Uniforms are compulsory in every Hih School in my home city of Melbourne bar three- 1 is a high school based in a University (Swinburne VCE Insttute), 1 is a high school right next to a university and very involved with it (The University High School
) and 1 is a school for 'problem' students, Kensington High School.
I go to a public high school, that has uniform-and i don't just mean a tshirt and a pair of tracksuit pants.
we have the whole deal-black leather shoes, woolen blazer, black (non-polyester) pants, white shirt, tie, etc etc.
It equalises us all. Some of our tudents are from very wealthy families, some ar from the middle, and alot (47%) are from families where euither they were born overseas or their parents were. Most of these families are poor.
A one-time spending of $350 on a uniform that will last the four years of school is actually cheaper then having to buy new clothes all the time for school. And if you wear the same clothes every day because you can't afford to have a large wardrobe, at least you don't stand out.
Sure, it isn't all that comfortable, but I believe that comfort is relative. Some people like to wear the blazer and shoes. At least it prepares us for the workforce, when we have to wear suits and ties all the time anyway.
There are aruments for 'free' dressing-its vibrant, it livens up the school, it gives people a choice. And whilst all these are valid to a degree, the fact of the matter is that school with uniforms can still be vibrant, sucessful, and lively. My school had the second best academic results in the state, has many sucessful sports teams, many music ensembles, an army cadet corps, an air force cadet wing, and just put on a performance of Les Miserables that was rated as four stars. For a school production, thats damn good.
On the ssue of choice: yes, its's great to choose if you can. But ome people can't. It would be unfair on them, and on such an unimportant issue as uniforms I cannot see why we should try to create division within our schools between the cool people who wear a new pair of jeans every day, and those that wear the same pair for four years.
School uniforms=good and necessary.
