All but a bare handful of Public and Private schools in Australia - or at least, Queensland - have mandatory uniforms. I certainly wouldn't attribute any ill-effects to the uniforms, and in all honesty, Nobody really cares that much - even those who ended up with really stupid uniforms, like one private school from another part of the city, which had the most disgusting fluro lime-green tube dress for the girl's formal uniform. The sport uniform consisted of the exact same thing, with school approved lycra shorts under it.
Some schools are pretty flexible when it comes to the uniform - for example, My school, Nyanda, Had for a formal uniform a white short-sleeve Button-down shirt with Navy trim on the sleeve and Jade piping around that, A Jade and Navy diagonal stripe tie, and some (often somewhat too short) navy shorts. Pretty much from my second year of high school, I wore long navy cotton drill workpants with extra pockets, High-top Steel-toe yellow workboots(I couldn't afford Docs, but these were close) and wore a t-shirt, with the school formal shirt worn loose on the top. The only time I ever got hassled was when I was wearing a shirt that said "Those that Can, Do. Those that Can't, Teach. Those who cannot do anything right, get elected." on the day that the minister for education, Anna Bligh, was visiting the school, and even then, they just told me to button up my shirt.
However, most people were not arrogant smart-arse little bastards like I was, so they wore their uniforms mostly in line with school policy - though of course, you had the traditional "too-small-skirt-oops-lost-my-top-two-blouse-buttons" sort of thing was pretty common, Not to mention about a third of the lads in the last two years of school got around in long pants because they viewed the shorts to be for the Jocks and the younger kids.
Though, admittedly, it also wasn't uncommon for me to just rock up in whatever I felt like wearing, and when questioned about it, invariably the reply would be "Casual Friday", irrelevant of which day of the week it actually was.
I love nonrestrictive uniforms. Of course, I don't care whether or not I'm forced to wear it or normal clothes, although I can understand what the ruckus is. Of course, it's just a matter of preference and honestly (be ready, this made me LOL too, but it's true), the combination of going to private schools most of my life and the amount of sort of school anime or anime that involves student in any way I watch only strengthen that preference.
I think they are great. I didn't when I was in high school, but having observed schools with and without uniforms, they actually work fairly well to reduce distraction (particularly among females), level the playing field socially between the haves and the have-nots, create an attitude of serious/professional study, and they are easier on parent's wallets and time.
Having gone to both a school with uniforms and a school without, I actually prefer uniforms, especially if they are not crazily strict about them like my school was. I agree with Kate on all these points. Rym just hates anybody telling him what to do.
(Plus, I think high school uniforms are kinda hot. *blush*)
No! My school uniform would beBattlestar GalacticaBDUs. No, wait - BDUs for winter, Kung Fu uniforms for summer.
The teachers should have to wear original Star Trek uniforms.
Actually, that's not such a bad idea. If schools want to enforce these kinds of policies, the students would be much less opposed if the policies also applied to the faculty and administration. Also, the administration would be much more hesitant to create stupid rules knowing that they also must follow them. It would be totally awesome for teachers to get detention.
So would you colour code students by year and teachers by subject?
I would color code the students by GPA. Kids in the AP classes would get the gold shirts. The jocks would get the red shirts because they're expendable. The slacker kids would get special puke green shirts with the insignia pointing in the wrong direction.
People who spell "color" as "colour" would have to wear one of those stupid Klingon sash deals.
I would color code the students by GPA. Kids in the AP classes would get the gold shirts. The jocks would get the red shirts because they're expendable. The slacker kids would get special puke green shirts with the insignia pointing in the wrong direction.
That's a little contradictory considering the slackers have the highest GPAs.
I would color code the students by GPA. Kids in the AP classes would get the gold shirts. The jocks would get the red shirts because they're expendable. The slacker kids would get special puke green shirts with the insignia pointing in the wrong direction.
That's a little contradictory considering the slackers have the highest GPAs.
Maybe school was a little different where I grew up, because our slackers definitely did not have high GPAs.
Maybe our definition of "slackers" is different. I'm talking about the kids who signed up for shop but then skipped and smoked a few cigarettes over a barrell outside the door to the boiler room before they spent the rest of the day scrounging around the Wal-Mart construction site looking for a place to smoke marijuana.
So would you colour code students by year and teachers by subject?
I would color code the students by GPA. Kids in the AP classes would get the gold shirts. The jocks would get the red shirts because they're expendable. The slacker kids would get special puke green shirts with the insignia pointing in the wrong direction. People who spell "color" as "colour" would have to wear one of those stupid Klingon sash deals.
So would you colour code students by year and teachers by subject?
I would color code the students by GPA. Kids in the AP classes would get the gold shirts. The jocks would get the red shirts because they're expendable. The slacker kids would get special puke green shirts with the insignia pointing in the wrong direction. People who spell "color" as "colour" would have to wear one of those stupid Klingon sash deals.
That would be so wrong on so many levels.
What's wrong about that? if you want a gold shirt, study hard and earn it.
The spastic kids would have to wear the pajama uniforms from the first movie.
The teachers would get to wear the uniforms from the Mirror Universe.
So would you colour code students by year and teachers by subject?
I would color code the students by GPA. Kids in the AP classes would get the gold shirts. The jocks would get the red shirts because they're expendable. The slacker kids would get special puke green shirts with the insignia pointing in the wrong direction. People who spell "color" as "colour" would have to wear one of those stupid Klingon sash deals.
That would be so wrong on so many levels.
I would volunteer to wear a sash of the House of Mogh, showing I am a true Klingon warrior. TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE!
Also, teachers aboard the Enterprise were non-commissioned and so did not have the Star Fleet uniforms. C'mon, people. Get with it. Sheesh.
Maybe school was a little different where I grew up, because our slackers definitely did not have high GPAs.
Maybe our definition of "slackers" is different. I'm talking about the kids who signed up for shop but then skipped and smoked a few cigarettes over a barrell outside the door to the boiler room before they spent the rest of the day scrounging around the Wal-Mart construction site looking for a place to smoke marijuana.
Our slackers were all the smartest kids who were bored in school. They got all As without studying or doing homework. The school was beneath them, and the most advanced classes from the smartest teachers posed absolutely no challenge whatsoever. They skipped school and smoked weed, but got all As because they showed up for the projects and tests. The smart kids who were not slackers were often also jocks and bandos. That's just because they decided to spend their spare no-studying time playing sports instead of getting high. I was the same, only I spent my time at home on the computer or playing video games.
Very few kids in my class got excellent grades and were also very studious. Those who did study did it because they were not as smart as the other kids, and would have failed had they not studied.
There were of course all the kids who did not study and were not smart. They probably are all unemployed right now.
In my school, the uniform for the kids who thought they too smart to study would be Captain Pike's wheelchair. There they'd sit until they could get over themselves.
I think they are great. I didn't when I was in high school, but having observed schools with and without uniforms, they actually work fairly well to reduce distraction (particularly among females), level the playing field socially between the haves and the have-nots, create an attitude of serious/professional study, and they are easier on parent's wallets and time.
Having gone to both a school with uniforms and a school without, I actually prefer uniforms, especially if they are not crazily strict about them like my school was. I agree with Kate on all these points. Rym just hates anybody telling him what to do.
(Plus, I think high school uniforms are kinda hot. *blush*)
Most high school kids dress exactly the same already.
The exception being those who care not about having the latest, 'most fashionable' and overpriced clothing, and instead just wear awesome T-shirts and other comfy clothing.
Most high school kids dress exactly the same already.
The exception being those who care not about having the latest, 'most fashionable' and overpriced clothing, and instead just wear awesome T-shirts and other comfy clothing.
Do people care about that?? I'm a teenager, and I just wear whatever. I don't care about what other people think about my clothes or my hair.
@ Jason: I was only using curing as an example. I meant any disruption of the educational process with words or deeds that may be considered expression. It isn't about being offended, it is about distracting from the goal - an education. Also, Jason, you assume that the benefits of uniforms are minimal, when many educators can point to instances where they are great. I will do research when I get home and give you specific examples.
Uniforms go beyond the point of not being a distraction, to upsetting kids and causing them to dislike coming to school, and in turn not be willing to learn. I know that if I was forced to wear a uniform when I went to school, I would have been nothing but mad, and would have disliked school that much more.
The way to get kids to learn is the exact opposite of what you're trying to do. Kids should not be able to be distracted, because they are so focused on the task at hand. Teachers need to get the kids involved in the learning process and interested in what's going on. Kids need to enjoy coming to school. Make that happen, and I guarantee that average grades will rise and dropout rates will plummet.
Most high school kids dress exactly the same already.
The exception being those who care not about having the latest, 'most fashionable' and overpriced clothing, and instead just wear awesome T-shirts and other comfy clothing.
Do people care about that?? I'm a teenager, and I just wear whatever. I don't care about what other people think about my clothes or my hair.
Yes, scarily, people do care about that to a scary extent, way more than they should.
I remember the schools I went to they tried to put up proposals for school uniforms, but was rejected every time. The general student consensus was negative was well. The basic dress code at my area is fine. No short shorts, no tank tops where the straps are less than an inch thick, no navel showing, yada yada. Pretty much the basic shirt, pants, and shoes rule. Why need a uniform at all? You're just wasting money that could've gone somewhere else is more useful, like new computers. If we're talking about a private school, fine.
I don't have any problems with uniforms, as long as they are actually uniforms. I have a problem when the rules seem arbitrary and unclear.
For example, my high school introduced a very strict dress code my sophomore year. You were only allowed to wear black, white, or khaki. The students rebelled in every way they could, and so the administration caved and allowed more colors the following year. I think they should have left it alone, only because it led to rules like this:
No red or blue of any shade. Girls may wear pink.
Pink can be seen as a shade of red. So which rule wins? It seemed to me that having a dress code that applied to every student worked a lot better. I ended up in a couple of situations where I would wear a shirt that would be okay for half the day, but another teacher would decide that it violated the rules and kick me out of class.
So what I'm trying to say here is that if you're going to enforce a dress code that isn't an actual uniform, you need to make your rules clear and applicable across the board. If you get situations where one teacher will say that something's okay but another one won't, your rules have failed.
Pink can be seen as a shade of red. So which rule wins? It seemed to me that having a dress code that applied to every student worked a lot better. I ended up in a couple of situations where I would wear a shirt that would be okay for half the day, but another teacher would decide that it violated the rules and kick me out of class.
This is a great example of the injustice and hypocrisy of school policy that results in distrust of authority among the students.
Pink can be seen as a shade of red. So which rule wins? It seemed to me that having a dress code that applied to every student worked a lot better. I ended up in a couple of situations where I would wear a shirt that would be okay for half the day, but another teacher would decide that it violated the rules and kick me out of class.
This is a great example of the injustice and hypocrisy of school policy that results in distrust of authority among the students.
You say distrust of authority as if it's a bad thing.
You say distrust of authority as if it's a bad thing.
It's not a bad thing to question authority figures, since that's the only way to make sure that they really are doing their best to do right by the people they have authority over. However, we should be able to have some sort of trust in the people we answer to as well. For example, children should be able to trust their parents. Similarly (and on topic), school students should be able to know whether they are breaking the rules. They may not choose to obey them, but they shouldn't be put in a position where they think that they're following the rules, and someone will randomly decide that they aren't.
Comments
Some schools are pretty flexible when it comes to the uniform - for example, My school, Nyanda, Had for a formal uniform a white short-sleeve Button-down shirt with Navy trim on the sleeve and Jade piping around that, A Jade and Navy diagonal stripe tie, and some (often somewhat too short) navy shorts.
Pretty much from my second year of high school, I wore long navy cotton drill workpants with extra pockets, High-top Steel-toe yellow workboots(I couldn't afford Docs, but these were close) and wore a t-shirt, with the school formal shirt worn loose on the top. The only time I ever got hassled was when I was wearing a shirt that said "Those that Can, Do. Those that Can't, Teach. Those who cannot do anything right, get elected." on the day that the minister for education, Anna Bligh, was visiting the school, and even then, they just told me to button up my shirt.
However, most people were not arrogant smart-arse little bastards like I was, so they wore their uniforms mostly in line with school policy - though of course, you had the traditional "too-small-skirt-oops-lost-my-top-two-blouse-buttons" sort of thing was pretty common, Not to mention about a third of the lads in the last two years of school got around in long pants because they viewed the shorts to be for the Jocks and the younger kids.
Though, admittedly, it also wasn't uncommon for me to just rock up in whatever I felt like wearing, and when questioned about it, invariably the reply would be "Casual Friday", irrelevant of which day of the week it actually was.
(Plus, I think high school uniforms are kinda hot. *blush*)
I wonder if there would be any pronounced long-term psychological side effects as a result of color-coding student uniforms based on grade level.
People who spell "color" as "colour" would have to wear one of those stupid Klingon sash deals.
Maybe our definition of "slackers" is different. I'm talking about the kids who signed up for shop but then skipped and smoked a few cigarettes over a barrell outside the door to the boiler room before they spent the rest of the day scrounging around the Wal-Mart construction site looking for a place to smoke marijuana.
The spastic kids would have to wear the pajama uniforms from the first movie.
The teachers would get to wear the uniforms from the Mirror Universe.
Also, teachers aboard the Enterprise were non-commissioned and so did not have the Star Fleet uniforms. C'mon, people. Get with it. Sheesh.
Very few kids in my class got excellent grades and were also very studious. Those who did study did it because they were not as smart as the other kids, and would have failed had they not studied.
There were of course all the kids who did not study and were not smart. They probably are all unemployed right now.
School needs to be harder. Much much harder.
Oh bugger, why didn't I make a joke in reference to America's failing school system?
The way to get kids to learn is the exact opposite of what you're trying to do. Kids should not be able to be distracted, because they are so focused on the task at hand. Teachers need to get the kids involved in the learning process and interested in what's going on. Kids need to enjoy coming to school. Make that happen, and I guarantee that average grades will rise and dropout rates will plummet.
For example, my high school introduced a very strict dress code my sophomore year. You were only allowed to wear black, white, or khaki. The students rebelled in every way they could, and so the administration caved and allowed more colors the following year. I think they should have left it alone, only because it led to rules like this:
No red or blue of any shade.
Girls may wear pink.
Pink can be seen as a shade of red. So which rule wins? It seemed to me that having a dress code that applied to every student worked a lot better. I ended up in a couple of situations where I would wear a shirt that would be okay for half the day, but another teacher would decide that it violated the rules and kick me out of class.
So what I'm trying to say here is that if you're going to enforce a dress code that isn't an actual uniform, you need to make your rules clear and applicable across the board. If you get situations where one teacher will say that something's okay but another one won't, your rules have failed.