Toy Soldiers
Ever since the beginning of time people have
been dressing in ways that describe
their cultural background, social status,
and sometimes even their religion. I
do not see why this deep tradition
should be changed, throwing children of
different backgrounds all into the
same unifying clothing. I did not go to a
school where I had to wear a
uniform, so I do not exactly have a firsthand idea
of what it would be like
to wear one. I do know though, that I would feel
uncomfortable. The way I
dress is something that I take pride in and put effort
into. That might sound
corny, or strange, but I really do not give a damn! I
enjoy looking good,
everybody does, however not everybody will admit it. As a
senior in high
school I was voted best dressed, a huge accomplishment if you
went to the
school that I did. All of my friends, all of the girls that I was
interested
in, and even most of the teachers dressed with a certain passion, the
passion
to impress others with their outward appearance. While reading a
recent
article in the Chicago Tribune by Lauren Waters, I found that Dr.
Harold
Goldstein held the same opinions on the subject of school uniforms
as I do. Dr.
Goldstein is the school superintendent of the Bethlehem
Trinity Lutheran School
System, in Poughkeepsie, NY. Dr. Goldstein was
asked to make a speech for the
National Reading Council on the topic of
school uniforms, in the article he was
quoted as saying: "In all of the
fifteen years I have been teaching, I have
never seen a school that resembles
an institution atmosphere as much as the
B.T.L.S.S. At first we believed
that the school uniform would improve academics
and increase order in the
classroom, but in reality, we now have an UN-spirited
group of children who
no longer enjoy attending their own school"(Waters,
121). In this case,
the school not only had a decrease in academics, it was
turned into an almost
drone like atmosphere. I feel that if school uniforms were
implemented, this
passion and desire to look good would be diminished. I mean,
how much control
can you possibly have with your appearance, when you are told
what to wear.
Originality is something that would also be destroyed. There would
be no more
trend setters, or fashion experimentation. Thus, style would come to
a
complete halt! Now I know that I am making this all sound very dramatic, but
I
am trying to make a point here. Also, as I said in the introduction, many
people
dress in affiliation with their religion or culture. If school
uniforms were
brought into effect, what would happen to the Jewish kids that
had to wear a
Yamalka? Could Muslim children wear head wraps, or could
Christians even wear
crosses? This is another problem that would arise.
Christopher Bishop, a writer
for Time Magazine, researched the idea of having
school uniforms in several
Texas public schools. Bishop found the biggest
problem was for the children of
the Middle East, who were unable to wear
their traditional wraps and cultural
robes. "...in most cases the children
were forced to just up and change
schools, and move to different
community"(Bishop, 77). Kids would always be
trying to squeeze a little more
freedom out of the system. Where do you draw the
line? What is wrong with
kids dressing in all black with fishnet stalking on
their arms? In my
opinion, nothing, it is just different. Let kids express
themselves. Let the
Indians wear their full body sheets, and the cowboys wear
their oversized
belt buckles. The child’s clothing is not what’s causing the
problem; it is
their upbringing. The final problem that I see with school
uniforms, or atlas
the last one I can think of, is money. I do not have the
faintest idea how
some people can see school uniforms as being cheaper. It is
not like the kids
are going to wear those ugly things everywhere. What kind of
social leper is
going to wear blue trousers and penny loafers to play ball on
the weekend?
Parents are still going to have to fork out money for regular
clothes. Also,
what happens when an article of the uniform gets ripped, torn, or
stained?
There goes a bunch more money for replacements. In a recent pole taken
in New
York of 1,000 parents who had to wear school uniforms in the past and are
now
faced with dilemma of sending their children to school that has
uniforms,
78% said that they would not be in favor of putting their kids
in uniforms. The
biggest reason was found to be because of money problems. I
can see how some
people would vote for school uniforms, but I still do not
think it would be an
intelligent choice. The negatives brought on by having
school uniforms outweigh
positives by far. Why do we feel this need to make
everybody look the same, we
are not, and in many ways. Leave the uniform to
the military, not the
classroom.