07/16/99

Conflicting Opinions on School Uniforms

Readers expressed strong feelings about school uniforms, for them or against them but rarely neutral. I was reminded that gang members often identify themselves with clothing colors, beads, shoelaces or other body "tags," so student dress can take on the added meaning of loyalty (or lack thereof) to one's social group. A student who tries to drop his or her gang's colors can be in danger of retaliation from other members. After I read through the variety of reader opinions on this subject, I realized that, like it or not, what we wear says more about us than we understand or care to admit. I know that we say a lot with our body language, but we also talk with our attire!

TEACHER: I teach in a public high school that tries to implement a strict dress code, and it's a disaster. Staff spends more time enforcing dress code compliance than it does teaching. Administrators are deluged with disciplinary referrals for dress code violations. Students who have never been in trouble are finding themselves suspended. The "code" is interpreted differently by each teacher or administrator. Rather than better discipline, it has created anarchy. Students are just as competitive as ever, over the brand name of the acceptable clothing item or where they bought it, or what jewelry, shoes, etc. they wear.

In my school, a student may be suspended for wearing shorts that are above the knee; the skirt on the student in the next seat may be so short and tight that a "crotch shot" is sent every time the wearer sits down, but that is acceptable. A pregnant girl cannot wear blue jeans, but the student in the next seat, pregnant or not, may wear black, white or orange jeans. A collarless dress shirt cannot be worn by a young man, but another young man may wear a faded, stained, polo shirt accessorized by a chain dog collar. Bright blue and orange hair is perfectly acceptable, as is vampire attire, but there is an outcry if a quarter inch of flesh shows between a waistband and the hem of a blouse. The dress code has caused more problems than it has solved. I say, "Trash the code and teach the children! Teach them how to dress appropriately and don't try to legislate it."

EDUCATOR: The inmates are running the asylum. I saw a student parade through the halls all day wearing a homemade tee shirt emblazoned with "(filthy slogan)" and not one teacher or administrator approached this pornographic corridor-creep with so much as a simple admonition.

Clothing is NOT a superficial issue. Kids are sometimes assaulted or even murdered for their shoes or coats. The greater the value or notoriety of the garment, the greater the danger.

You mention that school is a student's job site. Every job site I have ever been familiar with has always had a strict dress/uniform code, if not in writing, then most certainly de facto. The most famous of these is the dark suit, white shirt and unobtrusive tie arrangement spawned by IBM. Uncountable professions mandate uniforms, such as, medicine, law enforcement, utility workers, etc. Many of these uniform styles are dictated by function. An operating room nurse or surgeon is far better served in "scrubs" (however homely) than by mechanics coveralls.

Also no one mentioned the most important and significant value of a uniform, namely that it shows you belong. All the carping over the years about gang colors and motifs and no one has dared express the conventional wisdom that shows one of the strongest attractions any gang anywhere can have. It is to offer its members an identifiable sense of belonging. You do not need psychological genius to see and feel the palpable pride of any military person in uniform. They belong. They matter. When they go to work, their well being and good fortune depend on everyone else wearing the same uniform. It is no different in school. The pride and self-worth that spring from wearing a uniform simply cannot be overestimated or overstated.

Regrettably, a strong and viable and proud student body in uniform does not fit into various political agendas. Until it does, the inmates shall continue to run, and clothe, the asylum.

STUDENT: I'm a high schooler. We don't have to wear uniforms and I'm glad. I think it shows that people are different and can express their minds. Uniforms make everyone look the same and they don't have the freedom of choice.

RETIRED TEACHER: I can't begin to count the number of minutes of valuable teaching time wasted by enforcing the dress code. Case in point: our school had a no bare midriff policy that stated any student with a bare midriff was to be sent to the office and wait there for a parent to bring in suitable clothing. I sent two young ladies to the office with bare midriffs only to have them back 10 minutes later, all smiles, saying, "The principle didn't see anything wrong with the way we're dressed." On the way to the office they had pulled up their slacks and pulled down their blouses so that they passed code. The principle thinks I'm a fool; the students think I'm a fool; I've lost teaching time and the girls have had a ten-minute break from class.

If there's a dress code, enforce it. Otherwise give me uniforms and let me teach.

FOREIGN-BORN: I am in favor of uniforms because I see too many kids going to school looking sloppy. I was brought up in a different country where all the schools had uniforms. Besides the disciplinary problems that we have in this country, we don't need to add a problem like this to it. Superficially, yes, uniforms make kids look the same and problems arise about compliance; but how can we forget about the good habits children will have later on? They won't dress sloppy for an interview, for example. Or uniforms can even eliminate rape, because when girls are allowed to wear mini skirts up to their crotch, that can be very provocative to a guy. I think that uniforms are so much better for all, because they show self-respect, cleanliness and respect for others.

FOREIGN PERSPECTIVE: Uniforms will be the rule -- it's just a matter of time. It is unfortunate that it has taken this country so long. European children in both private and public schools wear uniforms. There is more to gain in this matter than to lose. The president is going forward on this issue. Why are we being so permissive in allowing children to make this decision? There are opportunities for self-expression on weekends and special events. While uniforms cannot and will not solve behavior and academic problems, my experience shows that overall students will adjust. When they have children, they will want the same experiences for their offspring.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: I feel that the school board should have the right to dictate whether there will be a dress code or not, without any input from students. They are the ones paying for the educational opportunity given to all students. When kids get out of school and into the working world, they will understand why their appearance is important. Those who have a sloppy appearance produce sloppy work, and they lack self-discipline. An interesting question might be: Which came first, the decline of the dress code or the decline in American morality?

PARENT: I attended grammar and high schools that required uniforms. In grammar school the teachers did what they could to enforce discipline, and we basically followed the rules and dress codes. But that didn't stop children from being cruel to others regarding what kind of socks or shoes they wore.

In high school some of the popular girls made their own uniforms, based on the dress code. They were allowed to do it and eventually the dress code changed due to popular demand, thereby negating the idea that dressing everyone alike would create a feeling of unity. Some of the students couldn't afford the new style and many of them couldn't afford the designer shirts that some wore with their uniform. This belied the concept that a dress code or uniform helps cut down on competition, envy and feeling of inadequacy for those not able to afford these things.

I now volunteer at a school where there is a dress code but it isn't enforced. The majority of students who wear the colors are slovenly, with shirts hanging our, pants down around their hips and sweats instead of dress slacks. What is the sense of a dress code if it isn't enforced? And where is the sense in having one, since children try to fit in and do what everyone else is doing anyway? Since so many are busy breaking the dress code, and so many others are copying the style of the children who are breaking the code, why bother having one in the first place?

Children are going to be cruel to other children regardless of the reason, as long as it is allowed in schools and not corrected by parents and teachers. No uniform code is going to change that. The education the children are receiving is far more important than the latest uniform trend.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: The key is respect, particularly respect for other people. The lack of respect some students show to their teachers and their peers is the basis for much of our school trouble. Louisiana's laws notwithstanding, you can't legislate respect. Even free speech implies a form of respect for the opposition, doesn't it? We won't solve our problems until students respect teachers, teachers respect students, students respect students and teachers respect other teachers.

Respect has to be learned by example, but where in the public lives that hit the news do we see it practiced? I don't think uniforms will help much to develop respect.

MOTHER: At a Christmas concert last year at my son's school, the music teacher told me I have the best dressed first grader, and that he always looks clean and neat. She went on to say that many of the kids wear holey, stained clothing and have dirty faces and messy hair. My son likes to wear chino slacks, a vest and a tie. Other mothers tell me that their sons want to wear ties to school, too. I tell my children that they will get better treatment if they are nicely groomed.

Although I am a homemaker, I never leave my house in anything but a nice dress. When I go out, even to the store, someone always holds the door for me. My mother-in-law taught me that looking nice means that someone cares about you, and you just might decrease your chances of getting baggy pant legs caught in an elevator door.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: In the younger grades it is important to establish discipline and to shield youngsters from teasing and from arbitrary discrimination based on parental financial resources or lack thereof. We should take care of those who have temporary financial misfortune, in a quiet and dignified way, so that they do not lose self-respect, which, as you know, is more important than money. In the older grades, say in high school, another issue becomes predominant. That is the necessity for the kids to learn independent thought and to exercise judgment. Thus the school can content itself by establishing loose minimum dress standards, relying heavily on the judgment of experienced administrators. I'd be leery of student self-government, because it quickly becomes student tyranny. If a student wears something inappropriate, school authorities would call for the parents to take the student home to dress appropriately for an academic environment. This needs to be done tactfully and with great care. If I were the dean or other school official, I would not allow an individual who has made a spectacle of himself or herself to appear in class.

A school is not a sideshow. If a student fancies himself or herself a rebel, let that student go to a school that caters to rebels.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.