DCPS considering doing away with uniforms?

[Anonymous]

Don't tell the old-time Hardy community. They equate uniforms with the school's "unique culture."

[Anonymous]

DCPS uniforms have a vibe that is just so... 1990s undisciplined urban school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of this talk about poor kids accepting hand-me-downs is making me feel some kind of way. I can't quite articulate why, but it's rubbing me the wrong way.

It's rubbing you the wrong way because it's another way of making poor people feel ashamed for wanting the same stuff that less poor people are allowed to want. There is a meaningful difference between saying, "I make a lot of money and my kids' uniforms are mostly second hand because that's not a priority to me" and saying that poor people shouldn't care about choosing clothing and should essentially be grateful that people are giving them anything at all.

Personally, I feel that if DCPS is requiring uniforms, which technically they are as there are policies for penalizing students without uniforms, DCPS should be funding the uniforms for all families. I also feel that way about school supplies, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

I work with homeless families and they are overwhelmingly in favor of uniforms for their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If uniforms are so great, why do virtually none of the city’s best performing DCPS schools have them?

Because uniforms are feature of poor schools, not the wealthy, high performing WOTP schools.

Many if not most tony private schools WOTP have uniforms, or at least a strict dress code (e.g. sports jackets and ties for boys).

Oh, come on. These kids know they're not in private schools. They're not a bit confused about that. Plus most independent schools don't have uniforms.

[Anonymous]

PPs have been arguing that only urban public school systems loaded with poor go with uniforms. Not. See above.

[Anonymous]

I found uniforms to be more expensive. I’m not in the position to take free clothes from the school social worker when there are other families who need them more.

But now at a non-uniform school I can get hand me downs from anyone and thrift for way less money than buying new from target etc even with the sales.

[Anonymous]

Good info here on the history of school uniforms, why they started being implemented in the US in the 90s, and a list of pros and cons. I'm pretty much in the cons category, particularly for reasons 4, 5, 6, and 12, which have also been discussed here.

https://school-uniforms.procon.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any actual information about this besides the tweet?

Looks like the tweet has been deleted.

[Anonymous]

School uniforms in city public schools are right up there with midnight basketball programs and all-male adolescent classes with male teachers as role models. The practices are dated (30 years old) and stereotype schools. Time to move into the 21st century.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found uniforms to be more expensive. I’m not in the position to take free clothes from the school social worker when there are other families who need them more.

But now at a non-uniform school I can get hand me downs from anyone and thrift for way less money than buying new from target etc even with the sales.

you’re in the minority. the fact is, textiles are cheap, and most people just buy new for their kids, including uniforms. and for that matter, it’s irritating but typical that DCUM sees all DC black kids as desperately poor, not even $14 for a new uniform. Plenty of working families here who can afford uniforms and chose schools that have uniforms like KIPP. Not all black kids in DC are homeless, get it? This whole kerfuffle about uniforms is an object lesson in performative wokeness. if you actually polled families at schools with uniforms, my guess is a majority (even the “poors”) would want to keep them, particularly at places like KIPP where they are part of the identity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of this talk about poor kids accepting hand-me-downs is making me feel some kind of way. I can't quite articulate why, but it's rubbing me the wrong way.

It's rubbing you the wrong way because it's another way of making poor people feel ashamed for wanting the same stuff that less poor people are allowed to want. There is a meaningful difference between saying, "I make a lot of money and my kids' uniforms are mostly second hand because that's not a priority to me" and saying that poor people shouldn't care about choosing clothing and should essentially be grateful that people are giving them anything at all.

Personally, I feel that if DCPS is requiring uniforms, which technically they are as there are policies for penalizing students without uniforms, DCPS should be funding the uniforms for all families. I also feel that way about school supplies, FWIW.

way to miss the point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of this talk about poor kids accepting hand-me-downs is making me feel some kind of way. I can't quite articulate why, but it's rubbing me the wrong way.

It's rubbing you the wrong way because it's another way of making poor people feel ashamed for wanting the same stuff that less poor people are allowed to want. There is a meaningful difference between saying, "I make a lot of money and my kids' uniforms are mostly second hand because that's not a priority to me" and saying that poor people shouldn't care about choosing clothing and should essentially be grateful that people are giving them anything at all.

Personally, I feel that if DCPS is requiring uniforms, which technically they are as there are policies for penalizing students without uniforms, DCPS should be funding the uniforms for all families. I also feel that way about school supplies, FWIW.

Spot on, thanks for posting!

[Anonymous]

Just curious how everyone (both those for and against uniforms) think uniform policies should be enforced. Honest question because I teach in an elementary school where only half the kids wear uniforms because we don’t make them and their parents don’t make them. They all HAVE them, but just don’t care about it because admin doesn’t. I personally don’t care either way about uniforms, but do think it has to be one way or another. So whether you are for or against uniforms, if a school has a uniform policy and a kid comes out of uniform, what do you think the school should do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good info here on the history of school uniforms, why they started being implemented in the US in the 90s, and a list of pros and cons. I'm pretty much in the cons category, particularly for reasons 4, 5, 6, and 12, which have also been discussed here.

https://school-uniforms.procon.org/

Thanks for sharing, lots of food for thought. I found myself very much into the pros category, but then I went to a local school in the UK for several years as a kid, and liked wearing a strict-as-Harry-Potter uniform there.