School Uniform

Seeing a teenage girl in a pair of tights in public is no longer a big deal. But what unusual about what I saw on a chilly day are the file of young high school boys cheering a few feet behind the girl in leg-huggers and her cohorts. I am sure the girls in front heard the jeering from these boisterous fellows behind them loud and clear. The tights this girl wore that day were definitely not the normal attires anyone would wear to school.

Perhaps, it is a high time we bring uniform back to all schools.

I remember the days when school uniform was debated in earnest. Unfortunately, freedom of expression and extra clothing costs had tramped over the good senses why uniform is still in vogue in some schools.

The scene of that girl in tights reminds me of the times when all school kids were required to wear uniform to school. They were the times when children did not have to express themselves through the type of clothes they wore.

We have all heard of traditional schools. Wearing school uniform is one of the many rules such schools require of their impressionable pupils. While many kids in schools where students can dress up as they please have floundered, more of their counterparts in traditional schools are flourishing with good behaviors, good grades and bright futures. These kids have certainly expressed themselves well under the plain uniform they proudly wear.

On the cost side of the debates, in these days and ages school uniforms are bargains when we compare the price of a set of basic uniforms to the cost of a pair of specially labeled jeans. Today, young people latch their fashion choices on the whims of their favorite pop star. And we all know how fickle some pop stars are.

It may be a far-fetched notion. I have also thought of having the kids worn uniform to school may lessen bullying in school. Uniform does give us a feeling of affiliation and belonging. This connection may inspire empathy in all of us. Wearing uniform to school can also eliminate the conflicts among kids who have and the kids who have not.

This is why I think all publicly funded grade and high schools should require their students wear the school’s unique uniform to school. - Ayee