School Uniforms - Pros and Cons

I went to public school where students were given the freedom to wear whatever they desire. However, there were a lot of problems regarding what is appropriate and what is not. Some students would wear band t-shirts and ripped jeans. No problem there. Some students would wear nice dressy pants and cute tops. Again no problem. When the warmer months encouraged shorts and tank tops, there were problems.

I don't remember students trying to wear anything "provocative" per se, but the school would send many girls home if shoulders were exposed. The narrative of the school admin was that shoulders were inappropriate and "distracting". As a 13-18 year old girl, that really did not make sense to me. Getting dressed for school during hot weather days was stressful. I knew that in order to follow the guidelines of my school that would mean I had to be uncomfortable and cover myself accordingly. When I was 13 years old I wore some very nice shorts my mother bought me. I did not make it 5 minutes into first period before I was sent to the office. There I was told to either wear one of the large boys basketball shorts they had in the office or I could go home and miss school. It was mortifying. I wasn't trying to cause trouble, I only wanted to feel comfortable at school! It is hard to find girls shorts that fit those lengthy standards.

Fast forward to today. I work at a school that has school uniforms. Girls either wear a dress or a skort. The length of those are up to school guidelines. Boys wear khaki shorts or pants with a nice button up shirt, or collared shirt. They don’t wear jewelry or paint their nails. There is even a standard for how long boys should grow their hair before they need a haircut. The students look nice, and seem perfectly comfortable. I imagine this saves plenty of time in the morning getting ready for school. I can clearly see the appeal for wearing school uniforms. All the students dress the same, therefore less room for students to feel out of place based on their appearances.

What are your thoughts on school uniforms? Do you also wish you could just throw on the same simple dress when you went to school? Or maybe you were glad to have the self-expression?

Share your experience!