Figure 1.--The junor boys at this high school near Washington, DC are mostly wearing below the knee knickers with argyl kneesocks. The photograph was reportedly taken in 1920. Notice two boys are wearing long pants. |
America has a very decentaralized school system. As a result there are many different types of schools. American state schools are called public schools. There is no national system or required national standards. Each state has its own separate school system. The national or Federal Government does maintain some schools, such as schools on Indian reservations and military bases, both in America and overseas. There is also a wide variety of private schools of many different characters. The largest private system is the parochial or catholic system. There are many other private schools. Some of the most prestigious are based on the English system. There are also many military schools. In recent years, Christiannacademies have become increasingly important.
One difficulty readers have in following school trends in different countries is the different names used forthe various class "forms" or classes. The term in America is "grades", not to be confused with the same term used to describe the marks assigned to assess performance. There are no confusing terms used like forms and further complications such as "the upper fifth". With few exceptions, the classes throughout America are grade 1 through 12. Grades 1-6 are elementary school, grades 7-8 are juniior high or middle school and grades 9-12 are senior high school. Some times grade 6 is placed in middle school and grade 9 in junior high school. A few private schools have afectations like using forms instead of grades.
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Public education has a long history in the United States. Early Federal land legislation had provisions for assigning land parcels for school as did the Homestead Act of 1864. The principal of free public education was well established in America at a time when the British conceived of public education as dangerous or only appropriate as charity schools for indigents. The clothing worn by boys at these schools reflected their ordinary dress, as few boys had multiple clothing changes. School wear at most American public schools (state schools not private schools in the British sence) has generally reflected American overall clothing trends. The clothes in rural and urban schools could be quite different.
American children in the early part of the 20th century dressed more formally for school than children do today--at least in urban areas. Public school children, however, have never worn uniforms. Elementary school schildren by the 1920s generally wore what they wore at home, but usually better clothes than for play. Actually parents would normally purchase a new clothes for children in August. Those clothes would be saved for school wear and last years school clothes would be used for play. One of the most significant development in American school wear was the gradual adoption of jrans as schoolwear. By the late 1940s jeans (called dungarees at the timer had become prevalent at many public schools. Yonger boys during the 1950s and 60s might wear short pants. None of the girls until the 1950s commonly wore shorts or pants, except perhaps for camp wear. Girls only wore dresses. Most boys in public schools by the second or third grade (7-8 years old)--or even younger--insisted on long pants. Most American elementary schoolboys in the 1960s wore long pants to school. There was some regional diversity. Boys in California were more likely to wear shorts than elsewhere, but boys in most areas wore longs. Boys attitudes toward short pants began to change in the 1970s. Except for younger boys, shorts were no longer commonly worn for dress wear. Boys began to think of shortds as casual wear. This has generally changed since the late 1980s and 1990s. Primary (elementary) age boys of all ages now commonly wear shorts to school in the warm weather. Secondary schools have had dress codes which varied over time. Secondary schools through the 1930s tended to have much stricter dress codes than is the case today. Until the 1940s, completion of highschool was not something that to which all children aspired. Many children from low-income families did not go to highschool. Thus attire was influenced by the social-level of the students.
While most American boys did not wear school uniforms, some schools did require school uniforms. Parochial schools, elite British-oriented schools, and military schools all required uniforms. The largest portion of the private school sector is the very large parochial (catholic) school system which did require children to wear uniforms, although quite basic ones as until after World War II, the Catholic ethnic communities were generally low-income Americans.
Public schools began to develop in the early 19th century. They were controlled by protetant officials who in many cases were hostile to Catholocism. As large numbers of Catholic immigrants (primarily Irish) began to arrive in the 1840s, the Church decided to create their own separate Catholic schools. Suceeding waves of immigration from Catholic countries (especially Italy) greatly expanded the U.S. Catholic population. The Catholic schools at one pont were education more than 20 percent of American children. The Catholic schools unlike the state public schools insisted on a school uniform. I'm not sure why the Church made this decision, but may be due to the Irish and Italian influence or the fact that immigrant Americans were generally low income families and would be sensitive to preceived differrences in the clothing that poorer children might be wearing. The uniforms worn by the boys are usually white shirts and ties, sweater, and solid color--often blue pants. Usually the boys wore long pants, but many elementary schools now permit shorts.
Although much smaller than the Catholic school systems, the Episcopalian schools in America also sponsored schools. The Episcopal Church in America is comparable to the English Anglican church, except that they receive no government funds. The Episcopalian Church is one of the more traditional American churches and membership includes some of the most wealthy and established American families. Like the Catholic or parochial schools, the Episcopalian church schools often had simple school uniforms. One HBC reader recalls that a friend of his attended at a Houston Episcopalian school in the late 1970s. Short pants were part of the school uniform. This varied by region. Schools in the South might require shorts year round, but longs were more common in the north.
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Wealthy Americans sent there children to prestigious private schools. many of the most prestigious ones were
heavily influenced by English preparatory and public schools. Most of these schools required uniforms, usually similar to British school uniforms. Some schools even followed the British system of boarding edication, but boarding was never as accepted by American parents as it was by British parents. Even boys at day schools as prestigious private schools were more likely to wear short oants. Some had uniforms blacers or sport jackets worn with ties, short pants, and knee socks. Other schools simply had dress codes requiring more formal clothes. Even boys at these schools might wear short pants.
America has a rather limited history of boarding schools, but for some reason quite a number of the military schools that did exist were military schools. Uniforms were of course stressed at these schools. I'm not sure why this was, but by the mid-19th Century several such schools were in operation. There are some tragic stories of the boys even being deployed in Civil War battles. Most of the American military were boarding schools. There were, however, also some day schools. Unlike many of the European military schools,
American boys were generally sent to military schools for the beneficial impact of discipline and not in preparation for a career in the military. Often it was unruly
boys who might be sent to a military school. Many parents decided on military schools as a way of instilling discipline in their children. Most military schools are
secondary schools, but there are some elementary military schools as well. Almost all military schools are private fee paying schools. Military schools continue to
florish in America. One urban school district (Chicago) has even established a public (state) boarding school.
Since the 1960s many new private schools were opened, first in the South and then throughout the country. The initial impetus was white flight from newly integrated schools. But the schools have continued to grow as American parents become increasingly concerned with declining academic and discipline standards at the public schools. Many of these Christian academies require uniforms. The unifiorms are generally the simple styles worn by Catholic children.
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