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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > July > 29 > Entry
The case against school uniforms
I never did get an answer to my question last week asking if anyone knew of a suburban or rural Dayton-area school that required uniforms. I guess I’ll take that as a no.
Meanwhile, there was quite a debate over the value of uniforms in a school in the 11 comments that followed that simple, one-paragraph post.
So let’s talk about uniforms. Do they really make a significant contribution to a school on their own? I’m not buying it.
Here are some of the arguments made last week on behalf of uniforms:
—They’re cheaper and easier for parents. This may be true, but how does this in anyway improve conditions at the SCHOOL? If parents want cheap and easy clothes they could send kids to school in the same white shirt and navy pants everyday whether the school required it or not.
—They instill discipline. I’m sorry but nobody has been able to convince me of this one yet. To me, discipline is an individual personal trait that is learned. Institutions like the military use uniforms as part of an array of strategies to reinforce self-discipline in their charges. But something tells me Marines would stand just as straight and still get up at the crack of dawn if they were wearing Nike track suits.
—It makes family income less obvious and reduces teasing. Believe me, at my Catholic high school, we knew who the wealthy kids were … and weren’t. Wealthy kids had expensive jackets, earrings, shoes, belts, gym bags — anything outside the scope of the uniform rules was a signal of status.
—They reduce dress related misbehavior and the need for discipline. No way. Private school teachers tell me they spend loads of time handing out demerits and other discipline to students who don’t wear the right kinds of socks or let their uniform pants droop or leave shirts untucked.
Which brings me to my solution. While I am not convinced uniforms solve any school-related problems, I do think a consistently enforced dress code is important. A dress code can work whether a school has a uniform or not. Dress codes should enforce neatness and make clear what sorts of attire are appropriate or not.
If you have a uniform, you really also have a dress code too. It’s not good enough just to require the white shirt and navy pants/skirt. You have to tell the kids shirts must be tucked, skirts can’t be too short, etc.
I think an enforced, sensible dress code, without the uniform, works just as well.
OK, let me have it, uniform lovers. Tell me why I’m wrong.
Comments
By TinyMity1
July 31, 2006 3:05 PM | Link to this
I’ve never understood why this is such a hot-button issue among adults. As a parent with a 10th grader and a 5th grader, I get to live on both sides of the uniform issue. Personally, I like uniforms. It is easier to shop for school; it is easier to dress for school. At our uniform-clad elementary school, the dress code is enforced. Yes, there are exceptions; but there will always be some ‘adult’ who feels that school administrators “Don’t have the right to dictate what my child will wear or do”. Those are the parents that I ask to consider home schooling as an option for their precious tyrant-in-the-making. At our high school where students get to choose what they wear, there are days that I am embarrassed by what I see on people that no matter what else we want to think of them are children. Uniforms help reinforce the notions of community and conformity - yes, I said those hateful, nasty words. Back in the ‘old days’ when people were willing to accept that there are times that you simply cannot be 100% self expressive, we were, as a society less likely to balk at having to look alike. Now, wanting children to learn how to conduct themselves in certain situations is close to making the list for abuse. We moan and complain about the way young people look and behave … When are we going to be willing to wake up and realize they are simply a product of their upbringing and socialization? While wearing uniforms, my children learned how to integrate themselves into society. They learned how to work as a cohesive unit, not a group of ‘me, me me’ thinking individuals. In my opinion, that is the lesson that is reinforced by the CORRECT wearing of the uniforms. If nothing else, a uniform gives students some sort of commonality. That commonality can easily be the foundation on which genuine friendships laced with care and concern for one’s fellow man and/or woman can be built. Let’s stop killing brain cells over something as simple as a uniform and redirect that energy towards topic that might really matter. Thank you.By Christine
July 30, 2006 10:45 PM | Link to this
If the dress code is not enforced it doesn’t matter if the kids are wearing uniforms or not. I teach in a district with a fairly easy (or so I thought) to enforce dress code. I finally stopped sending students to the office for dress code violations when I was told, by the principal, that one girl’s shorts were in fact, not too short, she just had “long legs.” I wondered if the day would come when I’d send a girl to the office for a low-cut shirt and be told that she just had a big chest. Too many people in schools believe that enforcing the dress code is not worth the fight. Unfortunately, that leaves everyone else in the position of having to defend enforcing the dress code when it becomes obvious you’re in the minority. I do my best to enforce the dress code in my own room, but if it involves sending a student to the office, I’ve learned that it’s counterproductive. The student quickly learns that I’m standing out on that limb all by myself. At the baggy pants boys go directly to the nurse for a belt. I don’t have to deal with inconsistent enforcement there - our nurse rocks!By Dave
July 30, 2006 3:20 PM | Link to this
I have seen a lot of schools fight with dress codes. It seems to work more smoothly if a committee of teachers, parents, and administrators work together to write the dress code — especially if they consult with their peers and get lots of input. But even then, it cannot work unless parents enforce it.By superdestroyer
July 30, 2006 1:51 PM | Link to this
If a school is talking about uniforms it is almost a sure bet that the school is heavily black and/or hispanic and that the school probably has few asian students and few AP/IB classes. Uniforms in publics signal to middle class and above white to stay away from those school districts.By Lea
July 30, 2006 10:31 AM | Link to this
Despite my pro-uniform stance I have to agree that a solid, consistently enforced dress code would work just as well. However, who should write the dress code? If Nike jackets are being stolen, should they be “outlawed”? Again, I am the product of a Catholic school. Our dress code on non-uniform days was strictly enforced, which led to less distraction. Fancy handbags, jewelry, and coats were not permitted at any time. Yes, we knew who had money - but they just couldn’t show off. Plus, we were dressed respectably, meaning no one could infer “what kind of people” we were based on our clothing. JC Penney was (and still is!) just as good as the Limited.By Sherman Dorn
July 30, 2006 7:33 AM | Link to this
There’s very little solid (not anecdotal) research on school uniforms, and what does exist suggests it has no beneficial effects. It’s a symbolic reform only. David Brunsma’s book Uniforms in Public Schools (2005) is a good reference for the subject.