Article: “School Uniforms Work Wonders”
Author: Kevin Cullen, Writer, Commercial News.
Originally Sourced: Commercial News, Danville, Illinois September 18, 2011
http://commercial-news.com/local/x1700248659/School-uniforms-work-wonders
School uniforms work wonders
The ongoing District 118 School Uniform Debate has been interesting to follow and reflect upon.
I never had to wear a school uniform, but both of our daughters did … each for 12 years.
They attended a Catholic grade school and a Catholic high school. The girls’ dress uniform, when they were little, consisted of a blue-and-white plaid jumper, a white blouse with the school crest on it, and knee socks.
Most days, though, they wore navy blue slacks or shorts, a white blouse, and navy blue socks.
All the girls in the school wore the same basic outfit every day, so there was never an argument over what any one girl wanted to wear, or whether her clothes were as nice as somebody else’s clothes.
Uniforms are, after all, uniform.
And, it goes without saying, our girls looked perfectly adorable as they headed off to school — two blocks away — wearing their tidy little jumpers, fall jackets, and toting their book bags. The school was built in 1896, so it was like a scene from 1930.
High school — a time of cliques, class warfare, and, sometimes, awful cruelties — was easier with uniforms. All the girls, rich or poor, wore knee-length plaid skirts, white blouses, and, in cool weather, blue sweaters. All the boys wore blue slacks and white shirts with collars.
Uniforms, it seems to me, unified the students and gave them a sense of pride, ownership and belonging. They also let teachers be teachers instead of Gestapo officers. No one was allowed to come through the door with 6 inches of his underpants showing, or holes in his trousers, or cleavage, or wearing clothes so tight that they looked like they’d been painted on.
That’s not a minor thing. When teenaged girls walk the halls of a high school [in tight, short clothing], and boys dress like clowns and hoodlums, education suffers. Students become distractions, actors. They are in school to learn, not to express their amazing fashion sense or audition for “Jersey Shore.”
I’m sure that school uniforms saved Laurie and me thousands of dollars over the years. The girls’ uniforms were relatively inexpensive, generously cut, sturdily constructed, and timeless. When Ruth outgrew something, Elizabeth wore it. A couple of jumpers, a few blouses and a couple of skirts were all that a girl needed. We mixed and matched. There was no drama.
A used-uniform sale was held every year. Kids outgrow their clothes pretty fast, so it was nice to be able to buy good-as-new uniform parts being sold by other families. Almost everybody did it.
I have no idea how the Great Uniform Debate will play itself out in District 118, but I plan to stay tuned. Based on my many years of experience, I think school uniforms would work wonders.