It's official -- the largest school district in the U.S. has adopted school uniforms. Over a half-million elementary-school students in New York City will have to adhere to a dress code by the Fall of 1999. The president of the school board said the policy is "important to diminish peer pressure and promote school pride," but that it's not "an act of magic to transform schools overnight....It isn't going to replace good teaching, good principals, small classrooms."
It's a fashion trend that's spreading. From Los Angeles to Louisiana, from Maryland to Miami, public schools are discussing, and in many cases adopting, the old private school idea. School uniforms are designed to help kids focus on algebra instead of high-tops; to make students compete for grades rather than jackets.
Weekend Wear vs.
School Wear
"It helps to get up in the morning and not have to think about what you're going to wear," said Maria, a ninth-grader who swims, plays soccer, and wears exactly what everybody else does at her high school in Washington, DC. Each school day, Maria dons an all-white oxford shirt, brown shoes, and a gray/maroon plaid skirt that has to be long enough to the touch the ground when she kneels. After school and on weekends, of course, all bets are off. Maria has a simple yet effective strategy: she borrows her friends' clothes, typically baggy jeans.
"I just kind of steal them," said Maria. "That way, they do the shopping, and I get to wear them."
No-nonsense uniforms are what many school are using as weapons in the war against gang-related violence and classroom distractions.
President Clinton: Pro-Uniforms
President Clinton thinks they're a good idea. In a March 1996 speech he said:
"If it means that the school rooms will be more orderly and more disciplined, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they're wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms."
Uniforms are supposed to
help students focus on their work.
It's official -- the largest school district in the U.S. has adopted school uniforms. Over a half-million elementary-school students in New York City will have to adhere to a dress code by the Fall of 1999. The president of the school board said the policy is "important to diminish peer pressure and promote school pride," but that it's not "an act of magic to transform schools overnight....It isn't going to replace good teaching, good principals, small classrooms."
It's a fashion trend that's spreading. From Los Angeles to Louisiana, from Maryland to Miami, public schools are discussing, and in many cases adopting, the old private school idea. School uniforms are designed to help kids focus on algebra instead of high-tops; to make students compete for grades rather than jackets.
Weekend Wear vs.
School Wear
"It helps to get up in the morning and not have to think about what you're going to wear," said Maria, a ninth-grader who swims, plays soccer, and wears exactly what everybody else does at her high school in Washington, DC. Each school day, Maria dons an all-white oxford shirt, brown shoes, and a gray/maroon plaid skirt that has to be long enough to the touch the ground when she kneels. After school and on weekends, of course, all bets are off. Maria has a simple yet effective strategy: she borrows her friends' clothes, typically baggy jeans.
"I just kind of steal them," said Maria. "That way, they do the shopping, and I get to wear them."
No-nonsense uniforms are what many school are using as weapons in the war against gang-related violence and classroom distractions.
President Clinton: Pro-Uniforms
President Clinton thinks they're a good idea. In a March 1996 speech he said:
"If it means that the school rooms will be more orderly and more disciplined, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they're wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms."
School uniforms also take the pressure off students to pay top dollar for clothes, according to Reginald Wilson, a senior scholar at the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. "I think it does lower the cost of clothes, and kids don't emphasize clothes as much when they're all wearing the same thing," Wilson said. "Certainly the competition to wear the best shoes or the best sweaters and so forth has been prevalent in school ever since I was in school, and the poor kids felt inferior."
It always starts in California...
Public school uniforms became popular 1994, when the Long Beach, California school district became the first to require uniforms. A year later, according to the district, school fights and muggings there went down 50%; sexual offenses declined 74%.
Since then, many public schools--usually one at a time--175;have followed suit, in most cases following discussions among faculty, students and parents. And it's not always mandatory: some schools let students opt out for personal beliefs, and others say uniforms are totally voluntary.
One in Four students
will soon be wearing uniforms.
Uniforms are most common in elementary, middle and junior high schools, according to the federal Department of Education. The Lands' End clothing company, which just came out with a school uniform catalog this year, estimates that one in four public school students below high-school age will be in uniform in the 97-98 school year.
Not everybody is welcoming the idea. The American Civil Liberties Union says there's no link between school uniforms and safety or good grades. Former California high school principal Dennis Evans says teenagers who decide what to wear in the morning are developing decision-making skills and learning to take responsibility for their choices in life. Many students agree.
"If I wear flared pants, it means I'm kind of trendy and I'm kind of cool and with-it," said Athey, an eighth-grader who plays basketball and soccer at school in Washington, D.C., where students can wear what they want -- so long as there are no spaghetti straps, frayed pants or exposed midriffs. "And if I wear something nice on special days, people think: 'that girl dresses well and cares about how she looks.'"
But how do they look?
Let's cut to the chase. How do they look? In many public schools, the formula looks like this: polos and oxford shirts on top; khakis, skirts and chino shorts and pants on the bottom. Most schools require solid colors, the more popular choices being red, white, navy blue, evergreen and soft yellow maize. And there's more variety on the way. Soon uniforms will include jean shirts and striped polos.
"School uniforms are conservative by design," said Andrea Rachels, who designs school uniforms and other kids' clothing at Lands' End. Still, there are ways to be hip, according to Rachels, whose recipe for success includes "cool, cool socks." Multi-colored, striped stockings are said to be a student favorite.
Other fashion suggestions offered by students and designers for uniform-wearing kids: varied skirt lengths, colored shoelaces, hair bow experimentation, locker decoration, experimenting on the weekends, and jewelry overload -- if allowed. In short, you can look different, if you try.
But for Peter, an 11th grader who runs cross-country and wears what he wants at his high school in Potomac Maryland, school uniforms could be an unwelcome hurdle in social situations.
"I guess it would be hard to get girls, because a lot of times they like the way you dress, and that's always a helpful thing," said Wong, whose brown leather shoes of choice are Sketchers.
Nevertheless, Wong admits that many students could get to school sooner if they didn't have to worry over what to wear in the morning.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The School Uniform Debate
The question of what students should wear to school rouses strong feelings on both sides. Here are some arguments for and against the use of school uniforms.
While school uniforms are typically found in private schools, it may have only been in 1987 that the first public school - Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, MD - instituted a school uniform policy. Then, in 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District in California adopted a mandatory uniform policy in some of its schools, making it the first urban district to do so. Though public school uniform use is not widespread, it is growing.
Reasons For and Against School Uniforms
Educators, parents, and students site many reasons in favor of school uniforms:
• School administrators face a complicated task setting a dress code: with inappropriate coverage (for example, strapless, halter, and midriff tops and too-short skirts and shorts) and inappropriate insignia (for example, slogans for alcohol and cigarettes and clothing with vulgar language or representing otherwise objectionable connections, such as gang membership), it may be easier to have a uniform than to detail and enforce independently chosen clothing.
• Dress code aside, the interest in fashion and fad combined with peer pressure can lead to pressure to spend money that some families can ill afford: school uniforms refocus this issue.
• Wearing of school uniforms prevents the formation of dress-identified cliques
• The wearing of school uniforms emphasizes membership and group identity, fostering a community spirit.
• Crimes involving stealing items of apparel are unlikely to be perpetrated if everyone’s apparel is identical.
• Because students can be easily identified, intruders in the school setting can be more readily identified and students on field trips are more easily accounted for.
• The wearing of school uniforms helps students to realize that a person’s unique gifts and personality traits go deeper than their apparel and aren’t diminished by uniform dress.
Other educators, parents, and students are opposed to school uniforms and give reasons like the following:
• Uniforms interfere with students’ rights for self-expression.
• Uniforms are an unnecessary expense and can create an economic hardship themselves.
• Uniforms are an unnecessary exertion of power by administrators who don’t know how to exercise responsible authority.
• The wearing of uniforms does not prevent the formation of cliques or gangs.
• The wearing of uniforms does not prevent students from expressing unpopular or inappropriate views in other ways.
• School uniforms can be ugly and/or unflattering, and having to wear something unattractive or unflattering is not good for students’ self-image.
• The wearing of uniforms my delay or prevent students from having to learn how to get alongside of people whose personal taste differs markedly from their own and which they may find unappealing.
• The wearing of school uniforms may give students the impression that conformity is the way to prevent conflict, and this is not an appropriate message for schools to send.
The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), which includes middle level principals, has not taken an official stand on school uniforms, leaving it to be decided school-by-school.
Public School Uniforms Sources:
• naesp.org
• nmsa.org
While school uniforms are typically found in private schools, it may have only been in 1987 that the first public school - Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, MD - instituted a school uniform policy. Then, in 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District in California adopted a mandatory uniform policy in some of its schools, making it the first urban district to do so. Though public school uniform use is not widespread, it is growing.
Reasons For and Against School Uniforms
Educators, parents, and students site many reasons in favor of school uniforms:
• School administrators face a complicated task setting a dress code: with inappropriate coverage (for example, strapless, halter, and midriff tops and too-short skirts and shorts) and inappropriate insignia (for example, slogans for alcohol and cigarettes and clothing with vulgar language or representing otherwise objectionable connections, such as gang membership), it may be easier to have a uniform than to detail and enforce independently chosen clothing.
• Dress code aside, the interest in fashion and fad combined with peer pressure can lead to pressure to spend money that some families can ill afford: school uniforms refocus this issue.
• Wearing of school uniforms prevents the formation of dress-identified cliques
• The wearing of school uniforms emphasizes membership and group identity, fostering a community spirit.
• Crimes involving stealing items of apparel are unlikely to be perpetrated if everyone’s apparel is identical.
• Because students can be easily identified, intruders in the school setting can be more readily identified and students on field trips are more easily accounted for.
• The wearing of school uniforms helps students to realize that a person’s unique gifts and personality traits go deeper than their apparel and aren’t diminished by uniform dress.
Other educators, parents, and students are opposed to school uniforms and give reasons like the following:
• Uniforms interfere with students’ rights for self-expression.
• Uniforms are an unnecessary expense and can create an economic hardship themselves.
• Uniforms are an unnecessary exertion of power by administrators who don’t know how to exercise responsible authority.
• The wearing of uniforms does not prevent the formation of cliques or gangs.
• The wearing of uniforms does not prevent students from expressing unpopular or inappropriate views in other ways.
• School uniforms can be ugly and/or unflattering, and having to wear something unattractive or unflattering is not good for students’ self-image.
• The wearing of uniforms my delay or prevent students from having to learn how to get alongside of people whose personal taste differs markedly from their own and which they may find unappealing.
• The wearing of school uniforms may give students the impression that conformity is the way to prevent conflict, and this is not an appropriate message for schools to send.
The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), which includes middle level principals, has not taken an official stand on school uniforms, leaving it to be decided school-by-school.
Public School Uniforms Sources:
• naesp.org
• nmsa.org
Uniforms in Public Schools
Public schools are discovering that uniforms send the message that a school is a workplace.
“I am dying to push for uniforms at my daughter's school because of what I see happening here,” she said. Mazaris teaches at Albert Einstein Elementary School in Oak Park, Mich. Its uniform policy was developed 10 years ago. Since that time, more and more individual schools and nearly entire districts—including Houston, St. Louis and Atlanta—have adopted uniform dress codes.
“School kids are preparing for the workplace and how to dress there,” said Vernon Polite, associate professor of education at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. “A uniform sends the message that a school is a workplace.”
Polite initiated the uniform policy at Einstein Elementary when he served as principal there from 1987-90. “When kids come to school in baggy pants, sloppy clothes and strange haircuts, they are not saying, `I am coming to school with a good work ethic,”` he added.
Polite, who works with public middle schools across the country, wore uniforms himself growing up as a Detroit Catholic school student. He observed there is a difference between the standard uniforms he wore and what is generally used in the public schools now “Very often we are talking about a code of dress, certain types and colors of pants and shirts,” he said.
That's the case at Einstein, where the uniform consists of blue bottoms and white tops that can be purchased anywhere from Target to Hudson's.
“It makes it so easy because it is so basic,” said Mazaris. “And it is so much cheaper than buying `fashionable' clothes.”
The uniforms take the focus off fashion and put it on learning, according to current principal William Washington. “We find the children are more focused, there are fewer fights and the students have a sense of pride as they travel through the hallways,” he said.
Washington said more than 90% of his student population of 650 come to school dressed in their uniforms. Although a student cannot be sent home for not wearing a uniform, there is a lot of peer pressure when nearly everyone else is wearing a uniform. “If you are not in a uniform you stand out,” he said—and what kid wants that?
Sense of belonging
Last year Mazaris assigned her students an essay explaining why uniforms are important to the school. Among the most-frequently cited reasons: fostering a sense of belonging, keeping clothes from becoming a social issue and saving parents money and trouble.
One f6urth-grader wrote, “School uniforms are extremely important. They prevent fights. No one can make fun of what you are wearing because they are wearing the same thing too. They allow you to concentrate more because you do not pay attention to what the person next to you is wearing. They give you school spirit.”
In Houston, the use of uniforms has grown “exponentially” over the past four years, according to the school department's media coordinator, Lisa Bunse. She said the trend started in the elementary schools of the inner-city district. Of the 288 campuses and educational programs them, she added, about 80% have adopted uniform codes.
Bunse said uniform codes are implemented school-by-school as the department surveys parents and student representatives on the issue, and encourages them to form decision-making teams. With such prompting and support, noted Bunse, at least six of the 15 high schools in the district have adopted uniform codes.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the trend to suit up for school.
'First amendment rights'
“Most of our students are overwhelmingly against uniforms “said Gary Frye, assistant principal of Carrithers Middle School in Louisville, Ky., which instituted a uniform policy five years ago. “A lot of them feel like they're being forced to wear something they don't want to wear.
shared his students' anti-uniform sentiment. He has one daughter in a middle school requiring uniforms and one in a high school that has a strict dress code and is pushing for uniforms.
“I think this is against my First Amendment rights,” he said. I am an individual-freedoms person and I don't want a council of parents telling me what I have to buy for my kids.” -
Frye said that if he wanted to, send his children to a Catholic school, he would willingly comply with the uniform policy at the selected school. It's different with public schools, he added, because there's no choice as to which one kids may attend.
At one Louisville high school, Frye noted, a number of parents have opposed the policy and discussed bringing in the American Civil Liberties Union.
They'll have their work cut out for them. In many public-school districts, uniform policies are coming to be seen as one small, but significant, counter-strike against the powerful influence of an increasingly aggressive popular culture. Many parents, educators and students alike recognize the measure as a move to help order triumph over chaos.
So strong is the attraction that even some of the educators have gotten in on the act. “I wear the uniform myself,” said Principal Washington, “and so do most of the staff. [The uniform policy] has been a very positive thing for all of us here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Diane M. Hanson. “School Uniforms: Not Just for Catholics Anymore.” National Catholic Register. (Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 1999).
Reprinted by permission of the National Catholic Register. To subscribe to the National Catholic Register call 1-800-421-3230.
AUTHOR
Diane M. Hanson is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Copyright © 1999 National Catholic Register
“I am dying to push for uniforms at my daughter's school because of what I see happening here,” she said. Mazaris teaches at Albert Einstein Elementary School in Oak Park, Mich. Its uniform policy was developed 10 years ago. Since that time, more and more individual schools and nearly entire districts—including Houston, St. Louis and Atlanta—have adopted uniform dress codes.
“School kids are preparing for the workplace and how to dress there,” said Vernon Polite, associate professor of education at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. “A uniform sends the message that a school is a workplace.”
Polite initiated the uniform policy at Einstein Elementary when he served as principal there from 1987-90. “When kids come to school in baggy pants, sloppy clothes and strange haircuts, they are not saying, `I am coming to school with a good work ethic,”` he added.
Polite, who works with public middle schools across the country, wore uniforms himself growing up as a Detroit Catholic school student. He observed there is a difference between the standard uniforms he wore and what is generally used in the public schools now “Very often we are talking about a code of dress, certain types and colors of pants and shirts,” he said.
That's the case at Einstein, where the uniform consists of blue bottoms and white tops that can be purchased anywhere from Target to Hudson's.
“It makes it so easy because it is so basic,” said Mazaris. “And it is so much cheaper than buying `fashionable' clothes.”
The uniforms take the focus off fashion and put it on learning, according to current principal William Washington. “We find the children are more focused, there are fewer fights and the students have a sense of pride as they travel through the hallways,” he said.
Washington said more than 90% of his student population of 650 come to school dressed in their uniforms. Although a student cannot be sent home for not wearing a uniform, there is a lot of peer pressure when nearly everyone else is wearing a uniform. “If you are not in a uniform you stand out,” he said—and what kid wants that?
Sense of belonging
Last year Mazaris assigned her students an essay explaining why uniforms are important to the school. Among the most-frequently cited reasons: fostering a sense of belonging, keeping clothes from becoming a social issue and saving parents money and trouble.
One f6urth-grader wrote, “School uniforms are extremely important. They prevent fights. No one can make fun of what you are wearing because they are wearing the same thing too. They allow you to concentrate more because you do not pay attention to what the person next to you is wearing. They give you school spirit.”
In Houston, the use of uniforms has grown “exponentially” over the past four years, according to the school department's media coordinator, Lisa Bunse. She said the trend started in the elementary schools of the inner-city district. Of the 288 campuses and educational programs them, she added, about 80% have adopted uniform codes.
Bunse said uniform codes are implemented school-by-school as the department surveys parents and student representatives on the issue, and encourages them to form decision-making teams. With such prompting and support, noted Bunse, at least six of the 15 high schools in the district have adopted uniform codes.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the trend to suit up for school.
'First amendment rights'
“Most of our students are overwhelmingly against uniforms “said Gary Frye, assistant principal of Carrithers Middle School in Louisville, Ky., which instituted a uniform policy five years ago. “A lot of them feel like they're being forced to wear something they don't want to wear.
shared his students' anti-uniform sentiment. He has one daughter in a middle school requiring uniforms and one in a high school that has a strict dress code and is pushing for uniforms.
“I think this is against my First Amendment rights,” he said. I am an individual-freedoms person and I don't want a council of parents telling me what I have to buy for my kids.” -
Frye said that if he wanted to, send his children to a Catholic school, he would willingly comply with the uniform policy at the selected school. It's different with public schools, he added, because there's no choice as to which one kids may attend.
At one Louisville high school, Frye noted, a number of parents have opposed the policy and discussed bringing in the American Civil Liberties Union.
They'll have their work cut out for them. In many public-school districts, uniform policies are coming to be seen as one small, but significant, counter-strike against the powerful influence of an increasingly aggressive popular culture. Many parents, educators and students alike recognize the measure as a move to help order triumph over chaos.
So strong is the attraction that even some of the educators have gotten in on the act. “I wear the uniform myself,” said Principal Washington, “and so do most of the staff. [The uniform policy] has been a very positive thing for all of us here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Diane M. Hanson. “School Uniforms: Not Just for Catholics Anymore.” National Catholic Register. (Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 1999).
Reprinted by permission of the National Catholic Register. To subscribe to the National Catholic Register call 1-800-421-3230.
AUTHOR
Diane M. Hanson is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Copyright © 1999 National Catholic Register
About Us
We have over 40 years of experience serving children's uniform needs to hundreds
of schools throughout the U.S. We feature American made name brand products whenever
possible. All products are machine washable and permanent press, except ties and blazers.
Our toll-free number is staffed six days a week to answer customer inquiries, assist with
sizing and receive phone orders.
of schools throughout the U.S. We feature American made name brand products whenever
possible. All products are machine washable and permanent press, except ties and blazers.
Our toll-free number is staffed six days a week to answer customer inquiries, assist with
sizing and receive phone orders.
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