As a retired teacher I have mixed feelings about uniforms. A few years back it was introduced in some schools as a panacea regarding very expensive designer sneakers which were being stolen by force from kids. I don’t know if it’s a good solution in general terms or not. I tend to agree with the individuality theme myself but with limits. There certainly needs to be a dress code or some reasonable limits placed on teens but on the other hand it’s an age for experimentation and if it is not allowed some outlet like any contained force, it will make it’s own and the alternatives may be far worse.
Going back to my childhood, we noted that kids coming home from Catholic School were nutso, literally throwing off the days restrictions with excessive rowdiness. Forward a few years, I had an opportunity to compare the behavior of my students with those of a teacher next door. She was an old fashioned school marm type with the best and brightest and a very restrictive style, and I, a relatively new teacher with 4 years with under my belt, a bit too loose in traditional terms.
Our differing approaches and the results were highlighted when we had subs come in. My kids, mostly average and below were distinctly better behaved in my absence. Again, put kids in a pressure cooker and they WILL explode when given the opportunity. I believe in a looser hand that helps a kids find their own way within limits. It helps develop self control. It worked with my own children and it worked with my students. My charges had an impulse to please me and thus were reluctant to do anything that would cause me embarrassment or distress.
No, I think strict controls are antithetical to the development of responsible citizens. Balance is needed. Uniforms stifle individuality and individuality is the very hallmark of a democratic society. This is one of the primary reasons why the military requires them. They demand absolute conformity and obedience sand understandably so but there is sad byproduct of this with many soldiers coming home and finding it very difficult to reintegrate into society. I actually believe, as well trained as our current military may be, we defeated Germany and Japan with relatively undisciplined draftees fighting against highly regimented troops. Why? Perhaps because our WW II troops maintained a greater degree of ability to think for themselves.
It’s an historical fact that the founders of this nation thought a standing army had no place in a democracy. Very reluctantly, in response to Indian conflicts on the frontier the American Legion was established under the command of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, but it still did not bear the name the United State Army. Interesting little side bar, Waynesville was named for this revolutionary war hero by it’s founder, a veteran member of Wayne’s command.
The point is, regimentation of our kids is simply not the way to teach self control and is, at it’s very core, undemocratic. The way to go is right down the middle between the two extremes.
