I homeschool my children, but two of them have often chosen to take a class or two at the public schools for a little variety or to take a class I couldn’t teach them. My second child, Jennifer, was my only child to encounter uniforms. She had signed up to take art and science at the public schools. She had been considering the possibility of returning to school full-time and wanted to test the waters with these two classes. After going through the process of getting enrolled, I entered the office one day to find a display case filled with...uniforms. Next year, everyone was going to have to become a clone. I was amused to note that next to the display case was a poster which said that students needed to gain a strong sense of self. They should not smoke to be like others. They should not join gangs to fit in…and they should not choose their clothes based on what other kids wear. It was important, according to this poster, for kids to be individuals and to respect their own choices. I pointed out the contradiction and when I returned, the poster had disappeared. The uniforms, of course, remained. The school had chosen its values.
Clothes alone will not make a child behave. Oh yes, it is easier to change a child’s wardrobe than to do the hard work of really creating an environment of cooperation and learning. It costs nothing-the parents foot the bill. It takes no real time or effort. Well, I take that back. One official told me he wanted to add another color but couldn’t figure out which shade of yellow would be most effective in meeting goals. Which shade of yellow? This school had poor test scores, hungry children and insufficient books…and he was spending all his time worrying about a shade of yellow?
The Department of Education has an article online detailing the reasons for school uniforms. Let’s take a look at them one by one.
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