A-dressing the issue of school clothes

This is ridiuclous. If he's not the one wearing them, why does he even need an opinion? Leave the kids alone. You only get to be a kid once. Buying uniforms will not save us money. I already have to buy clothes for my children. They wear those clothes to school. Uniforms will add to what I have to buy, not take away from it as I will not make them wear the uniforms out and about everywhere. Wearing the same exact outfit will cause worsening of the body image of many of the girls. Everyone is not shaped the same way and should not be made to wear the same outfit.

also the school uniforms are expensive and cheaply made

mother of two wrote:

This is ridiuclous. If he's not the one wearing them, why does he even need an opinion? Leave the kids alone. You only get to be a kid once. Buying uniforms will not save us money. I already have to buy clothes for my children. They wear those clothes to school. Uniforms will add to what I have to buy, not take away from it as I will not make them wear the uniforms out and about everywhere. Wearing the same exact outfit will cause worsening of the body image of many of the girls. Everyone is not shaped the same way and should not be made to wear the same outfit.

He is a wise man and I agree with what he said.

It's a silly idea. Education is about learning, not what you wear.

mother of two wrote:

This is ridiuclous. If he's not the one wearing them, why does he even need an opinion? Leave the kids alone. You only get to be a kid once. Buying uniforms will not save us money. I already have to buy clothes for my children. They wear those clothes to school. Uniforms will add to what I have to buy, not take away from it as I will not make them wear the uniforms out and about everywhere. Wearing the same exact outfit will cause worsening of the body image of many of the girls. Everyone is not shaped the same way and should not be made to wear the same outfit.

Guess what ... in almost any job they take later on, they will have to a wear a uniform of some sort. Whether it's food service, retail, blue collar, or even white collar positions, they will be expected to wear what's deemed appropriate. Nurses wear scrubs, doctors in the hospital wear lab coats (and usually a suit without a jacket underneath), respectable lawyers who want to be taken seriously generally wear suits, etc. etc. etc. Having to wear a uniform during school and then having to change into after-school-clothes is a lesson that, in my opinion, would not be a bad one for our kids to learn. As for the comment on girls' body images ... have you seen what girls try to get away with at school these days?!?! Do you really want to condone that? A uniform would help eliminate that as a distraction and help girls to focus on the really important things they should be focusing on while at school which is school work, learning, and developing their mental maturity.

also you cant get the length and waist right and have hem them

I agree as well. Less distractions at school=more learning which is why children are at school in the first place. Uniforms are cheap, schools can also get a discount for bulk orders.

Yes we need to get teh ready for obama' youth army, start training them now.

It's a pity that it has to come down to uniforms to get PARENTS to take responsibility for their kids' appearence at school. I pass by schools with girls coming out that look like they are dressed for their "side job" of streetwalking for a living; and guys who look like homeless bums. Makes me wonder: Where is the PARENT who's responsible for that kid? It boils down to one thing; DISIPLINE...which is pretty much non-existent in schools and homes nowdays! The "carry-over hippies" have taught their kids, "Nobody can tell me what to do." We see the results walking in and out of our schools and all too often in our jails. I'm personally not a great fan of uniforms in school; but if the parents can't step up the way they need to, then the schools may need to do it for them.

anon wrote:

It's a silly idea. Education is about learning, not what you wear.

That is the point he was trying to make. If nobody is worried about what the other care is kids are wearing there is that much more time they can spend on learning.

Russ T Cobb wrote:

It's a pity that it has to come down to uniforms to get PARENTS to take responsibility for their kids' appearence at school. I pass by schools with girls coming out that look like they are dressed for their "side job" of streetwalking for a living; and guys who look like homeless bums. Makes me wonder: Where is the PARENT who's responsible for that kid? It boils down to one thing; DISIPLINE...which is pretty much non-existent in schools and homes nowdays! The "carry-over hippies" have taught their kids, "Nobody can tell me what to do." We see the results walking in and out of our schools and all too often in our jails. I'm personally not a great fan of uniforms in school; but if the parents can't step up the way they need to, then the schools may need to do it for them.

We could put them in "real" country western outfits, sequined jackets in their school colors.........very few girls dress in the manner you suggest...

The way you look has nothing to do with learning. Kids already go to school eight hours a day, come home with tons of homework, now they want to tell them how to dress. What more could they ask for?

unless your child is being teased because he can't afford to wear the latest fashions...seems to work in other states........

I can promise from first hand experience that uniforms do make a difference. It really does level the playing field from the have and have nots. Other than being in a alternative setting the kids do have the option of showing thier own sense of style.

I taught in a school district that required a simple uniform ... khaki, black, or navy pants (or skirts ... the girls could choose), red, navy, or white pullover shirts. And they weren't specific pants or pullover shirts, they just had to be pull-over with top buttons ... no specific brand. Even this simple uniform made a big difference in the focus in the classroom. This school, btw, is here in Texas.

a teacher wrote:

I taught in a school district that required a simple uniform ... khaki, black, or navy pants (or skirts ... the girls could choose), red, navy, or white pullover shirts. And they weren't specific pants or pullover shirts, they just had to be pull-over with top buttons ... no specific brand. Even this simple uniform made a big difference in the focus in the classroom. This school, btw, is here in Texas.

I've taught in multiple districts in Texas and have never been in one that required uniforms. I don't understand what difference a uniform would have made in my ability to effectively teach a child and to help them to concentrate.

What they wore had nothing to do with my classroom environment. In all the years I taught, I never experienced a single day where clothing created a distraction or kept me from helping my students focus in order to learn.

There are MUCH bigger issues regarding public education than to focus on this one that is so trivial.

Find something else that really matters to gripe about.

pops wrote:

<quoted text>
We could put them in "real" country western outfits, sequined jackets in their school colors.........very few girls dress in the manner you suggest...

Unless the girls in VA are vastly different from many in OK, you might want to check again. Not all, but many around here show Way too much skin in my opinion. The jeans are too tight,skirts too high, and tops too low. Distractive? Well,the mini-skirts worn when I was in school got the attention of my friends and I...enough said on that. Mama, why would you send your daughter to school (or anywhere else) dressed in a way to draw inappropriate attention to her that could lead to undesirable actions?

It is only the trashy poor people that can not keep up with the upper class that are b*itching. This is a everyday fact of life, trash will be trash..the rich will be rich!:)

anon wrote:

<quoted text>
I've taught in multiple districts in Texas and have never been in one that required uniforms. I don't understand what difference a uniform would have made in my ability to effectively teach a child and to help them to concentrate.
What they wore had nothing to do with my classroom environment. In all the years I taught, I never experienced a single day where clothing created a distraction or kept me from helping my students focus in order to learn.
There are MUCH bigger issues regarding public education than to focus on this one that is so trivial.
Find something else that really matters to gripe about.

Since you've taught in one that didn't require uniforms, then I guess you don't really have much to compare with. At least I've taught in both types of schools (with uniforms and without) and I noticed an obvious difference. And I'm not talking about just in my classroom ... I'm talking about in the hallways, in the lunch room, outside before and after school ... there was definitely a difference. I wish I could explain exactly why, but there definitely was.

"... Since you've taught in one that didn't require uniforms,..."

Ooops, I meant "since you HAVEN'T taught ...."

Oh well ... I assume you knew what I meant.