Figure 1.--Uniforms can be formal or like this one simple and largely informal. The propoents of school uniform insist that it helps with descipline. There is consideable disagreement about this and some even question the importance of descipline. |
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Many feel that school uniforms help a school in maintaing discipline. Many school systems report uniforms help to reduce discipline problems. Some schools report dramatic declines, although opponets question some of these reports. Children today are lacking in self discipline. Many parents simply refuse to discipline their children. This makes it much more difficult on the teacher who has to deal with a class of 20-30 children througout the day. In of the newspapers we read a lot about poor teachers. Rarely do we read about poor parents and parental responsibility. Commonly modern parents who send poorly disciplined children to school will actually compplain when schools attempt to suscipline them so they can get on with the business of education. Here is a smatering of opinions about school uniforms and discipline. Bear in mind thazt some of the comments deal with uniforms, others at hear relate to the very idea of disciplining children.
A HBC reader writes, "Kids have far fewer restrictions these days than people think. Most personal responsibility is taken from both kids and their parents. They don't feel that anyone can tell them what to do at any time and if you try to then you are some sort of Nazi. (HBC note: The NAZIs did not require school uniforms.) People are not teaching their children these things at home, they tell the schools it is their responsibility and then they tell the schools not to impose controls on their kids. I wish these people would make up their minds."
Another HBC reader writes, "A secretary in our office has a charming, but very rambunctious, an undisciplined little boy. She used to bring him to work occassionally when he was a pre-schooler. (I think she had trouble keeping a baby sitter.) He would run wild. Her supervior had to order her not to do this any more. Not that he has started school, she is constantly complaining about his school and teacher. The school has a voluntary uniform which she dislikes. She says the school shouldn't try to make children into little soldiers because it destroys their creativity. Yesterday it was rainy and she sent the boky to school with an umbrella. Now perhaps you can send well behaved British boys to school with an umbrella. But it is insane to send her son to school with an umbrella. Any one with an ounce if sence knows that he would use the unvrella for swordfights and to pole other children not similarly armed. Well of course thsat was just what happened. The teacher took it away from the boy. He called her crying and she left school early to retrive the umbrella. She wasn;t upset with her son, but with the teacher for being unable to control her son and for taking his prperty away."
An American university profesor writes, "I found reading the comments about school uniforms and school discipline interesting. I personally think uniforms are one tool in the schools' toolbox for romoting better discipline. This is just my opinion, but I think the parents of unruly children created their own little monsters and then expect teachers to sort out the problem. So many young parents grew up in permissive homes, and they have failed or refused to set any boundaries for their own children. Our workplaces have become more demanding and competitive, it's true, but parents are responsible for their children. I also blame school administrators, those with undergraduate and graduate degrees in education, for harming our public schools. Many of them forget that school children need (and want) guidance from authority figures. School officials neglect those duties and seem afraid of the children, their parents, and public officials. Schools of education crank out policies and theories ungrounded in reality. They nurture children's feelings of entitlement and contempt. Teachers are caught in the middle, between students and their parents and school officials. That so many public schools are failing is no wonder. And the infamous No Child Left Behind Act, standardized tests, obsessive measurement, evaluation, and assessment, and 'teaching to the test' leave little time for learning."
An American teacher telkls us, "I guess to each his own, but I wonder how many of you who say that they are always wrong have spent much time recently in an inner city school and seen how children today behave in some places. It's sad, because it is ruining education for all around them, all because these kids are convinced that they can do anything and no one can tell them differently. Funny, it's supposed to foster thinking and creativity, but these are the dumbest kids in the world. They don't stop long enough to listen."
A teacher at a private school in Britain reporys, "Actually, the dress code pressure here is mostly by parents who want tighter controls on students. "
An American tells us, "That's good. In most districts that really need it, it is voted in and then argued over for years."
A British mum reports, "My twins are a handfull. They are clever which is great, but makes it a challenge to keep up with them. They attend an indendent prep school. Somehow when I have them kitted out in the morning (thank goodness they finally learned to do their ties), it seems to send a signal that school is something to be serious about. They are by no means perfevt at school, but I am convinced that the school unifoirm sends a definite singnal. And given the challenge of raising to very active littkle nippers--I need all the help I can get."
An America student writes, "I think uniforms are ______ stupid. I see no reason why I should confofrm to what _______ old people think I should wear. School isn't the army. I don't need your _______ discipline."
A former teacher writes, "I am fascinated over how bitterly many students complain about the conformity of a school uniform, yet are only too willikng to accept the conformity of politically correct thought without complaint."
A New Zealand mother writes, "You have a lot of information about Britain ob your site. Actually school uniform is also very common here in New Zealand, at least at the scondary level. Almost all of the junior sand snior high schools require uniforms and there is considerable support for it on the part of parents. Our son is in high school. The school has a unifirm, bur does not enforce the regulations. I'm not sure it is related, but from my experience, overall disciple standards in the scgool are also poor."
A former British student, "here was a time when the question of uniform where it existed and school discipline were inextricably linked. Some private and grammar schools in England and no doubt other countries under her influence took adherence to uniform to almost fetishistic levels where the absence of a cap or blazer buttons wrongly done up could land a kid in serious trouble at school. That was a downside. The upside was the deterrent effect of being caught misbehaving in school uniform. Your school was identified and from there a few pointed questions could easily identify the juvenile shoplifter or the ones misbehaving on the bus home. Not so easily done with the kid in jeans and sneakers. I suppose I caught the period when attitudes were changing. When I was at my junior school and wore a full prep school uniform, (late-1960s early 70s) the cane was an extremely rare but omnipresent threat. You didn't want anything you did in public going back. My only rebellion was to divest myself of my tie when the school coach dropped me off (not allowed) and if funds allowed to buy and consume confectionery, also not allowed when in school uniform for reasons I couldn't fathom. These were rules I broke in the confidence that I was out of the schools sight! No member of the public or shopkeeper was going to report me for that. I for one think that it has to improve discipline on school outings if for no other reason that it makes it much easier for teachers to keep tabs on their charges. Whether in the absence of more old fashioned disciplinary methods it has as much effect within the school nowadays is more of a moot point and would take those now involved to answer."
An English teacger, "Here are my thoughts. I have taught in schools that require a uniform and school that had a smart dress code as well as an anything goes school. The later was a hard place to teach in. That might be becaiuse it was an inner city school. Kids arrived in all kinds of clothes. Those that worked hard wear 'sesible clothes' This dressing gave them a feeling that school was a learning place. Other children came to school wearing 'play clothes'. Army suits' These kids were the mosr difficult to teach when they were dressed in this way. It was easier to teach them when they did not come to school in play clothes. The school with a sensible dressed code had white shirts and grey trousers for boys and girls. Girls could weara grey skirt and white blouse if they prferred. The children were easier to teach but there were sometimes difficulty with designer trainers that went missing aftr a PE lesson. The school with the uniform was the best school to teach in. The discipline was friendly but firm. Everyone wore the same clothes after a month nobody could tell the social class of the students because the uniform was just as grubby no matter who wore it. There was no problem with desiner cloths going missing. The catchment area of the school was a wide one but most children came from council estates that the school served."
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