School uniforms, your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Typically states and/or school districts have regulations about how and when uniform policies can be implemented at a public school. Usually, it takes a vote of the parents at that school and then there can be limits on whether it is actually "mandatory" or if it is just a suggested policy. States like Va. make it very hard. In PGCPS (not sure if it is Md.- state policy or district level) it is actually not that hard.

So, start with some research on your state. Then ask the principal, and then you will need to campaign for it (probably through PTA support) and get a vote ... and maybe it can be implemented next year (best case scenario).

[Anonymous]

I have no dog in this fight, as my children aren't in elementary school. However, I direct a childcare center and the teachers' children are the lower economic group that this is supposed to help. They have the following complaints:

1. you need to buy MORE clothing - regular for weekend wear (nobody wears uniforms on weekends!) and ALSO uniforms for school.

2. the uniforms are often only sold through Lands End and wherever - so instead of "any white shirt and blue shorts" it's THESE white shirts and blue shorts, inevitably from Lands End/other expensive uniform place and they are very expensive.

3. the uniforms are ALWAYS really light colors on top - and that means the shirts get so dirty every single day when your kid is 3 to 6 years old. So they can't get two wearings from any shirts because one drop of lunch will make the white or light blue shirt dirty. So they do more laundry ($ and finding time during the week) OR they own many more uniform shirts and shorts so they don't need to do laundry. For kids under 2nd grade, they wish the shirts were dark blue, dark green, dark red....

4. kids grow so fast, they grow out of their uniforms so buying 7 or 8 shirts to handle the "must have 5 clean ones per week, can't get to laundromat until weekend" issue, they grow out of them before they get worn out. Expensive!

5. they wish there were uniform exchanges/sales (we had these when we were girl scouts) so they could get clothing less expensive.

6. they wish their kids could wear "any colored green shirt and any navy blue shorts/pants" rather than requiring them from a specific (expensive) place. If that were true, they'd get their's from Target or Walmart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love uniforms. They look nice, wear well and eliminate arguments about what to wear to school. I wear uniform skorts from Lands End myself, almost every day. I'm in favor of uniforms for all school children.

My daughter's school is all kids in rumpled, worn, ill-filling combos of beige, navy, and white, which is fine by me but they are definitely not a tidy uniform crowd.

[Anonymous]

My daughter's middle school had uniforms. She hated it but it sure made the mornings so easy! I wished mine all had uniforms.

[Anonymous]

My kids went to an ES with uniforms when we lived in NC for a year. It was so easy!

No fights or meltdowns in the morning. The kids also got to sleep in a bit later because there was so much extra time from not having to pick out an outfit or changing their minds.

They were still allowed to individualize it with jewelry, shoes, and hair (didn't have strict rules about funky color hair or styles).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love uniforms. They look nice, wear well and eliminate arguments about what to wear to school. I wear uniform skorts from Lands End myself, almost every day. I'm in favor of uniforms for all school children.

My daughter's school is all kids in rumpled, worn, ill-filling combos of beige, navy, and white, which is fine by me but they are definitely not a tidy uniform crowd.

Yes, their pants are always wrinkled. The navy shirts are all washed out by Oct. and the white shirts start getting worn with faded yellow-ish stains in Nov.

The private school my kids attended didn't let that fly. You couldn't look sloppy. Stained and faded clothing items weren't allowed. Pants full of wrinkles were a big no-no and you'd have to go iron them. Blazers also had to be approved for fit; no kids wearing their big brother's or dad's hand-me-down blazer that was too large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You would meet with resistance from me. I disagree with everything you said.

Please explain.

I am vehemently against uniforms. To say kids will have to use their personality rather than their clothes to express themselves is ignorant - they find ways - through hair accessories, shoes, "free days" when they can wear whatever they want, jewelry, coats, backpacks, etc. If you want kids to not kill each other over gang colors being worn, prohibit those colors only. If you want kids to be kind no matter who is rich and who is poor, TEACH them to be kind and not brag about what they have, and not make fun of kids who have little. To pretend that uniforms equalize everyone is turning a blind eye to the truth. If your kid wears a uniform you STILL have to buy non-uniform clothes for weekends, vacations, time off from school. It's an entire second wardrobe.

I will not allow my daughter to go to a school with uniforms. A dress code saying no clothing that has curse words, or promotes violence or drugs? Sure. But white shirts and tan pants? Hell no.

[Anonymous]

Our in-zone DCPS is a school with a uniform policy. I could live with it if they were honest about the reasons for it--taking away some opportunities for status jockeying, keeping kids focused on schoolwork, etc. Instead they say that it "injects a note of professionalism into your child's day." Call my crazy but I don't think my kindergartener needs "professionalism".

Also seeing those Charlottesville Nazi rally pics reinforced my gut reaction to uniforms, which is that they're a form of preparation for fascism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our in-zone DCPS is a school with a uniform policy. I could live with it if they were honest about the reasons for it--taking away some opportunities for status jockeying, keeping kids focused on schoolwork, etc. Instead they say that it "injects a note of professionalism into your child's day." Call my crazy but I don't think my kindergartener needs "professionalism".

Also seeing those Charlottesville Nazi rally pics reinforced my gut reaction to uniforms, which is that they're a form of preparation for fascism.

[School uniforms and fascism?
Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wore uniforms at school and didn't think much about it at the time and now looking back I realize it was a virtue.

People who reject uniforms generally are people who never experienced them to start with. But once people have experiences with uniforms they tend to quickly become converts and embrace them.

Uniforms are standard in the UK and there's absolutely no pressure or desire to get rid of them.

I had uniform in school, lots of my friends had them too. We all hate them. There was an attempt to introduce uniforms in DC's school. It failed fast (the easiest argument against was financial, some free uniforms would have to provided, even though that wasn't the reason why we didn't want uniforms in school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our in-zone DCPS is a school with a uniform policy. I could live with it if they were honest about the reasons for it--taking away some opportunities for status jockeying, keeping kids focused on schoolwork, etc. Instead they say that it "injects a note of professionalism into your child's day." Call my crazy but I don't think my kindergartener needs "professionalism".

Also seeing those Charlottesville Nazi rally pics reinforced my gut reaction to uniforms, which is that they're a form of preparation for fascism.

Huh? That's a leap...

[Anonymous]

love school uniforms.Dd is eight years old and she likes uniforms also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no dog in this fight, as my children aren't in elementary school. However, I direct a childcare center and the teachers' children are the lower economic group that this is supposed to help. They have the following complaints:

1. you need to buy MORE clothing - regular for weekend wear (nobody wears uniforms on weekends!) and ALSO uniforms for school.

2. the uniforms are often only sold through Lands End and wherever - so instead of "any white shirt and blue shorts" it's THESE white shirts and blue shorts, inevitably from Lands End/other expensive uniform place and they are very expensive.

3. the uniforms are ALWAYS really light colors on top - and that means the shirts get so dirty every single day when your kid is 3 to 6 years old. So they can't get two wearings from any shirts because one drop of lunch will make the white or light blue shirt dirty. So they do more laundry ($ and finding time during the week) OR they own many more uniform shirts and shorts so they don't need to do laundry. For kids under 2nd grade, they wish the shirts were dark blue, dark green, dark red....

4. kids grow so fast, they grow out of their uniforms so buying 7 or 8 shirts to handle the "must have 5 clean ones per week, can't get to laundromat until weekend" issue, they grow out of them before they get worn out. Expensive!

5. they wish there were uniform exchanges/sales (we had these when we were girl scouts) so they could get clothing less expensive.

6. they wish their kids could wear "any colored green shirt and any navy blue shorts/pants" rather than requiring them from a specific (expensive) place. If that were true, they'd get their's from Target or Walmart.

Yeah, a uniform policy needs to be thoughtful. Make it things that are widely available and allow parents to buy from any store, choose practical colors, and facilitate swaps/sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our in-zone DCPS is a school with a uniform policy. I could live with it if they were honest about the reasons for it--taking away some opportunities for status jockeying, keeping kids focused on schoolwork, etc. Instead they say that it "injects a note of professionalism into your child's day." Call my crazy but I don't think my kindergartener needs "professionalism".

Also seeing those Charlottesville Nazi rally pics reinforced my gut reaction to uniforms, which is that they're a form of preparation for fascism.

Huh? That's a leap...

Ah, no? enforced uniformity is a standard part of any authoritarian playbook, and getting people used to it is a dumb idea.

I do freely concede that fascism is an unlikely outcome of wearing a uniform in DCPS. But if the Neo-Nazis keep showing up in khakis and white polos, the odds that I will send my kid to school dressed that way will decline proportionately.

[Anonymous]

I would support your petition, OP