User talk:GeekQuad:Diamond

School Uniforms in Britain In the United Kingdom uniforms were the norm throughout most of the 20th Century and are still widespread, but the debate over their benefits and disadvantages is still raging some thirty years after quite a number of British comprehensive (public) schools stopped requiring students to wear uniforms.

School Uniforms in the USA School principals in America often believe that bringing in uniforms will solve the school discipline problem at a stroke. Of course this is nonsense! Uniforms can be a small (read tiny) part of the mix of attitudes, techniques, rules and norms which lead to a happy successful peaceful school, but they are not a panacea. Furthermore, schools can become happy successful peaceful places without uniforms.

This is good news because there are many people who are against School Uniforms and they have produced arguments of some serious disadvantages to introducing a school uniform policy.

Disadvantages of a school uniform policy. 1) High Cost of School Uniforms- Uniforms are not cheap and this is a good reason to be against school uniforms. Because children are constantly growing, there is a captive market for new school clothes and manufacturers take advantage. However, large volume manufacturers are producing very cheap clothing for younger pupils at the moment so this argument against school uniforms may not stand up to too much scrutiny.

2) Corruption and School Uniforms - The temptation for a head teacher to enter a cozy relationship with a local blazer manufacturer should not be ignored. Various British authorities have had to deal with corrupt heads working the system to steal money from schools.

3) Freedom of Expression is stifled by School Uniforms- A uniform breeds uniformity. We need free thinking children to become the thinkers of tomorrow, not drones who will continue making the mistakes of pervious generations. When we argue against school uniforms we argue against an education system that seeks to produce workers and for an education system that seeks to produce enlightened fully rounded human beings.

4) School Uniforms do not cut down on bullying - No matter what you dress students in, they will always find a way to pass judgment upon their peers. The clothes are not the root cause of bullying and therefore the bullying will continue, regardless of dress policy. No matter what clothing rules apply, students will always find ways to pass judgment upon each other.

5) School Uniforms are not safe to wear. Traditionally almost all school uniforms for boys include a tie and this is an inherently dangerous item of clothing. As a schoolboy the author of this article was personally endangered when his tie was trapped in a doorframe which resulted in his face being squeezed against a glass window in the door so hard that the glass smashed. For this reason alone the author is against school uniforms.

6)School Uniforms are a back-door form of selection. In February 2007 the british government issued new guidelines designed to stop headteachers insisting that specific suppliers be used by parents buying uniforms. This was not an attempt to stamp out corruption (see point 2 above) but a way of ensuring that equal access to primary education is maintained. Middle class parents can more easily afford uniforms and so were more likely to send their children to such schools than working class parents. Hence, the net result was a form of selection by uniform, where these schools gradually grow richer to the detriment of other local establishments. This goes against the principles of equal education for all.

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