by M. Velasco

Created on: May 23, 2009   Last Updated: May 29, 2009

I remember during my last year in middle school right before the voting would take place of whether our school would be a uniformed school our teacher asked, "How do you feel about school uniforms?" In the murmurs and whispers of our classroom, no one was saying anything of legitimate sense. I raised my hand and responded, "If I wanted to be in uniform, I'd go to a private school, and obviously I didn't." And for that comment alone, as the school bell rang to dismiss us to our first period class, my fellow classmates applauded as we exited.

Thinking back to that moment in time, almost twenty years later, and after six years of working with middle school aged students I ask myself that common question, "What was I thinking?"

I was young, in a school where I was made fun of for wearing the wrong shade of pink one day, and yet was told my style was cool and hip another day. Now looking back and learning what I know now, I support uniformed schools. If our education must be uniformed and expected to meet a standard, schools can support such appearing to look uniform as well.

I'll even go as far to hold teachers that same accountability by expecting a uniformed school to have a uniform policy for their teachers and staff.

When I was that young teenager going to a middle school, I thought uniforms were for the prestigious, the successful, the classy, and the students who were going to prestigious colleges. So what's wrong with that? If private schools are laying out that same expectation, why shouldn't public schools lay out that same ground. Sure, public schools are located in urban areas of cities who may not have the kind of funding any school would like, but if our students are in uniforms with that expectation to succeed, our schools would have fewer concerns as to what they can and can not wear and focus more on what they can and can not accomplish.

For public schools, uniform policies should slowly be integrated by first starting off with specific dress code policies that are simple and easy to follow. I worked at a school with a two-page dress code policy and we were still sending students to the office because the policy stated two inches above the knee, and depending on your ruler, it might just be one and half inches above the knee. If we schools make the transition within simple grounds, terms that are easy for economically challenged families, a successful transition will be done within a school-year. If not within a school-year, then eventually,

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