[lbo-talk] school uniforms

[Jose Rodriguez & Sally Everson]

I'm not so sure that school uniforms force kids to group themselves on
things
other than what they wear or how they present themselves in school. But I
think its cheaper and easier on parents. Here in Puerto Rico (as elsewhere
in the Caribbean) all kids wear uniforms to school - private or public - and
while there seems to me to be a less intense ostracism or "classism" based
on clothing - its still there.  Some uniforms made at home or those made
with cheaper material may be looked down upon for one thing, then there are
accesories - shoes, belts, backbacks, you name it, the list is endless.  ANd
yes in some schools the kids are ruthless when a child doesn't have the
right kind of bag or the "good" material for the uniform, or shoes or
sneakers or belt or whatever.  But compared to my experience in US public
schools growing up during the 1970s- 80s it seems a better climate in
general for my own kids.  It definitely depends on the school - upper middle
class and elite schools are said to be the worst. And certainly kids might
envy the one with the coolest (and most expensive) backpack but I haven't
heard anyone killing another kid over one - even in public schools.  As a
parent I find it less stressful in the morning to just put the uniforms on
the kids - how I loath those "casual dress" days - you have too much to plan
on! Especially now since even toddlers are targeted by the fashion industry.
My daughter has been selecting her own clothing since she was 3, and wants
very much to be considered a "fashion girl"!  Now this she does not get at
home -- Last year (at age 3, in Pre-pre Kinder) she had to explain to me who
"Hello Kitty" was, why she so much needed a Hello Kitty lunch box, and what
malls her Mom could by it in.  I was astounded by her acquisition of this
knowledge in only a couple months of schooling. I can only imagine it must
be much worse in places where you have to completly outfit these kids head
to foot everyday. I am just barely able to cope with putting in pretty
hairpieces for my daughter each day, and acceptable supplies for my son (the
other day he came home miserable because someone poked fun at him because
his book bag was "old" and "dusty" and not a brand new one -- $50 or more
bag--  that everyone else had!).
What is interesting though is from what I can see, by high school all this
ridicule and ostracism peters out to a great extent. So perhaps quite a bit
in elementary is perpetrated by the parents -- like a big contest to see who
can perfectly outfit their young child. The other day I saw a mother
marshalling in an immaculate, exquisitely groomed 6 year-old girl, with a
perfectly fitting Hello Kitty rainjacket, and matching umbrella (for a very
brief rainshower no less). The mother looked so proud, other looked on with
envy.  As soon as the girl got into the building she pulled off the jacket
and ran off, throwing the umbrella down. The mother looked heartbroken.
Rainjackets seem hot this year.
The junior and high school students tend to be kind of messy, left to their
own devices and from what I have seen and heard that intense clique-forming
and competitiveness that somehow I survived in my US high school years
(being a complete outcast), doesn't really happen in general.  I'm sure
there are schools where it does (like elite schools)  but it doesn't seem to
be the norm by any means. (So perhaps this supports the idea that the kids
sort themselves out on other criteria than how one dresses). As a teacher
trying to get high school students or
lower level college students to compete in classes is like pulling teeth -
they tend to maintain group cohesion at all cost. But I mostly have dealt
with middle class teens so this might not be the
case in other sectors.
What role if any school uniforms have to do with this, I have no idea. But I
can see a marked difference in the way my young kids behave in uniform and
out of uniform.   The uniform seems to put them in school mode, is cheaper
and easier in the morning and that sure makes my life a bit easier.

Sally Everson

----- Original Message -----
From: joand315 <joand315 at yahoo.com>
To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] school uniforms (was: Ehrenreich responds to BDL)


> Miles Jackson wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 22 Aug 2003, mike larkin wrote:
>
> >>Dress codes that accomomodate individuality are one
> >>thing, and a fine way to curb all that sexy 11-year
> >>old Lolita stuff.  But uniforms? If you're a Maoist!
>
> > Go to a mall and look at the clusters of 13 year olds and
> > what they're wearing.  Can you say with a straight face
> > they're expressing their unique individuality?  Bullshit.
> > As Wojtek emphasizes, it's a corporate-garment-industry
> > mandated uniform enforced by incessant ads and peer
> > pressure.
> >
> > School uniforms stifle "individuality" no more (or less)
> > than current corporate standards for teen clothing do.  (Buying
> > corporate brands to "fit in" is not the unique expression
> > of a person's individuality!)
>
> I have to agree here that school uniforms don't stifle "individuality".
>   When I went to Catholic school, we found a way to make them ours.
> There is enough latitude in sock type, skirt length, blouse type, to
> make your personal stamp.
>
> I know that in Chicago people began thinking about "school uniforms" for
> public schoool kids, after inner city kids were being shot for the
> jackets or shoes they wearing.  Also, parents were lobbying for their
> kids to have "school uniforms" for this same reason and also because
> they thought it would save them money.  One thing that "school uniforms"
>   do is help to eliminate classism in school.  Kids have to find some
> other way to group themselves or ostracize one another besides the
> clothes that they, the kids, wear to school.
>
>
>
> > Miles
> >
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
>
>
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