JJR512
New Member
Over the summer my family has moved from one MD county to another, and we have learned that in this county (Anne Arundel), each individual public school was given the authority to determine, by parental voting, if it would require uniforms to be worn by the students. To institute mandatory uniforms, the school's administration had to create a proposed uniform, explain the uniform and the benefits of requiring uniforms, and receive votes from at least 70% of the families of children registered at that school, with at least 80% of the votes being in favor.
Most of the county public schools were able to adopt a mandatory uniform policy.
Exemptions will be granted on the basis of religious belief, financial hardship, or for national youth organizations' uniforms on their meeting days (i.e., Boy Scouts). Certain exceptions may also be granted on specified days throughout the year, such as for spirit days, etc.
It is my understanding that high schools are currently exempt from the uniform policy, so high-schoolers are bound only by the more traditional dress code (no revealing clothing, no tobacco/alcohol/drug use or promotion, no foul language, etc.).
Some comments brought forth by parents when the idea of mandatory uniforms was brought up a few years ago can be found here: http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/board/newpolicy/comment_uniform.asp
My thoughts? I am against school uniforms. I've been to private schools with uniforms and I've been to public schools without. With uniforms, what you had was that all the assholes dressed the same as the nice kids; the nerds dressed the same as the jocks; the popular kids dressed the same as the unpopular kids; the rich kids dressed the same as the poor kids. The uniform didn't stop any kid from being assholes, nice, nerds, jocks, popular, unpopular, rich, or poor. And when they got home, they all put on their "street" clothes and continued to be just as big of an asshole, just as nice, just as nerdy, just as big of a jock...you get my point...as they were while in the uniform. And the kids all always change out of their uniforms when they get home, so in addition to buying the regular clothes, parents now have to buy uniforms as well.
By making all kids look the same, uniforms are supposed to make all kids feel the same, feel equal to each other. Uniforms are supposed to stop kids making fun of other kids over their differences. Does this happen? Of course not.
Uniforms are the school system's answer to parents who complain that they don't like the way their kids dress, that what they wear is making their kids into bad people. (Read the comments on that page I linked to earlier.) The school system should have told the parents that the school's job is to provide knowledge; the job of shaping kids into decent people still primarily resides with the parents. The parents should be telling their kids what they can and can't wear and they should be teaching them how they can and can't act. Relying on school uniforms to take care of this for them will only make the problem worse in the long run.
Most of the county public schools were able to adopt a mandatory uniform policy.
Exemptions will be granted on the basis of religious belief, financial hardship, or for national youth organizations' uniforms on their meeting days (i.e., Boy Scouts). Certain exceptions may also be granted on specified days throughout the year, such as for spirit days, etc.
It is my understanding that high schools are currently exempt from the uniform policy, so high-schoolers are bound only by the more traditional dress code (no revealing clothing, no tobacco/alcohol/drug use or promotion, no foul language, etc.).
Some comments brought forth by parents when the idea of mandatory uniforms was brought up a few years ago can be found here: http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/board/newpolicy/comment_uniform.asp
My thoughts? I am against school uniforms. I've been to private schools with uniforms and I've been to public schools without. With uniforms, what you had was that all the assholes dressed the same as the nice kids; the nerds dressed the same as the jocks; the popular kids dressed the same as the unpopular kids; the rich kids dressed the same as the poor kids. The uniform didn't stop any kid from being assholes, nice, nerds, jocks, popular, unpopular, rich, or poor. And when they got home, they all put on their "street" clothes and continued to be just as big of an asshole, just as nice, just as nerdy, just as big of a jock...you get my point...as they were while in the uniform. And the kids all always change out of their uniforms when they get home, so in addition to buying the regular clothes, parents now have to buy uniforms as well.
By making all kids look the same, uniforms are supposed to make all kids feel the same, feel equal to each other. Uniforms are supposed to stop kids making fun of other kids over their differences. Does this happen? Of course not.
Uniforms are the school system's answer to parents who complain that they don't like the way their kids dress, that what they wear is making their kids into bad people. (Read the comments on that page I linked to earlier.) The school system should have told the parents that the school's job is to provide knowledge; the job of shaping kids into decent people still primarily resides with the parents. The parents should be telling their kids what they can and can't wear and they should be teaching them how they can and can't act. Relying on school uniforms to take care of this for them will only make the problem worse in the long run.
