Three quarters of traditional public schools in D.C. now require uniforms

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous

Everyone brings up brands and class and how uniforms get rid of that. But they dont... unless they are also so strict as to dictate your child's backpack, shoes, and outerwear--in which case, good luck with that. I don't want to send my kid to a school that micromanages my choices and theirs to that extent.


There is a private school -- the British School -- where the dress code includes the backpack and the outerwear. BSW fleece in temperate weather, BSW overcoat in the cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think white uniform shirts are a recent invention of a bored MBA, then you missed out on decades of parochial school uniforms dating waaaay back. Not everything, good or bad, was invented in your lifetime.

I did appreciate the Booz comment though.

Irony and sarcasm also weren't invented in my lifetime, or yours. But unlike you, I know how to wield them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd had navy bottoms and white tops since age 4 at two different schools. I am so glad she's now at a non uniform school--and even when we were at uniform schools, I found myself inerpreting that to mean, "something white and blue somewhere on her body," by June.

Everyone brings up brands and class and how uniforms get rid of that. But they dont... unless they are also so strict as to dictate your child's backpack, shoes, and outerwear--in which case, good luck with that. I don't want to send my kid to a school that micromanages my choices and theirs to that extent.

My own childhood: non uniform schools all the way. You know where class snobbery factored in? The quaker school where I went to high school, where everyone had to have guess jeans, tretorns, and those firenze sweaters. Public school on the other hand? We were wearing pajama tops and fifties cocktail dresses. And it was fun.

School uniforms are one of those well-meaning but thoughtless inventions that end up being a source of stress more than they help if you want to dress your kid in white and navy, go for it. If not, whatever. I will say that both public schools my daughter went to didn't really care. There was no penalty for not wearing the uniform. If you have to do it, this is the way to go.

You fundamentally confuse the concepts of "eradication" and "mitigation". I reject the underlying premise implicit in your post that an idea that doesn't everything fails to solve anything.

[Anonymous]

I wore a uniform for 12 years. LOVED it. Wish my kids' school had uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wore a uniform for 12 years. LOVED it. Wish my kids' school had uniforms.

I put up with it for Catholic School and HATED it. I can't believe DCPS started it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Percentage of schools is the wrong measure, it should be percentage of students. Deal and Wilson are less than 2% of DCPS schools but over 8% of the students.

The wrong measure for what? What does your post even mean? The story is about the number of schools that do or don't impose a uniform. The decision-making is on a school by school basis, not kid by kid. So the proper measure is number of schools.

What I mean is that the quoted statistic might make you think that the overwhelming majority of kids in DCPS wear uniforms. But kids are not evenly distributed by any measure in DCPS. So number of schools is not a good measure of popularity. Percentage of students is a better measure, and it's only loosely related to number of schools. For example, there are 11 middle schools in DCPS. Together they have 4790 students. One school, Deal, has 1312 students -- more than the five smallest schools combined, and 27% of the total. The article mentions that no school in Ward 3 has uniforms. Ward 3 happens to have all of the biggest schools. It has the biggest high school -- Wilson-- the biggest middle school -- Deal -- and two of the three biggest elementaries -- Murch and Janney. The biggest elementary is Lafayette, which is just over the border (and doesn't have uniforms). Those five schools have a combined enrollment of around 7500 kids, which is about one sixth of DCPS. Yet they're only five schools out of around 120.

[Anonymous]

I will never understand why parents don't want uniforms! They are so easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will never understand why parents don't want uniforms! They are so easy.

Not really. Easy is -- go grab whatever is in your drawer and get dressed for school. Uniforms (in my world) mean -- oh crap, I forgot to move that load to the dryer last night. One more thing to keep track of and worry about.

[Anonymous]

I worry about the poster who thinks "eradication" and mitigation" are words that need to be used about children's clothing ever. Presumably, they do not have children. Or, at least, are not a primary caregiver dressin their own children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never understand why parents don't want uniforms! They are so easy.

Not really. Easy is -- go grab whatever is in your drawer and get dressed for school. Uniforms (in my world) mean -- oh crap, I forgot to move that load to the dryer last night. One more thing to keep track of and worry about.

I agree. And I don't see how they save money -- I now need to buy more clothes because she still needs clothes for weekends. And it doesn't help with brand name competition because kids can still compete over the brand names of the polo shirts.

But my kid does look awfully cute in polo shirts.

[Anonymous]

Yup. Easy is grab shirt and pants. Mostly hand me downs or gifts.

I don't object but they are not easy and would increase my costs and clothes storage needs.

[Anonymous]

You don't need as many "weekend clothes", hence the cost savings. Plus as kids get older and start to care more about what they wear on the weekends, you can afford to get some nicer stuff because they don't wear it as often.

It was definitely a cost saver in our family.

[Anonymous]

I don't like uniforms in general, as it seems like imposed conformity to me. On top of thst, my pre k kid has to wear khaki pants. They stain easily, aren't warm enough for the walk to school in cold weather, and the boys run through the knees in two months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the uniform and the way a white shirt looks on my prek3er when he gets to school ... But by the time he gets home he looks like he has been rolling in the gutter! It would be cute if they could all wear madras plaid shirts or something more practical.

White tops seem like a REALLY bad idea. The person who came up with that doesn't have kids and doesn't do laundry. Had to be some recent MBA grad on a consulting gig.

I like white tops because you can bleach them easily.

[Anonymous]

whiners and complainers, yada, yada, yada.