by Trudy S. Underwood
In recent years, school apparel has been a pretty casual thing. Basically, most communities in America nowadays seem to take it for granted that teenagers will wear what they want to. I grew at a pretty laid-back climate, but even I am surprised by some of the things I see teens wearing nowadays. Baggy pants which leave the underwear showing, excessively tight and revealing clothing, and shirts with messages advertising drug use are pretty common about town.
It is not that the Englishman can’t feel—it is that he is afraid to feel. He has been taught at his public school that feeling is bad form. He must not express great joy or sorrow, or even open his mouth too wide when he talks—his pipe might fall out if he did.
—E. M. (Edward Morgan)
In this climate, people have really started to rethink school apparel. As a matter of fact, this year our school is the first one in the district to use high school uniforms. It started out as an idea in one of the parent council meetings I was attending. It was about a month ago. I commented that when I saw students wearing school spirit gear – such as during home-coming week – they seemed to be much better behaved. When they dress better, they adjusted their behavior and were more respectful at school. A lot of other parents and teachers had noticed the same thing.
Although most of us consider ourselves pretty progressive people, we wondered if school uniforms wouldn't be a good idea to try out – at least for a while. After all, if school apparel is affecting students behavior, it only reasons that students who were dressed in uniforms would behave better. We decided to put the idea to the test.
The happiest two-job marriages I saw during my research were ones in which men and women shared the housework and parenting. What couples called good communication often meant that they were good at saying thanks to one another for small aspects of taking care of the family. Making it to the school play, helping a child read, cooking dinner in good spirit, remembering the grocery list,... these were silver and gold of the marital exchange.
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)
Let me tell you that shopping for school clothing with my teenage daughter was not much fun for either of us this year. She was furious with me, particularly when I told her that I had been the one to propose the idea of requiring a school uniform. Rather than getting all of the stylish school clothes she usually got, she had to wear exactly the same outfit as everyone else. My daughter likes to express herself through her clothing, so this was a hard pill to swallow. Nevertheless, she got over it pretty quickly.
The final verdict is not in, but so far the effects of school uniforms seem pretty clear. We have had less fights than ever before, and our students don't seem to be skipping class as much either. They find little ways to rebel by customizing their school apparel, but this is not a big deal. The school even seems less clickish than it used to be.