[notoppings]

Now that school is back in I thought I'd get your thought on school uniforms.

I've heard it said that school uniforms save time and money. Time by the kids not having to decide what to wear, and money for the parents who don't have to buy trendy clothes for their children to fit in. I've also heard that it would help with identifying the children who actually belong there. That it would promote a safer environment. What are your thought on school uniforms?

[Necrosis]

They have been implementing it more and more here in NY. I think it has a lot of positives to it. Can be expensive at first of course to bulk up on outfits but in the long run def saves money for the parents. Takes the though of "fittin" in away from the students. And it's safer. You know who belongs in the school and who doesn't. (Kids use to sneak into my old high school all the time having uniforms helps against this there not going to dress up to get in).

The only down is initially the older students I've seen rebel. They try to fight it etc. Eventually they give in and just sort of add their own style to the uniform. Wearing it a certain length or fold. But I think overall its a great idea.

[sriv]

I don't mind either way. There is always a basic social uniform anyway.

[Xenolar]

Originally Posted by notoppings To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Now that school is back in I thought I'd get your thought on school uniforms. I've heard it said that school uniforms save time and money. Time by the kids not having to decide what to wear, and money for the parents who don't have to buy trendy clothes for their children to fit in. I've also heard that it would help with identifying the children who actually belong there. That it would promote a safer environment. What are your thought on school uniforms?

I am generally somewhat opposed to the idea of a strict uniform (i.e. every pupil is required to wear the exact same set of pants, the exact same shirt, etc.), yet I still find that a dress code (i.e. pupils may not wear a t-shirt, but may wear any shirt or polo shirt of their choice, etc.) is often better than a nothing.

[kubrickfan]

I think that school uniforms are okay. While it does limit and constrain the amounts of available possibilties for the masses. It does quite simply equalize everyone. Thus no one is dressed better then the other.

[enfpchick]

I loved school uniforms! They were quick, easy, and everyone was in style...the same style.

[PHS Philip]

If my school had a uniform, I'd get thrown out of school pretty quickly. Not because I wear offensive cloths, not because I even pay attention to what I wear (I don't think I ever will), but because I absolutely refuse to obey a rule that I think is stupid. Uniforms, to me, are the school forcing its own conceited ideas of what kids "should" wear on us, so I'd refuse to listen to the rule. Is saving the kids the effort of choosing for themselves really a plus, anyway? I mean, really? It saves them all of 5 seconds in the morning.

[notoppings]

It would seem to eliminate gang colors which could promote safety. Social standing would be based on character instead of who has the most expensive or most trendy clothes.

[moon]

I uphold uniforms in schools. It has many advantages. It affects children to get school more seriously. Only important reason for me would be that uniforms melt social differents between children. The same clothes will wear a boy who's parents are wealthy and a boy which comes from very poor family. It would be really discomfort if first boy wear brand new sneakers of 200$ and a second boy who is sitting next to him have old and dirty shoes. So, uniforms are great idea to repress differences of social status in school.

[seoa]

yeah, in the UK school uniforms are the norm... and they're a great idea for many reasons, but especially as moon says: the social equality... makes it more about the education...

and there's an interesting twist on it... the schools with the behaviour problems (low-income, gang-type areas) have to be incredibly strict on the uniforms, because once they give an inch, the kids'll take a mile... but where the kids are mostly from nice middle-class families, there's a lot more freedom... we were allowed to buy any (reasonable) skirt in the school uniform colour, for example... just had to have the blouse & jumper from the official uniform...

and that's a good development in recent years... junior schools usually pick one of the standard colour (not school-branded) polo shirts in the shops, and just have a school-branded jumper /fleece... senior schools might have a school-coloured blouse for the girls, and a school-tie for the boys, and again the school-branded jumper, but no blazers (jackets) etc, except maybe in the very posh expensive schools...

so it's not too restrictive, and it's not too expensive...

also, a uniform allows local residents to report behaviour back to the appropriate school, if kids are getting out of hand on the way home, which can help to control behaviour to an extent...

and if there's truancy, the police have a head-start on which school to deliver the kids back to, so there's not much point denying your name...!

[OneHertz]

uniforms are great. I had to wear a strict greenish jacket, dress pants, and white shirt every single day for school when I was 10-13. You were only allowed into the school wearing this or the security guards with guns wouldnt let you in.

[ScurvyRose]

If my city required uniforms, I would not object! I actually think my daughter would benefit from the reduced competition, and save her 45 minutes each morning!

[mind_wander]

Originally Posted by srod511 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

They have been implementing it more and more here in NY. I think it has a lot of positives to it. Can be expensive at first of course to bulk up on outfits but in the long run def saves money for the parents. Takes the though of "fittin" in away from the students. And it's safer. You know who belongs in the school and who doesn't. (Kids use to sneak into my old high school all the time having uniforms helps against this there not going to dress up to get in). The only down is initially the older students I've seen rebel. They try to fight it etc. Eventually they give in and just sort of add their own style to the uniform. Wearing it a certain length or fold. But I think overall its a great idea.

Yeah, I used to wear uniforms in grammer school. I always get in trouble with forgetting my tie. I really don't like the idea at all, it just doesn't seem to fit well with me. Rather wear, whatever suits me best? I think most NTs agree with me, but having uniforms with their school's name is like being labeled.

[punkyplatypus]

I would have preferred uniforms (especially if they were moderately good looking) in elementary & middle school, for both the safety reasons and less discrimination while making friends. I don't think it's as necessary in high school. By then the students are old enough to be able to look out for themselves and they need to prepare for less regulated colleges and universities. This isn't to say that high schools shouldn't have clothes restrictions/guidelines or that they don't need to take other security precautions or even that uniforms in some high schools are necessarily wrong.

[jikin]

I've always thought uniforms for schools were a good idea, and wish my highschool would have implemented them. As previously mentioned, they do help to hide social and economic differences between the students. Plus it would help to stop the kids who are constantly pushing the boundries of the dress codes in school in a negative way.

My work place has actually recently changed to uniforms, and I do like it, even now.

[ElstonGunn]

Orange jumpsuits with matching iron shackles. That's a uniform I'd like to see kids wear. Plus, it gives them a little experience with their future apparel situation/career.

Do the teachers have to wear uniforms, too?

[PHS Philip]

If you really think that kids won't find something other than cloths to judge people unfairly by, well, you need to spend more time around kids. The superficial judgment is in human nature, and clothing just happens to be a common outlet for it.

[Mozzes]

Uniforms? Uggh, gag me with a spoon. I know I always wanted to look exactly like everyone else. And erasing social barriers? Yeah, that's going to prepare them for reality.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Assuming it would even work. I guess it could be the final nail in the coffin as far as creativity in public schools though so it has that going for it.

[Fej]

I am all for school uniforms, I wish they were required in college...

[ScurvyRose]

	Originally Posted by Fej To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I am all for school uniforms, I wish they were required in college...

Most of the jobs I had in college required a uniform! That was enough!

[LionsPride]

I would have liked school uniforms provided they were decent articles of clothing. No polyester leisure suit material or anything.

While it's true that kids will always find ways to make themselves unique and others will find ways to judge and prejudice the uniqueness, I like the idea of uniforms for different reasons.

The uniform is non-casual and in many studies people who are dressed for success succeed, not just because of outside judgment, but because people tend to be more professional in professional clothing. This is not true for all people, but is true for most, so I feel it's one good reason.

I dislike the trend of 'sexiness' in children's clothes. While many men will say there isn't anything sexier than a school girl uniform, in general uniforms are not form fitting, low cut, looks better on your bar attending older sibling style.

The last reason is the united front. This was especially important for extracurricular activities with other schools. There was just something that makes you feel like a part of a team, or whole, when there is a visual link to each other. It's why the football teams have matching jackets and gangs have gang colours and so forth. It's supportive and unifying when you step outside your school and compete with other kids. I could see the affect when I went to debate competitions and the private schools attended. We were just one of the miscellaneous kids that could be from anywhere and they were the ones all from 'that school'. It set them apart and in that respect, gave them an edge. I still trounced them, nut I always felt like I was taking their whole school whereas they just had me to deal with.

[Liquid]

I feel it's a violation of human rights, to dictate to someone what to wear; whether it's a school which tries to implement safer environments based on unproven sociology, or whether it's the Taliban who strictly enforced women to wear burkas during their reign of Afghanistan.

[PortInStorm]

I had uniforms all through elementary and high school and yes, it saved time, it helped to erase some social boundaries, saved money. I didn't mind it so much.

At times I wish work environments had uniforms so I didn't have to ruin my own clothing. Thing is, if they pick beige, I'm outta there. Not my colour, so much.

[Snail]

Originally Posted by PHS Philip To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

If my school had a uniform, I'd get thrown out of school pretty quickly. Not because I wear offensive cloths, not because I even pay attention to what I wear (I don't think I ever will), but because I absolutely refuse to obey a rule that I think is stupid. Uniforms, to me, are the school forcing its own conceited ideas of what kids "should" wear on us, so I'd refuse to listen to the rule. Is saving the kids the effort of choosing for themselves really a plus, anyway? I mean, really? It saves them all of 5 seconds in the morning.

I agree. I would have gotten kicked out, too. While it may be designed to create a sense of equality, it is an attack on individuality. I'm okay with limiting what clothes can be worn to prevent distracting or overly sexualized styles, but not with the idea of everyone having to dress alike. It's too much like the military that way, giving a feeling of hive-mindedness. When I was in school, I only did well in classes where the teacher respected each student separately rather than treating us all exactly alike, and I used clothing artistically for the purpose of symbolic expression. When there was a meeting in my town to decide whether the schools should start requiring us to wear uniforms, I actually went to that meeting, got up and gave a speech against them, despite my extreme intoversion, because it was that important to me. I think most INFPs would cringe at the idea of school uniforms unless they were trained to accept them early in life. I imagine that many SP types would rebel, as well. It may be different for you INTJs, but consider the fact that most people are not INTJs.

[LionsPride]

Originally Posted by Snail To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I agree. I would have gotten kicked out, too. While it may be designed to create a sense of equality, it is an attack on individuality. I'm okay with limiting what clothes can be worn to prevent distracting or overly sexualized styles, but not with the idea of everyone having to dress alike. It's too much like the military that way, giving a feeling of hive-mindedness. When I was in school, I only did well in classes where the teacher respected each student separately rather than treating us all exactly alike, and I used clothing artistically for the purpose of symbolic expression. When there was a meeting in my town to decide whether the schools should start requiring us to wear uniforms, I actually went to that meeting, got up and gave a speech against them, despite my extreme intoversion, because it was that important to me. I think most INFPs would cringe at the idea of school uniforms unless they were trained to accept them early in life. I imagine that many SP types would rebel, as well. It may be different for you INTJs, but consider the fact that most people are not INTJs.

While I agree that clothes can be a means for people to express themselves, the idea that people put THAT much reliance on their clothes making them individuals is a little concerning. Really? You need to wear your own clothes to be recognized as an individual? Frankly whether I'm dressed like everyone else or wearing my own outfit, I have never felt like I was part of the collective background unless I wanted to be.