School Uniforms....THE CONSPIRACY

Originally posted by ldyserenity
I have been mulling this over for years as when we moved to Philadelphia they required school uniform

With good reason! Philly has gang problems. Mundane school uniform colors helps curb that.

I could get her jeans for $10.00 off sale sometimes and on sale for as little as 5 dollars. The shirts really aren't too much difference.

Where on earth do you get kids jeans for $5?? The cheapest I've seen them is at WalMart for $20.00. But most of the kids wouldn't be caught dead in those and instead go for Aero or American Eagle for $40.00.

I'm talking middle class America ...

I absolutely approve of school uniforms. Especially for the city schools. There are gang problems and school uniforms help curb that. There are problems with kids trying to outdo others and outspend others with $200 sneakers or $150 jeans. Parents can't afford that. Kids can't afford that. Uniforms bring sanity back into the school clothing issue.

I have no problem with school uniforms. My daughter had them. They taught the children how to dress appropriately and how to take proper care of their clothing .. and how to have self respect and reflect that self respect in the clothing that they wore ... something they'll need to have ingrained in them if they ever want to get hired.

I had to go to the public high school (one of them) around the corner from us and I watched those kids go into the school one morning. The clothing was inappropriate. Flip flops and short shorts with halter tops and no bras ... boys with their pants falling down and having to hold them up ... etc. Obscene T-shirts. They dressed like idiots looking for a sex romp instead of dressing like people preparing to go to college and get a self sustaining job.

Yes, yes, I'm sure people will disagree and say that what is going on inside them is different than what is reflected on the outside. For the majority of these kids ... I disagree. Trouble and/or sloppy behavior on the outside reflects trouble and/or sloppy behavior on the inside. I'm all for people letting their freaky flags fly ... but school is for learning and part of that learning is how to dress correctly in order to be able to be able to get a job and function in society.

It's not about money or corporate control. Think about what a school uniform does to an individual. It removes all sense of individuality from appearence. When kids are forced to dress the same, look the same, act the same, it's nothing more than conformity to power and control. It sends the message that it's okay for people to tell them what to dress, look like, etc. It sends the message that it's okay for those in power in government that it's okay to be told what to eat, how much, etc.

That's what it's about.

In the UK school uniform is mandatory in the majority of schools.
I could never understand why my relatives in other countries went to school in non uniform and all excellled so it was obivously nothing to do with academic attainment.
One of mine recently retrurned to an excellent school for a little while and was issued with a little 'Uniform inspection card'. So many crosses and punishments were handed out etc.
No shirt to be untucked, no tie not straight, no wrong colour socks etc.....usual silliness.
But it occured to me that time spent disciplining basically very good children over stupid things could be spent on teaching academically rather than bickering like grown up toddlers over whether a shirt tail is tucked in or not.

One of my older boys sailed through this particular school making it his DUTY to never tuck his shirt in! He was a success at this to such an extent that one of the last messages from his year head and form teacher was a ' what a pity E****** never managed to tuck his shirt in!'

A dear relative of mine joined the navy at 16. He always says that he would be more afraid of having unpolished shoes and his superior officer finding out than he would be of an enemy firing a bullet at him.....and there lies the answer to the 'riddle of the school uniform'....It is all about Fear and Intimidation.

Locally there are two 14 - 18 age range high schools.

The one with strict uniform code has a 55 % exam pass rate.

The one with NO UNIFORM policy has a 91 % exam pass rate.

Interesting.....isn't it?


One more thought on 'uniform'. Take a look at the present UK govt, all went to a school with strict discipline code for uniform. They are totally obedient to whoever is pulling their strings and ordering them forward in their Kamikaze mission to destroy England and the United Kingdom. Every decision and move they make is faulty, disasterous and wrong and yet onward they go through the gates of hell like obedient sheep......who all used to wear school uniform. What a pity they never learned to rebel and stand for what is good and right and morally rewarding instead of just 'doing as they are told' so that their 'uniform inspection card' doesn't get a cross on it!

originally posted by: starshift
It's about sequentialization of the children in the institution. Free creative express is limited even at the surface level. Look alike, think alike as a collective.

This is it. This is what everything is about these days. Sure. There are lots of little agendas here and there but collectivism is the big one. Absolute control will only be achieved when every single individual seeks only to belong, to fit in and to never deviate.

originally posted by: EyesWideShut
I went to Catholic School as a kid and wore a uniform. Instead of kids focusing on fashion or the new air jordans, what you wore became a non issue. I see this as an even better deal in public schools because of the discrepancy in income of the parents affects what the kids can afford to wear, which in turn affects the childs self esteem. (kids are cruel)

When I was in school, our school was contracted with a uniform company and you were only allowed to buy from that company so the prices were crazy.

In the district we're in now we have a Khaki/Navy/Black Trousers and Light Blue Polo/Button Up policy, but you can buy your unifroms anywhere. We buy em from Old Navy because the prices are decent.

I did Catholic school as well. Uniforms and all. Did not for a second put a damper of class warfare of bullying...like not even a single difference between there and my public time. The discrepancy in income was still very well known. They knew which town and neghborhood you came from even with the uniforms. Didn't make the slightest bit of difference. they still knew what car your mom rolled up in and they still knew the difference in area. In the one I went to, if you were part of ***** you were upper class. If you were part of North ******** then you were not upper class. It was still catty, still bullying and sitll class warfare

All this as some attempt to align us to a code which ultimately failed and North ****** wasn't some dirt broke town...it was really nice...but nowhere NEAR the opulence of the other town.

I don't doubt your personal story, but it is not the story of all uniform wearing schools. In fact I know several who still had plenty of what the uniform policies attempted to stop

Do kids not get handmedowns anymore?.
I got a 2nd hand blazer around four times too big and I grew into it by 5th form.
I liked uniforms cos us poor kids wpuld not have the pressure to get the latest fashion fad.

Everyday I see children at the bus stop in front of my house. I wish they wore uniforms. The clothes their parents send them off to school in are deplorable. I mean bad. They look more like refugees or extras from a Mad Max movie rather than kids off to school to learn.

Clothing that is:

- inappropriate for a school setting
- inappropriate for the season
- inappropriate for their age
- ill fitting
- immodest

And these are the lower and middle school kids. When I drive past the high school most days while they are letting out - it's way, way worse.

This country has no pride anymore. So yeah, it may well be a conspiracy but not the one you are suggesting. We should be asking how and why America neglects it's kids, over-sexualizes them, etc and why as a country we don't really value education has anything more than daycare for older kids.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Absolutely agree. And here's the thing: you think the kids are expressing their individuality? Of course not! It's all about fitting in and looking like everyone else. That's why it's so hard for the parents who try to make their kids dress more sensibly. The kids cry and moan that this will make them stand out and look like a freak compared to the other kids. They say they will be teased, bullied, or just outright shunned. Their poor lives will be miserable if they don't get to wear their tight crop tops or their short shorts or their jeans hanging down around their ankles. They want to look like everyone else. No individuality there - it's all about conforming.

This is why I am all in favor of mandatory uniforms in school. This way, everyone still gets to look like everyone else, yet everyone dresses more sensibly.

I wore a school uniform attending a private high school in TX for most of high school. I and other opposed it at first, but it really wasn't that big of an issue over time.

Now in the middle of nowhere PH I still see students wearing uniform clothes when going to school. To me that makes no sense (weather also makes them get muddy.) School here costs a lot of money relative to the average income. Of course parents want the best for their children, but it seems like a business.

Some colleges/schools here fine the student for not attending whatever extracurricular event. If you can't attend you pay a fine. I couldn't believe the lesson being taught that with money you can pay your way out... However it seems true. =(

originally posted by: kosmicjack
Everyday I see children at the bus stop in front of my house. I wish they wore uniforms. The clothes their parents send them off to school in are deplorable. I mean bad. They look more like refugees or extras from a Mad Max movie rather than kids off to school to learn.

Clothing that is:

- inappropriate for a school setting
- inappropriate for the season
- inappropriate for their age
- ill fitting
- immodest

Ah, but don't you see? It IS a uniform. Just because it doesn't look like a uniform in the strictest sense of the word, it kind of passes for individuality. But if you look closely enough, what they're really trying to do is fit in. Every one of them.

And it has been the same for decades. When I was in school in the 70s - 90s you based your attire on what everyone else was wearing. You didn't try to be different.