School Uniforms

[Daggers]

Time to say goodbye to this antiquated method of stamping conformity on the population?

Having just had to stump out an arm and a leg for my kids to be kitted out in the 'official' uniform I am at a loss to understand the reason why. Other nations manage very well without uniforms.

The argument that it is a leveller, so that all students can appear the same regardless of their economic background, is a non sequitur. My lad demanded that I got the jumpers with the logo on ~ kids know the difference between the official one and the one from Asda.

Maybe I wouldn't smart so much if every kid in the country wore the same uniform and it was all cheap.

Hated uniforms as a kid and I'm hating them more now!

[Stevosevic]

School uniform is fair in schools IMO. The unpriveleged children may feel uncomfortable going to school in their normal clothes, may cause bullying from the richer kids with newer and more expensive gear.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Master Fox is going to abuse this thread.

[Stuliasz]

Makes for a better working environment - for those of you from the Coalville area, I think Ashby Grammar vs King Ed is a prime example.

[Daggers]

School uniform is fair in schools IMO. The unpriveleged children may feel uncomfortable going to school in their normal clothes, may cause bullying from the richer kids with newer and more expensive gear.

But kids can tell the difference between the cost of the uniform they are wearing ~ and in my experience it is rarely the richer kids that are doing the bullying. Many other countries exist without uniforms and the education of their children is equal to (if not superior to) that of our own.

Master Fox is going to abuse this thread.

You reckon?

Makes for a better working environment

How?

[Rincewind]

I can see that there was a need for uniform a few years ago when all the choice was, was a uniform or your elder siblings hand me down (bit tough if you were a lad your had an elder sister) but even then uniforms were handed down. In those days though kids did not bother with designer labels like they do today. The parents usually had the last word. The words from my mother still ring in my ear like it was yesterday (might have been yesterday) 'When I say no, I mean no.' and we obeyed like little children are supposed to..

There aregood and bad points. One of the bad ones is that manufatuers have taken advantage by having a two-tier system for pricing kids clothes. The ones in the school section being twice as much. Some schools are too strict on the rules. Woe betide any kid that wears a shirt with a slightly different shade of blue to the school specifications. The school governers must rub their hands with glee when they look at the stock market prices.

Buying school uniform just one of the manys of parenthood.

[golden gordon]

i'm not sure about strict uniforms as such, but i do agree that there should be a fairly strict code of dress , ie white/grey shirt or blouse , black/grey trousers or skirt and a limited choice in colour of jacket , pullovers etc and of course black shoes

[golden gordon]

i've just got mine out and tried it on and it still fits

[Daggers]

i've just got mine out and tried it on and it still fits

My wife's stopped fitting me about three years ago. The sooner this diet pays off the happier I'm going to be.

[shen]

We never had to wear uniforms at school in Belgium, apart from gym classes (?). I went to an international school in Brussels, and I never experienced anyone getting bullied because of their clothes, nor did I spot any apparent jealousy. How dull mustn't it be to be dressed like all the others? It's sure to suck the life out of children!

[Bert]

I can see both sides of the argument to school uniforms.

Schools want pupils to wear unifrom for the reasons that it could stop bullying within the children as they will all be wearing the same clothes so no one can take the "micky" out of what theyare wearing, and it also sets a good standard of learning, take for instance English Martyrs, excellent results year after year, they all have to wear exactly the same clothing, then you take New College, uniform is supposed to be worn, but very few do and look at how the results turn out there, so in a way unifrom can be linked to results and unifroms DO make the school look smarter.

But many people don't like wearing uniform as 1, it is forced upon them, and in today's world, no kid likes being told what to do, do they??

And 2, many of them are worried about hwat their peers say and think about them.

IMO i think school unifroms should be scrapped because kids should be able to wear what they want, unless it's unacceptable for under 16's.

[filbertway]

Makes for a better working environment - for those of you from the Coalville area, I think Ashby Grammar vs King Ed is a prime example.

I think you will find King Ed now have a uniform, for year 10 and 11's anyway

[Guest]

But kids can tell the difference between the cost of the uniform they are wearing ~ and in my experience it is rarely the richer kids that are doing the bullying.

At my school (where uniform was not compulsory) it was the middling class kids who were the label snobs. The rich kids tended not to be bothered, and some even wore budget range clothes (look after the pennies, as my nana used to say).

We never had to wear uniforms at school in Belgium, apart from gym classes (?). I went to an international school in Brussels, and I never experienced anyone getting bullied because of their clothes, nor did I spot any apparent jealousy. How dull mustn't it be to be dressed like all the others? It's sure to suck the life out of children!

It must be a British thing. Clothes are clothes, and whilst designer wear does fit better etc, with some of the fashions about, would you still be wearing it in two years time? To be honest, a lot of the labelled stuff that you are "expected" to wear is crapply made anyway, especially t shirts.

[Phube]

I all for School uniform... It's not just the rich vs. poor issue, like people have said there have always been the M&S kids vs. the C&A kids (me being a C&A one) but it does stop scool becomeing a fashion parade...

No matter how expensive black trouser and white shirts are still blck trousers and white shirts.

Being poor has always been a reason to pick on kids, and always will!! But having bad fashion sense is a bigger playground crime, and will lead to merciless ribbing until you leave!!!

[lookwhaticando]

In all schools I've been to that require uniforms, there's usually one or two items of the ensemble that must be school-issued.

At Daventry William Parker, all students in year 7 to 10 had to wear any white shirt with a school-issued tie in the winter (usually with the sweater, as it was cold) and school issued polo shirt in summer (and sweater if so desired). Year 11s could wear the polo shirt all year round. I guess they thought this was useful in preparing the year 11s for the casual dress which applies when they get to college. haha

But the uniform was only uniform in the sens that the top half was standard issue stuff... whereas your trousers/shoes could be changed around. Trousers could be navy, grey or black, shoes could be black or brown.

I think the best way to get the plusses from having a uniform (the supposed benefits of having everyone look the same, to stave off bullying about financial (not-) well-being) without the negatives (the schools charging large wads of cash for a poorly made sweater with logo on it) is to just outline a dress code, and make people stick to it.

Allow certain colours/styles of sweater, polo shirt, trousers/skirt and shoes, don't allow large logos on any item of clothing - keep things plain. That way, everyone looks mostly the same, keeping the idea of a uniform mostly in tact.

The other end of it is to go for the system I experienced here in Ottawa... just some basic dress code rules, but otherwise free rein. We weren't allowed anything with political/sexual/certain messages on them. Girls had to wear tops with certain thickness straps (spaghetti straps were banned) and they couldn't expose much 'from above' and they weren't allowed to show off their bellies either (thank god, in many cases haha).

I think the whole no cleavage/bellies/backsides rules were to stop the teachers looking more than stop the teenage pupils being distracted. :laugh:

[Daggers]

...and it also sets a good standard of learning

Nope, this is the line trotted out again and again by school boards/LEA's/Government without one scrap of supporting evidence.

From a discipline perspective, nailing someone for a little thing means you'll avoid the big problem issues. So, telling Johnny to do his tie up, telling Sophie to tuck her shirt in means that you should have fewer incidents of violence. That is the theory anyway. It seems to work for failing schools where the new Head cracks the whip at this first line of attack.

[lookwhaticando]

Being poor has always been a reason to pick on kids, and always will!! But having bad fashion sense is a bigger playground crime, and will lead to merciless ribbing until you leave!!!

I get the occasional ribbing from a friend of mine because I dress very differently from everyone else.

The charge is that I dress like a fourty-year-old rather than a 14 year old (as most people around here seem to do these days)

I just happen to prefer business-casual to sk8r boi.

[Cat Burger]

We used to have charity non-uniform days at our school. Can't see charity uniform days catching on.

Just think of the poor unfortunate African children Bob.

[NFFC Chris]

I liked wearing school uniform,I enjoyed looking smart and I automatically knew each morning what I wearing,unlike now where I spend about half hour each morning deciding what to wear!

[lookwhaticando]

We used to have charity non-uniform days at our school. Can't see charity uniform days catching on.

Just think of the poor unfortunate African children Bob.

Mufti day.

Used to be 50p a pop, and there's always a few kids that forgot about it (and turned up feeling stupid).

Needless to say, I never forgot. Didn't want to turn up looking like a right twat when everyone else is in casuals.

Used to have about 5 of them a year, including 'jeans for genes'.

[Suffolk_fox]

My wife's stopped fitting me about three years ago. The sooner this diet pays off the happier I'm going to be.

How does she look in it?

[Bert]

Our school used to do days like this fro stuff like comic relief, children in need etc.

Although it seemed like this was the case every day.

[lookwhaticando]

How does she look in it?

Like a schoolgirl... duh.

[Rincewind]

I suppose one good thing is uniform gives uniformity. Also if the children learn to have pride in the school it teaches respect. When the kids have a scrap with a rival school kids they can tell their mother that paying out for a new jacket is worth it because it was torn to shreds in defending the schools honour.

But sriously how good does it feel at the end of a day after wearing a uniform/suit with a tight fitting tie is it to take them off an get into a pair of old jeans and T-shirt? If you wore casual for work and play then you could get bored with them easily. I have to wear a uniform for my job. Seeing a smartly dressed security officer gives someone that needs help more confidence when approaching them as opposed an officer that sloches and weras dirty jeans. That's an extreme example but you don't see many managers/directors wearing anything too casual. This is the British way and it starts in school.

[Suffolk_fox]

My wife's stopped fitting me about three years ago. The sooner this diet pays off the happier I'm going to be.

Have you got any pics of her in it?

Would you like some?

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