What do you think of Mandatory Student Uniforms for Middle School and High School? I am a Teacher;?

Question

Mandatory uniforms this year. What a difference! Should have been done years ago. I'm a 6th Grade History Teacher in Palm Beach County, Florida

It impossible to "judge" students Each and every child looks the exactly the same and now actually wants to act like a student.

The Japanese have it right. To heck with individualism.No jewelry, no light up LED belt buckles flashing "CUTIE BABY", no underwear hanging off their butts in size 45 jeans drooping past their knees.I actually had no issues for 2 days in a row.

Regard this a testimony. I may actually have a relatively peaceful academic year.

America forgot how rich and fortunate we are as compared to the majority of the world. I seen and traveled to places that are hell for children. We tossed aside the basics, we created a lazy, spoiled, ill educated class of millions of children who needed not to express indidual taste and style but need the three "R''s to compete in a world that is ten times harder than ever before

Answer 1

I have taught 14 years and the best of my teaching years have been the last 8 --in a middle school with a uniform!!! It is perfect for students this age. I think Uniforms for elementary is a bit much --but for middle and high schools --it ROCKS!!! We dress for success everyday --so should the kids!!

Answer 2

I dont' have any personal opinions about uniforms in schools, but you do make some very good points.
SOmething I have read recently that is a down side to having uniforms is, a certain school district made it mandatory for all uniforms to be bought thru a certain company, and jacked the prices way up to benefit the school.
The way the parents got around it was they asked the superintendent for the written policy that states parents have to do this. There was none. Another thing they asked to see was the official meeting minutes of the school board when they made this decision.
They didn't even have a meeting to decide this. By law anyone can see these documents.

I hate how schools undermine parents with all aspects.
A lot of parents are not 'legal savvy' and just think the schools are honest.

Answer 3

I know everyone thinks uniforms are a great idea and as an educator I can't dispute the research. Uniforms do lower school discipline and disruption problems.

To be devil's advocate however, the one thing that makes me not want uniforms is the idea that students should be able to be individuals. Part of human development, especially adolescence is the creation of personal identity and individuality. I know that teens tend to follow the crowd, but they follow a crowd that's is markedly different from their parents and guardians. Additionally I want the next generation to push the idea of what is acceptable, normal and useful. If they don't there will never be any progress.

Again I can't fight the numbers, but when I was in there situation clothes were a part of my self image. I don't think educators should have control over that.

Answer 4

To answer "Nick's" comment, it is not a violation. Many schools across America have adopted uniforms. My personal experience has been with K-8 in uniforms and I HATE them. The kids are to wear white shirts and navy bottoms. The white is usually gray or splotched with red from spaghetti they had for lunch three days ago. It's gross! I don't imagine high school students would do that, however. We went to my son's high school orientation last night. They are really tightening up on their dress code, which I'm glad to hear. They also have large t-shirts for the kids to wear if they wear somehting inappropriate. They hate them and usually don't repeat the offense! Last night they also showed some examples of girls tops that were not acceptable so that some of the parents could see for themselves what the kids could not wear.

I don't think I'd really like them but if the kids can't monitor themselves, I don't know what the alternative is.

Answer 5

I did have a uniform from K-7 grades and a dress code from 8-12. I hated it at the time but I was easier not thinking about what to wear every morning and it's less expensive than buying a huge wardrobe for school every year. There's a dress code for most jobs so why should school be different

Answer 6

Speaking as a high school teacher, I have been trying to get the administration to initiate a school uniform for 10 years. Each year the clothes of the students get worse instead of better. I have T shirts that I keep in my room and require those students who offend me with their clothing to put on one of the shirts. I have personally decorated the shirts with sayings like, "I had my belly showing" and "I can't keep my pants pulled up." Once they wear one of the shirts, they remember to come to my class completely clothed. I had to take these steps because the administration did not address the issue when the students were sent to the office in violation of the written dress code. I am also in favor of teachers having a school uniform to wear.

Answer 7

I agree with you 150% if that's possible! I went to a parochial Catholic school for all 12 years and we wore uniforms every day. It was not so appealing to me at that age but we could understand the benefits of the dress code, even if we didn't like it. My siblings and I were relieved to not have to worry about what to wear the next day for school.

Now at 26, I work in a shop that switched over to uniforms last year. I was conditioned to wearing them in school so it was an easy transition!

Answer 8

I agree with everything that you wrote. I actually went to a high school that had uniforms. It wasn't bad at all. I didn't have to think about what I was going to wear that day. There's no competition in clothing styles, so people tend to blend in. Although, students will have other ways to show their individualism, whether through hairstyles/colours, or shoes. Anyway all the best in the upcoming school year :)

Answer 9

My son attended a public school that required uniforms in our town for three years until we moved to a new zone. Those three years were the greatest. The kids were much better behaved and he even made better grades. The funny thing is the kids didn't complain about their loss of individuality nearly as much as their parents did.

Answer 10

I agree with this. All Schools should have uniforms and dress codes. It establishes uniformity, school identity, and a sense of belonging. You would take a significant stress off the students who may not be as fortunate as others.