Should students wear uniforms to school?

No.

Yes.

I’m for it. It eliminates competition in many ways. Kids still play the “I’m better than you” game and there are still cliques, but they are a good thing.

yes

I prefer uniforms. I don’t think it is horrible if a school doesn’t have uniforms, but I definitely think uniforms are a good idea.

Uniforms – The poor kids will be as well dressed as the rich kids.

There seems to be a relationship between eliminating uniforms and decreasing respect for rules and school officials. Children from poor families should be provided with clean new uniforms so that their children are not singled out for humiliation.

Competition for fancy fashion is distracting and makes some students feel unable to keep up with their peers.

For, as long as (as mentioned by @Dr_Lawrence) those who can’t afford them are provided with them.

Oh hell yes. Cute japanese school uniforms. Hmmm.

My memory of uniformed students is of Catholic school children in the 1950’s. Some looked good and others not so much. Maybe that was because some uniforms were tailored by the parents who had the skill or the money. A conservative dress code, maybe. Uniforms, no.

No. It promotes conformity and limits individual expression. We should be encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, and creativity, this is what will be needed to succeed in future economies, as jobs where you’re just a number will be replaced by robots and technology. Kids in uniforms will still get picked on for any thousands of other reasons. You prevent bullying by punishing bullies, not by trying to systematically eliminate every potential reason to bully someone—because it’s not possible.

I lived overseas where the kids wore uniforms, and they looked so cute in their pleated skirts and blazers. Must have been nice not to have to pick out what to wear every day. But here, the kids that can’t afford the uniform will get them for free, compliments of the taxpayers, just like class fees and school lunch. Do you really want to pay to not only educate and feed, but also to clothe your neighbor’s kids?

^ The horror!

@Seek_Kolinahr Yes, well I guess that did sound selfish. But really, where is all this money supposed to be coming from? Some politicians are saying that Obamacare is going to bankrupt us – now add free school uniforms (they cost about $250—$300 a year for the average student). There is no “free” overseas where they require uniforms – the parents just have to buy them one way or another. But you know that is not going to fly in this country.

I wore a uniform to school and I appreciated it.

Firstly, I was bullied for two years. Of my school life, they picked on everything they knew about me so I am glad that they didn’t have any extra ammunition to use against me.

Secondly, having a uniform meant I didn’t have to worry about choosing something different to wear everyday so, out of pure laziness, I was glad to be a uniform.

Neither of these are necessarily good enough arguments for why every school kid should have a uniform but I’m sure glad I did.

I think so because it levels the playing field a little bit. Also, I see parents pumping a lot of money into their kids clothing when they should really be spending it more wisely. My nephews get their breakfast paid for by the government, yet they wear Nike’s that cost more than mine and I support myself. All of their clothes have some expensive logo on them and their mom worries about paying rent.

Yes, as long as they’re fabulous.

@Leanne1986 So what you’re saying is that uniforms really don’t prevent bulling. You can make everyone wear uniforms and kids will still find things to pick on other kids about. That was my point.

@Gabby101 Are you suggesting uniforms should include non-brand name shoes too?

The uniform rules at my grandson’s school require plain brown or black shoes with no logo on them.

I wore a uniform from 4th grade until I graduated high school. It was a great benefit. I was not a snappy dresser, but my uniform always made sure I looked neat. I was also bullied, but they never had reason to pick at my clothes, which was a plus.

I used to be against them (freedom of expression and all), but then my daughter started attending a school with uniforms. Boy was I wrong, it is so much easier and less problematic for parents and children. Shockingly, my daughter loves it. One less thing to worry about.

And it does level the playing field in a school where they teach teamwork and compassion for your fellow man.

I see a potential problem with uniforms. They are a gateway to indoctrination. The goal of some who promote school uniforms is to produce uniform thinking and behaving in children. England, Germany, America, Russia and other major countries have long had organizations designed to establish hyper-nationalism in their children. For example, “Greater German Youth Movement” became the Nazi Party’s official youth organization. In July 1926 (source). More recently “In Russia the Eurasian Youth Union (founded in 12/26/2005) has allied itself with Russian extremist organizations” (source). The Boy Scouts of America also reflects a conservative political agenda.

@Bill1939 That’s true but look at the doctrine of today… Ultra liberalism and Communist fascism is being drilled into our kids in public schools…

@DWW25921
Not to mention capitalist socialism and christian satan worshipping.

@ragingloli What ever happened to geography? Crazy idea, how about teaching kids how to read and write? You’re right though. Propaganda is bad whatever form it may take.

@DWW25921 It’s true that the facts do have a severe liberal bias.

“It’s true that the facts do have a severe liberal bias.” And does fiction have a severe conservative bias? To what facts are you referring, @gorillapaws? That authority, religious and secular, uses propaganda to direct the wills of their adherents?

“fact (noun) 1. Information presented as objectively real. 2. A real occurrence… 3.a. Something having real, demonstrable existence. b. The quality of being real or actual. 4. A thing that has been done, especially a crime… 5. Law. The aspect of a case at law comprising events determined by evidence…”

@Bill1939 Are you trying to discredit the obvious? That doesn’t make sense. I mean, quit filling your mind with tabloid garbage from CNN and actually look at the world around you for yourself. I looked up “liberal bias in schools” and got 1.5 million hits… But, it’s not really an issue… right? (sigh)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/16/liberal-bias-has-tainted-schools/?page=all

Funny. I pulled my kid from public school because of the conservative bias: heavy reliance on standardized testing combined with a complete disregard for science or historical studies, or really anything that might be mistaken for educational. Can’t have things like phonics and math getting in the way of singing God Bless America and perpetuating 1950s-era Native American stereotypes.

@gorillapaws It was one less thing for me to be bullied for and I am pleased for that. That’s all I am saying. I even said that it wasn’t necessarily an argument for uniforms but it is the reason that I am glad I wore one. As for being able to express my individuality, I didn’t need clothes for that.

@Bill1939 Pretty much anything on Conservapedia. The fact that conservatives were so disturbed by actual factual information that they had to invent their own fucking online encyclopedia to prevent them from having to deal with objective reality is pretty telling…

@Leanne1986 Wouldn’t better anti-bullying policies have been more helpful than uniforms?

How are “anti bullying” policies supposed to work, anyway?

In my experience the bullying situation goes one of two ways:

Kid gets bullied, kid keeps her mouth shut, bullying continues unabated.

Kid gets bullied, kid confides in authority figure, bully gets punished, then bullies harder because they got punished.

Sounds about right.

@gorillapaws In an ideal work, yes but as @Seek_Kolinahr said, it’s really not that easy. Regardless of the bullying, I was still pleased to wear a uniform (black skirt or trousers, navy blue sweatshirt – nothing too hideous!) for eases sake. I wear a uniform at work still, which is great for the type of work I do, my own clothes would get destroyed. At school, I believe that the added pressure of wearing something different every day (heaven forbid you wear the same outfit two days in a row) could have also been a distraction although I don’t know that for sure as I never had the opportunity to find out.

@gorillapaws – even if kids can wear expensive shoes, it’s cheaper than buying the whole $$$$ outfit.