School Uniform - a Good Thing, or Not?

[ivanava 10]

Actually, yes it does. In the school where I worked, blazers and sweaters could be removed during lessons and put back on when moving around the building. You cannot work if you are too hot. Plus, kids are encouraged to drink water through the day to help them regulate their temperature and avoid dehydration.

 

The problem appears to be lack of consistency, different schools have different policies which lead people to form different opinions about schools, uniforms and teachers.

 

---------- Post added 30-01-2014 at 07:44 ----------

 

 

If you have a blazer and if you are too hot, then remove it. If you are too hot or too cold, then tell the teacher and let her change the heating settings. If you ran around silly at lunch time and is suddenly too hot, then remove the blazer. Or at least the teacher should still also care about basic healthcare for the children like monitoring their general health in the classroom. She can also ask certain individual students to remove their blazers if they look like they are too hot.

 

I would expect this simple kind of compassion from a teacher.

 

Teacher apparently knows best and the school thinks kids look untidy if they don't all look the same, they either all wear their blazer or they all don't, there is no allowance for individuality or individual comfort.

[Nagel 10]

Ah, now ask my sister-in-law and she will tell you that a straw boater is the only reliable indicator of 'a good school'...

 

(She's wrong, but try telling her!)

 

That pretty well narrows it down to Harrow for boys.

[aliceBB 10]

That pretty well narrows it down to Harrow for boys.

 

:(In that case, having to wear a boater would be the least of their problems!

[WeX 10]

I had a school uniform in every year of my school including 6th form. It was a good idea in my opinion.

[ivanava 10]

I had a school uniform in every year of my school including 6th form. It was a good idea in my opinion.

 

If it hadn't been compulsory and only half the children in your school wore it, do you think you would have still worn it or would you have chose to wear something else?

[WeX 10]

If it hadn't been compulsory and only half the children in your school wore it, do you think you would have still worn it or would you have chose to wear something else?

 

I cant be sure but I suspect peer pressure would have ruled out and everyone would have ditched the uniform, which is exactly the reason why our uniform was compulsory.

 

I agree with it as its a major issue in schools kids do not need.

[aliceBB 10]

 

I agree with it as its a major issue in schools kids do not need.

 

It is certainly a major issue for schools/Heads where a significant minority of pupils (for whatever reasons) try to 'push the boundaries' as far as uniform is concerned. It can honestly take up hours of teacher time dealing with infringements, contacting home, supplying spare ties, recording and returning items confiscated, keeping kids in detention and nagging. Unless a school is going to pay someone on a non-teaching salary to do that routine enforcement stuff, I think it is a waste of resources to be having teachers do it when they could be spending their time on teaching, preparing, marking and tutoring.

 

I would suggest it is the teachers, rather than the pupils, who do not need this extra hassle when the evidence (such as it is) is inconclusive as to whether a smart uniform improves the education of pupils. Views tend to be divided on that one. Our Head went down the 'blazers and ties' road to try to compete with the local private school. I can see why he did it but it was never an 'educational' decision.

 

If by 'a major issue in schools kids do not need', you mean the potential for bullying (from peers) and time-wasting (in choosing what to wear) if they are allowed to come in 'civvies', then I agree with you. We got to the point with 'where what you want days' when we started making them themed (Disney, films, books, rock stars, etc) rather than subject some kids to the derision of others because they weren't wearing/couldn't afford/didn't want designer labels. They either had to come in fancy dress, or their normal uniform. It was usually the sixth form who entered into the spirit of it most enthusiastically; about half the the lower school came in uniform. That's how much pressure there was. That was despite assemblies (often led by sixth formers, whom younger pupils looked up to) about clothes snobbery, what really matters in life, etc, etc.

Edited January 30, 2014 by aliceBB

[ivanava 10]

I cant be sure but I suspect peer pressure would have ruled out and everyone would have ditched the uniform, which is exactly the reason why our uniform was compulsory.

 

I agree with it as its a major issue in schools kids do not need.

 

It wouldn't have been a major issue for my kids, and I don't see why their freedom of expression should be compromised just because some kids would find it difficult choosing what to wear.

 

These kids also don't appear to have too many difficulties choosing cloths.

 

Pupils at Anthony Gell school in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, which gets great results – despite the fact that pupils aren’t required to wear uniform.

 

Across Europe what to wear at school also doesn't appear to be a major issue.

Edited January 30, 2014 by ivanava

[harvey19 541]

Years ago when I was at school we wore a uniform which never seemed to be a problem except for the cap which wasn't popular.

In the 5th year I wore my own jacket but wasn't allowed to remove my tie at midday in summer as those in uniform could.

The teachers dressed smartly and wore gowns.

[aliceBB 10]

Years ago when I was at school we wore a uniform which never seemed to be a problem except for the cap which wasn't popular.

In the 5th year I wore my own jacket but wasn't allowed to remove my tie at midday in summer as those in uniform could.

The teachers dressed smartly and wore gowns.

 

I wonder what the rationale was behind the 'tie' rule?

 

My husband always maintains that the only time his school cap saw the light of day was on his very first day of secondary school (1970) when his mother insisted on accompanying him to school on the bus (bad enough), then embarrassed him even further by feeling extremely sick and actually chucking up into the thing, which he was holding in his lap at the time. (Apparently she 'didn't have time' to open her handbag and vomit in that!). Traumatised, he never wore the cap again.

 

Probably the best excuse ever for turning up at school without your cap, but not one you wanted to have to use on your very first day.

 

My school in the early 70s had a rule that 5th years could go up into town at lunchtime but you could not be seen eating whilst walking, almost on pain of death. The staff had a rota for lying in wait for offenders (during which, somewhat ironically, they often ate their own lunch whilst roaming round the town spying on us). My friend was nabbed and spent 3 hours in detention writing essays about civilised behaviour - all for taking a bite out of a pork pie whilst on the move. Standards, eh!

Edited January 30, 2014 by aliceBB

[harvey19 541]

I wonder what the rationale was behind the 'tie' rule?

 

My husband always maintains that the only time his school cap saw the light of day was on his very first day of secondary school (1970) when his mother insisted on accompanying him to school on the bus (bad enough), then embarrassed him even further by feeling extremely sick and actually chucking up into the thing, which he was holding in his lap at the time. (Apparently she 'didn't have time' to open her handbag and vomit in that!). Traumatised, he never wore the cap again.

 

Probably the best excuse ever for turning up at school without your cap, but not one you wanted to have to use on your very first day.

 

My school in the early 70s had a rule that 5th years could go up into town at lunchtime but you could not be seen eating whilst walking, almost on pain of death. The staff had a rota for lying in wait for offenders (during which, somewhat ironically, they often ate their own lunch whilst roaming round the town spying on us). My friend was nabbed and spent 3 hours in detention writing essays about civilised behaviour - all for taking a bite out of a pork pie whilst on the move. Standards, eh!

 

I should have clarified that it was a school tie and even though I wasn't wearing a school blazer and badge I could still be recognised as belonging to a certain school.

[WeX 10]

It is certainly a major issue for schools/Heads where a significant minority of pupils (for whatever reasons) try to 'push the boundaries' as far as uniform is concerned. It can honestly take up hours of teacher time dealing with infringements, contacting home, supplying spare ties, recording and returning items confiscated, keeping kids in detention and nagging. Unless a school is going to pay someone on a non-teaching salary to do that routine enforcement stuff, I think it is a waste of resources to be having teachers do it when they could be spending their time on teaching, preparing, marking and tutoring.

 

I would suggest it is the teachers, rather than the pupils, who do not need this extra hassle when the evidence (such as it is) is inconclusive as to whether a smart uniform improves the education of pupils. Views tend to be divided on that one. Our Head went down the 'blazers and ties' road to try to compete with the local private school. I can see why he did it but it was never an 'educational' decision.

 

If by 'a major issue in schools kids do not need', you mean the potential for bullying (from peers) and time-wasting (in choosing what to wear) if they are allowed to come in 'civvies', then I agree with you. We got to the point with 'where what you want days' when we started making them themed (Disney, films, books, rock stars, etc) rather than subject some kids to the derision of others because they weren't wearing/couldn't afford/didn't want designer labels. They either had to come in fancy dress, or their normal uniform. It was usually the sixth form who entered into the spirit of it most enthusiastically; about half the the lower school came in uniform. That's how much pressure there was. That was despite assemblies (often led by sixth formers, whom younger pupils looked up to) about clothes snobbery, what really matters in life, etc, etc.

 

A no-nonsense approach would suffice. If the kid comes to school in the wrong uniform, their parents are called and have to either take them home or bring the correct uniform for them. After a few instances of this the parents will insure the kids are properly dressed.