Your opinions on school uniforms?

Question

I'm living in Switzerland and my 13-year-old son has to write an essay about school uniforms. So we thought to ask here cause most of you had (or still have?) to wear school uniforms, right? What do you think about it? Did you like it, didn't you like it? Do you think it helps to avoid conflicts between rich and poor kids? What are the advantages/disadvantages? What are your experiences? Do you think other countries should follow your example?
(Sorry if i made some mistakes, i hope you understand my question)

Thank you very very much for your answers! That's so interesting. I'm also glad to read from people from other countries like Malaysia and Italy - thank you!

Does anyone know in which countries and in how many countries worldwide the kids have to wear uniforms at school?

Answer 1

My school had a uniform, and I think they're a good idea because they do create a sense of unity, and they also mean that there isn't the pressure to wear designer clothes. They also prevent the arguments over whether eg ripped jeans are acceptable school clothing.

The main problem with them is that some items (especially the school jacket or "blazer") may be specified to come from a particular shop - frequently a traditional "gentlemen's outfitter" - and the price can be beyond the means of poorer parents who are used to buying their kids' clothes from a discount outlet or supermarket.

Many children complain that uniforms stifle their individuality, but surely following a dress code is just another of the things we learn at school to prepare us for the working world - like turning up on time, 5 days a week.

Answer 2

I had to wear uniforms only for one year when i lived in england. every other school i went to had no uniform but did have a dress code (couldnt wear certain clothing). It was so much better than wearing a uniform. You would only have a certain number of each item of clothing in a uniform but no uniform you have loads. You are also an individual when you wear your own clothes and not a clone. Without a uniform you can also show who you are and what you are like/ur personality. I would never wear a uniform if i could help it and tried to go to schools without them. I also dont think it makes much of a difference between the rich and poor kids coz most schools with uniform are usually more expensive private schools - or thats what i hae found. At my schools i never found anyone trying to dress up in the most expensive designer clothing - from what other people are saying. I dont think the actual clothing or being reich or not as rich effects the people, its the people that can cause the conflict. Hope this helps

Answer 3

Well - I would hate uniforms because they stop you from expressing yourself. I LOVE to shop would be an understatement for me. Without uniforms, I wouldn't have an excuse to shop, for one thing - and everyone will look the same, and you couldn't have your own individual style. The way people dress reflects who they are a bit, and I wouldn't want that taken away from me. Plus, people always get me mixed up with others as it is. With uniforms, how will you tell your students apart? I'm still working on getting my teachers to remember my name. Uniforms would not help, unless I had my name plastered accross the front. (Ugly.) If I had to wear uniforms, I'd fuss a little bit, but I wouldn't be able to change it, then. I'd probably become obssessed with shoes, or something. But I'd find positives in it. Parents would be happy because they wouldn't have to spend money, You wouldn't have to spend time picking the perfect outfit all the time, students wouldn't get bullied for not having Juicy Couture, or Hollister, or whatever. So there are plus sides and minus sides to both. Although I wouldn't want uniforms, I could see how it could be a good decision for the school.

Answer 4

In Australia - all schools public and private have school uniforms. These consist of pants and jumpers in a colour like navey, gray cotton shirt, blazers. For girls a summer cotton uniform in the school coulors - blue, brown, green etc and pinifor with blazer or slacks fpr winter. Uniforms are used for quite a number of reasons - uniformly all young people look neat and tidy, you cannot tell whether one child is poorer than the other and it ensures that all the school children represent the school well. Most schools have a strict school uniform policy and children have to bring a note if they are out of uniform. when I went to school all uniforms for the girls had to be a certain length and this was tested by knealing in front of the nuns and the uniform had to be 5 cm off the ground anything shorter and the girls were sent home. Hope this helps - also part of the uniform is no jewelery, no make up, no died hair and no deviation from the uniform.

Answer 5

I didn't like wearing a uniform at school but now as an adult I reckon they're not that bad. It seems to me that children need structure, rules and boundaries. I'm actually all for single sex schools and reintroducing corporel punitionment. Kids seem to have gone wild these days and have very little respect for anyone. Maybe letting up on restrictions since the 1960s hasn't done us any good as a whole.
I think uniforms help children to feel part of the crowd too, I know my daughter (aged 10) can't stand being different at school!

Answer 6

No mistakes, all very clear.

As a mum I like school uniforms. It stops you having to think about what your children should wear every day. It stops the endless shopping for designer clothes (well, so many). It keeps the general look of the school smart. It helps people know which school you're from when you're out on visits.
When I was at school I never thought about it; it was just life.

Answer 7

I believe in them. Creates a sense of belonging to the school and puts everyone on a common footing. Behaviour, whilst travelling to and from school should improve, because you are representing your school and can more easily be reported for bad behaviour. It should also prevent pupils wearing fashionable or inappropriate dress. And yes, I think that girls should wear skirts. Also important, is the fact that it avoids competition between pupils to try to wear the most fashionable and/or trendy clothes, thus disadvantaging poorer children.
Another advantage, is that it will be easier to spot outsiders who should not be on school premises.

I suppose that one of the main disadvantages is that pupils will keep outgrowing their uniforms, and therefore, will be expensive to change.

Generally though, it helps to impose a dicipline on pupils, and I definitely do not think that the opinion of pupils matters one jot. The school should be in charege and not the pupils. If parents can't accept this, then they should remove their children from the school. And please, none of this Human Rights nonsense.

Answer 8

I used to hate wearing school uniform, and would always wear something against the school rules, trainers, no tie etc.

However, now in my maturity, and being a parent, I think that the school uniform is a good idea. I believe that it does avoid some conflict between children, and makes the whole getting ready fiasco in the morning a lot more bearable (for the parents anyway!)

Answer 9

I distinctly remember hating school uniform when I was old enough to want to express my own identity through the way I dressed. When I was younger I considered it a way of the powers that be trying to make us all think and act the same. I associated uniforms with such things as the forces and office workers. My next words may be offencive, but they are not meant to be, I was young remember. I thought that all people who wore uniforms were either forced into having no identity or they chose it because it represented some level of importance, or because it made them feel powerful.

Later in years my opinion has become less extreme. I realise that it helps to encourage union and equality, but I still believe it also helps curb individuality, which I do not agree with.

Answer 10

I think it is a good thing.

It helps stop the divide between the rich and the poor, eveyone has to wear the same thing. You dont have to think about what your going to dress the kid in in the morning. There are many advantages other than these that are a bit less importaint like no reveiling clothes.

It does stop indeviduality to a sense, but that can be delt with outside of school. Im some cases parents complain as they have to buy specific clothes, but if they though about it, it would probably cost the sama as they still need something to wear.