' school (Catholic School) used to have just a dress code and they went to uniforms a few years back, because nobody had the guts to enforce the dress code (no jeans collared shirts, no words or logos, only longer skirts for girls, nothing sleeveless) So, they went to a uniform that has many different varieties, for the boys there are 3 colors of shirts available in polo (short and long sleeve) and dress shirt - same for girls with the addition of a traditional schoolgirl (perv bait) dress. and all must be worn with Khaki, Blue or Black trousers (walking shorts in season, compliant skirt for girls) So, there is a huge variety of "unifromity." Add to that, kids have taken to accessorizing by wearing different color t-shirts or even long sleeve shirts under the uniform shirt. So, it's not very unifrom looking in the end.

As for the argument about it blending haves and have-nots (and we have many kids on financial assistance, so it's not a rich kids only school by any means) the haves always have a way of showing what they have, whether it's shoes or jewelry or whatever, and the have-nots can look pretty disheveled in older worn out and sometimes un-cared for uniforms. So, to a degree you know which is which, just like you would in public school.

One good thing is that price isn't so bad, it's very comparable to what we would have to pay for clothes under the old dress code, but yes it does suck when a kid shreds one. We're about 3 months into the school year and have already lost 2 pair of pants, 2 shirts a pair of shoes and a sweater (and that's all from one kid)

Some public schools are going to uniforms too. not sure what success they're having.

I think a well thought out and enforced dress code does the same job.

 

[cybele]

I'm always fascinated when kids lose shoes.

That said, Sasha did lose his pants during school swimming this year, no one knows how he did it, but he did, they vanished into thin air, so I get a phone call from the school telling me that someone needs to bring him some pants because he is walking around in his underpants and a towel. So I have to ring my father in law and ask him to go to my house, get some pants and take them to Sasha's school.

 

[TabascoNatalie]

I think it is adults who need uniforms -- tradition and enforcement of authority and hierarchy, also easier to keep keep public order. But for kids it will never be total equality, no reflection on academic progress.

Cybele, i often see shoes hanging from electric wires.

 

[MamaRuthie]

aren't the hanging shoes a drug dealing symbol??

 

[Xero]

I have only ever seen that in movies lol.

 

[cybele]

It is an old school druggie thing. Don't know how relevant it is nowadays but once upon a time before mobile phones and the internet it was a sign that someone dealt within a certain radius of the shoes.

<SIZE size="75">Trust me, speaking from experience here, very popular in the 80s.</SIZE>

 

[singledad]

It is an old school druggie thing. Don't know how relevant it is nowadays but once upon a time before mobile phones and the internet it was a sign that someone dealt within a certain radius of the shoes.

<SIZE size="1">Trust me, speaking from experience here, very popular in the 80s.</SIZE>

Not here... well, not that I ever knew of.

<SIZE size="75">And I should know...</SIZE>

 

[akmom]

I thought the shoes were thrown up there... because you could!

 

[IADad]

I thought the shoes were thrown up there... because you could!

I was clueless too...the more you know....

oh, and clothes weren't a big separating factor at my school either, but I grew up in a small rural district so there wasn't really anybody who was super wealthy, I suppose the biggest divisions where the few extreme jocks and the few artsy geeks, and there was fair amount of crossover even there. I suppose some of the gear-head guys kind of kept to themselves (or were kept separate (symantics?) But i know college friends who grew up on the North Shore of Chicago had a vastly different experience ("Risky Business")