Mar 05 2009
Are you for or against?
My 5-year-old son, Andre, attends a local head start program along with his 4-year-old sister. Andre is in the kindergarten prep class.
Recently, it was brought to my attention that I have to get him registered at the public school for kindergarten. When I was checking the website to see exactly what was needed and verifying where I need to go to do that I came across information that said the students at his school would be wearing uniforms.
Not too long before that I was having a conversation with a couple of other parents and they were saying they were happy about the children going to a school where they wear uniforms. I expressed that I didn’t, but I was immediately cut off with their reasoning: They don’t have to concern themselves with what the children are going to wear.
I actually like dressing my children in clothes that they like. They don’t often get name brand and they very often get clothes that are bought on sale at the end of the season. My teenager is a confident, creative female who shuns name brand because everyone else is wearing it. She gets lots of compliments and when she does buy name brand it’s always on sale - now that she’s older that’s her choice, not mine.
I have two main reasons for not liking uniforms:
- If they grow out of something you have to buy the exact replacement… the exact color, exactly a polo shirt or whatever. I am a stop where it’s convenient and on sale shopper so searching for something in-particular that 300 other people are buying is way irritating to me.
- Wearing uniforms is limiting (putting children in a box) and it allows parents and caregivers to not teach their children the true value of clothes and individuality. It instead is covering up the problem of an overindulgent and materialistic society. Parents are now happy that they don’t “have” to spend a lot of money and buy name brand clothes. What they fail to realize is they don’t have to do anything and if we all taught our children basic decent respect, values and appreciation they wouldn’t waste their time teasing someone about a piece of fabric with a fancy label.
If you’re in favor of children wearing uniforms, please don’t take offense. This is just my opinion and if yours is different I would love to hear it in a respectful manner, but it makes me a little upset when people think that conformity and squelching individuality is the answer. I think we’re coping out when we say that wearing uniforms allows children to focus better. Why aren’t we teaching our children to focus on what’s important?
You may say they’ll do it anyway. They do it anyway because it’s allowed. More importantly, taking away a distraction does not teach a child to deal with the distraction.
What are your thoughts?
I don’t think my post went through. I believe in the uniforms, this way you start them off wearing them and hopefully the next school continues. You never have to worry about what they are wearing or who is wearing the wrong color or a top too short, pants too baggy, etc.