Your thoughts on required uniforms in high schools and universities?

[Icekommander]

Uniforms are created for the sole purpose of removing individuality. Some jobs want their employees to only care about their job and nothing else, like in communist societies. Criminals in prison are also forced to wear uniforms, to kill their individuality. Military personnel are forced to wear uniforms so they lose their own personality and individuality are forced to blindly obey orders. That's also the same reason some high schools and universities have them, to kill the individual and create a class of sub-humans.

I think the school administrators have more important things to do then create a facist plot to dehumanize high-school students. This also explains why there haven't been anything like military coups, because all soldiers blindly obey orders.

I think that School Uniforms are rather pointless myself, and I'd rather save the expense of having to buy them to put towards more important things.

 

[TheLastOne36]

In Venezuela uniforms are necessary for class.

Now do you want your country to be anything like Venezuela?

The thing I hate about uniforms is that not everybody looks good in them. You could feel quite sub-conscious about it.

 

[Gangor]

Uniforms are created for the sole purpose of removing individuality.

Yes. This is so students concentrate on studying rather than what they are wearing the next day. It also serves to make Johnny stop looking at Janet-the-hot-chick-sitting-next-to-him's cleavage and start looking at the blackboard.

Some jobs want their employees to only care about their job and nothing else, like in communist societies. Criminals in prison are also forced to wear uniforms, to kill their individuality. Military personnel are forced to wear uniforms so they lose their own personality and individuality are forced to blindly obey orders. That's also the same reason some high schools and universities have them, to kill the individual and create a class of sub-humans.

 

[dosed150]

The main problem with school uniforms is that the school ends up picking ONE company that you are able to buy your uniform from. Then what happens is that one company jacks up their prices and laughs all the way to the bank.

at my secondary school for guys it was fine we had white shirts the kind you get anywhere, but the girls had these ridiculous blue and white striped blouses so my sisters uniform was always more expensive than mine

 

[GhostWriter16]

In one of my classes yesterday we had to have a class discussion about how it would be both morally and constitutionally wrong for high schools in the United States to have a strict dress code or worse, school uniforms. We all agreed that school uniforms would be a terrible idea. A uniform requirement is nothing more than authoritarianism, and pointless authoritarianism at that.

Just think of how terrible it would be if American high schools and colleges/universities had uniforms that everyone had to wear and you couldn't wear anything you want ever, only the uniform that the principal is forcing people to wear against their will. I do realize that some private (especially Catholic) schools do force students to wear uniforms.

You wouldn't ever be able to wear what you want and all of your clothes would be useless save for that one little pathetic uniform. I feel sorry for people who go to private schools, and not just because they go to a private school, but because they have to wear a uniform as well. Also, don't forget that along with that uniform everyone would have to have the same exact hair cut, like in the military, and you wouldn't be allowed to dye or highlight your hair or anything that is normal for teens to do.

The only "justification" would be that "nobody will ever get made fun of or picked on anymore because everyone dresses the same", which is fundamentally flawed in that instead of making fun of someone for the shirt they are wearing, people would be made fun of for their personality or their race/gender/sexual orientation/etc., which would be infinitely worse. Also, if everyone wore the same clothing (thus losing their individuality and ability to stand out), it still wouldn't change human nature. People will still fight and argue.

It's not like people really get picked on or made fun of in high schools anyway, atleast not in Missouri. Everyone is always nice to just about everyone, sure there are occasionally fights that break out, primarily over girls, but it's not like "give me your lunch money or I'll beat you up" which never happens.

It also would never work because people would rebel against it or simply ignore it. Once someone has tasted freedom (in this case the freedom of clothing, freedom of individuality, and freedom to the pursuit of happiness), they wouldn't just give that up. If high schools were to ever implement uniforms in the United States, it would be equivalent to being a Jew in Poland, circa 1942. What could a principal do? It would be like "this is your principal speaking, starting next week all students are going to be forced to wear a certain uniform that I want you to wear" and then everyone would still dress normal and not care what the principal had to say.

In real life people aren't forced to wear a certain piece of clothing and that's all they can wear indefinitely. Sure, some jobs have uniforms, but life does not, it's not like you'll get arrested simply for wearing something a cop doesn't like when walking down the street. Also having a school assigned uniformed goes against American ideas such as capitalism and freedom. So, what are your thoughts on the thankfully failed idea of school uniforms or dress codes that are unreasonable?


Would you rather keep your freedom:

Or would you rather be oppressed:

I oppose requiring people to wear uniforms, however, its far worse when there are none, yet Christians are told to turn their Christian shirts inside out anyway.

Also, your description is a bit loaded. School uniforms =/= police state. They are still unneeded. So I oppose them.

 

[LucyDuke]

High school students hold the power in America. We're the target group of almost every industry: music, video games, movies, television, fashion, the Internet, and just about everything else

I take it back. Don't stop. This is so good. I want more.

 

[downtown]

From what Downtown has said in other threads, it is apparently helpful with low-income students so they don't feel so out of place, and everybody will better concentrate on what is really important.

And it is also apparently helpful with high-income students so everybody else knows they go to that exclusive private school with the fancy crest.

I really don't see the point for everybody else with the possible exception that it is usually obvious whether you or your mom picked out your school clothes.

Yup. It also help keep gang identifiers out of school, and saves lower income families some money (group rates lower the prices the uniforms, and families can buy fewer clothes that way).

I couldn't imagine teaching in a poor school without them. Dress down days were always a mess in my classroom.

 

[_random_]

I wear a uniform to high school. It's not that bad. How should I vote in the poll?

 

[Justo]

We had school uniforms while at school. It didn't kill anyone.

It also helps with keeping randoms or groups from other schools from coming into the school which would on occasion happen during free dress days. Generally on these days fights were guaranteed.

It was also harder to skip school with uniforms not that it really stopped us.

 

[classical_hero]

I have never heard of a Uni forcing people to wear a uniform, unless it is really, really expensive, but then, most students would dress the same way anyway. I went to a private school that required a uniform. Back then it was just a minor annoyance rather than anything else. Since my school's name was ------ Christian College, we often called it ------ Concentration Camp. Well it was not actually bad, but just how much I hated school. Basically teens being teens, which is exactly what this thread is all about.

 

[gangleri2001]

High school students hold the power in America. We're the target group of almost every industry: music, video games, movies, television, fashion, the Internet, and just about everything else

That is totally true. Teenagers control the financial sector, the military, the state and the oil industry. Not to mention the global agriculture. What would we do without teenagers running all that stuff?

 

[Tani Coyote]

I want to be able to wear whatever I want.

We had to enforce dress code in our school, which is more or less the compromise between complete freedom and a uniform. I heard it was mostly supported by less fortunate parents who didn't want their kids to feel bad.

Well, screw those concerns. I want to be able to wear what I want.

Maybe I'm just anti-fashion, but a) people who make fun of others simply for what they wear are jerks, and b) people who feel bad simply because they can't get the most expensive clothes in the world are very shallow.

A shirt is a shirt. Pants are pants. Shoes are shoes. Easy. That's all you need. If kids make fun of you, report harassment. Don't enforce a collective punishment on the rest of us.

---

And dress codes do have more political undertones than one would think. What if black armbands were forbidden under the dress code?

 

[Hygro]

That is totally true. Teenagers control the financial sector, the military, the state and the oil industry. Not to mention the global agriculture. What would we do without teenagers running all that stuff?

 

[bombshoo]

I had uniforms in my school and I liked them. It removed the pressure of having to pick out your clothes everyday and I had to spend a lot less on clothes. I also think uniforms are great for hiding income differences between students and breaking down cliques. I realize that might sound like repression of individuality, but in the end I think it made everyone see each other more as equals and made everyone more approachable. Fortunately we were allowed a little individuality (just enough in my opinion), such as being allowed some jewelry, and for the guys, any neck tie that wasn't obscene. I picked up some great neck ties in high school.

I should be honest though, I did break uniform fairly often. I had none-regulation shoes my entire junior and senior year and rarely had my top button done.

From what I find, people that went to schools that didn't require uniforms see them as the end of the world, while people that actually had to wear them ended up not really caring.

 

[LightFang]

A shirt is a shirt. Pants are pants. Shoes are shoes. Easy. That's all you need.

What about undershirts, bras, panties, boxers, boxer-briefs, bracelets, hairties, ribbons, skirts, blouses, jackets...?

 

[cardgame]

You liked a complete lack of freedom and choice?

 

[sophie]

I oppose requiring people to wear uniforms, however, its far worse when there are none, yet Christians are told to turn their Christian shirts inside out anyway.

Now this is very interesting, because you're all about free enterprise. These are private institutions, shouldn't they have the right to make any requirements they want?

Also, your description is a bit loaded. School uniforms =/= police state. They are still unneeded. So I oppose them.

This, seriously. You prohibit any sort of discussion right away by loading your statements. Airstrike, I think I'd respect you a lot more on this site if you'd stop blowing things way out of proportion.

I've lost my faith in humanity because some guy raped someone and might get away with it

Bigotry because some atheist is being an ass

America's becoming a police state because of school uniforms

Sure all of these threads may have some discussion, but I'd be much more willing to talk about it seriously if you didn't blow the situation far and away out of proportion.

 

[Tee Kay]

I had to debate this in school a billion times, and I'm sick of the whole issue.

I'm against school uniforms, but only because we had to buy them, at selected stores, at criminally inflated prices. Otherwise, I don't really give a damn.

 

[W|M]

Also, the school might be notorious for something. A uniform will identify you from that school, and get people to immediatly lable you.

 

[bombshoo]

Also, the school might be notorious for something. A uniform will identify you from that school, and get people to immediatly lable you.

Most school uniforms are not nearly identifiable enough to be able to place them with a particular school. At least here, all the catholic schools used virtually the same uniform and the only other big schools with uniforms just used standard semi-dress wear.