School Uniform
Posted on May 27, 2009 by by Cristian
I had the most awesome of tasks that a parent can do the last 2 days, which is to drop your child off at school. Now been that my son is only in Kindy, i walk him to his class and basically wait till the bell goes and he walks into class with his teacher.
In the last 2 days, ive received so many pieces of paper, asking me for opinions, surveys, calls out for help, and valid educational information in regards to my son.
One of those was policys for school Uniform.
Seems that alot of students had began to relax their uniforms, and added more colours….or simply getting changed OUT of them once at school.
Now, this is a fairly new school, it only openned up this term and is a public school. in its development, parents were asked if they wanted a school uniform, school colour code, or none at all. Majority voted for a uniform, although it wasnt a ‘vast majority’.
My question is…
should Uniforms still be enforced in todays society?
should kids be made more responsible to what they wear to school? and not just the parents notified…..ie, if a child takes his uniform off at school and replaces it with something else, should they be punished at school…and not just have the parents alerted.
what are your thoughts on Uniforms at schools in general? 
7 Comments to “School Uniform”
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Is it a public school? If so, then I don’t think it is reasonable to enforce a uniform rule. There may be financial or time issues that make it hard for the parents to have their kids in proper uniform every day. Particularly for a brand new school where there’s not many second-hand uniforms on the market yet. And it seems fundamentally wrong to deny a child their right to education just because they don’t like wearing uniform.
But in a private school, it’s a different matter. If parents have signed their kids up for a private school, then they are also agreeing to make an effort to get the kids to abide by rules like uniform. I went to a private school with a uniform policy, and kids who were found out of uniform could be sent home and told not to come back til they got their clothes in order. My sister went to a more strict private school, where kids could be suspended for being out of uniform. But this only works in private schools where kids are in fear of the wrath of their parents for being disciplined by the school. Kids who aren’t so worried about what their parents might do will not be worried about getting sent home from school.
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Emd said:
“There may be financial or time issues that make it hard for the parents to have their kids in proper uniform every day. ”
I’ll take exception to that comment on the basis that I personally know of a family that is doing it very tough and they actually welcome the school uniform is a great leveler such that their children blend in and don’t stand out from the crowd on what they lack, rather than what they have.
Emd said:
“Particularly for a brand new school where there’s not many second-hand uniforms on the market yet.”
I don’t have children so I dont have first hand experience with school uniforms. But from observation I assume that uniforms for boys are pretty simple (trousers/shorts, shirts/skivvies, jumpers), I assume that unforms for girls are similar. There is no reason why schools from opposite ends of town can’t have similar if not identical uniforms.
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I think its important for all kids to learn the responsibility of what is presentable and what it not. So I believe that every school should have a school uniform and students should be made to wear them regardless of public or private – its a lesson on presentation. As for the enforcement of this I think it should come from both the school and the parents. The school should have a punishment and the parents should be notified. All round I think school uniforms are a blessing in disguise and a valuable lesson and it makes life easier in that there is no discussion on what is going to be worn – just put it on. And I agree with what Jonathon Reynolds said:
“the school uniform is a great leveler such that their children blend in and don’t stand out from the crowd on what they lack, rather than what they have.”
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the school is a public school, which like has been mentioned, has no former 2nd uniforms for purchase. But the govt does help out to the needy families who can show cause as to why they need help for uniforms. The new uniforms are simple….but still expensive. My son for example…
he has his track pants,
cargo pants
gym shorts – must have
t-shirts – polo
Jumper
zip up vest
cap
and as a child, he cant have just one of each, he has to have more cause nothing lasts clean.
I have NOTHING against uniforms, I actually prefer them, as someone mentioned, you know what he will wear every day. If I had a decent private school near my mother inlaw (she cares for him after school) thats where hed be, simply for the uniform policys.
But been a public school, they also have a colour code….which to be quite honest, is VERY easy to follow. I just wish some parents paid more attention to what their child leaves with in the morning or at least check their bag. Ive seen girls at the school show up with thongs :\
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Are school uniforms any more expensive than other clothing?
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Most definately..
for a few shirts, we just bought shirts that had the same colour so at least hed have a few shirts to wear, the school ones cost nearly double. Same with the long sleeve shirts, he has 2 official ones with the school logo, and 4 other non-school ones that are just the same colour, again….alot cheaper from a retail store.
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I like that lots of public schools (that I’ve visited) have a colour code rather than a strict uniform policy. I’ve also noticed that uniforms that specify exactly which shirt etc is worn are more expensive, but they’re often chosen for being good quality and will wear better than some cheaper brands.
Jonathon, my comment about the cost of school uniforms was not intended as an insult to your friends. I was keeping an open mind about there possibly being reasons why some children aren’t in uniform. The financial and time issues are not just about buying the uniform. It might also be that the parents leave for work before the kids leave for school. Or a child might be a serial loser of uniforms – especially if they change into gym clothes at school – and the parents just can’t keep up with replacing lost items.
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