School Uniforms
Aug. 6th, 2010 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
author_by_nightWhat do you guys think of school uniforms?
I used to be very much against them, perhaps partly because I went to private school and was forced to spend winter shivering in my skirt because leggings didn't do one thing to warm me up. However, I do wonder if I would have minded had we been allowed to wear pants more often.
Now I'm very conflicted.
-: It might inhibit self expression.
+: Of course, I speak as someone who rarely wore nice clothing to school until college. Meanwhile, a close friend of mine who was one of those people who'd shop at the same store for hours missed wearing a uniform and not having to worry about what she was going to wear. (Maybe she would have gotten better grades? Seriously, maybe she would have.)
+: School is a place where you're supposed to be learning.
-: School is also a place where you learn to interact with your peers, and that includes peers who might be wearing clothing you find distracting, that's more expensive or less expensive than your own clothing, or outfits that express beliefs and/or ideas you disagree with.
-: Skirts make for cold legs in the winter.
+: Schools wouldn't have to require skirts.
Where do you guys stand?
I used to be very much against them, perhaps partly because I went to private school and was forced to spend winter shivering in my skirt because leggings didn't do one thing to warm me up. However, I do wonder if I would have minded had we been allowed to wear pants more often.
Now I'm very conflicted.
-: It might inhibit self expression.
+: Of course, I speak as someone who rarely wore nice clothing to school until college. Meanwhile, a close friend of mine who was one of those people who'd shop at the same store for hours missed wearing a uniform and not having to worry about what she was going to wear. (Maybe she would have gotten better grades? Seriously, maybe she would have.)
+: School is a place where you're supposed to be learning.
-: School is also a place where you learn to interact with your peers, and that includes peers who might be wearing clothing you find distracting, that's more expensive or less expensive than your own clothing, or outfits that express beliefs and/or ideas you disagree with.
-: Skirts make for cold legs in the winter.
+: Schools wouldn't have to require skirts.
Where do you guys stand?
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-06 09:43 pm (UTC)The kids still find plenty of ways to express themselves with shoes, hair and jewelry--not to mention the occasional "dress-down" days.
I love that uniforms help eliminate cliques and level the social playing field. I also know it cuts down on distractions and pre-mature sexualization(a friend with kids at a non-uniform school complains to me about how the 11 year old girls are all obsessed with sexy clothes and boys, and don't spend much time doing healthy things like sports and imagination games).