Uniforms Won’t Make Kids More Productive
by Uniforms in schools.
About five or six years ago, our elementary school took a parent vote to determine whether our PTA should apply to institute a uniform policy. We failed by a long shot to get the 70 percent vote required to move ahead. It’s hard to say whether the defeat was owed more to opposition than apathy, but when anyone wants to tell parents how to spend their money, they had better be sure there is solid support for their position.
I urge the Norfolk School Board to proceed carefully while considering changes to its uniform policy. Please continue to let each school’s decision be parent-driven. After all, we are the ones who will have to pay for the uniforms, listen to our children complain and stay up late doing laundry to ensure that our children have a clean, mandated ensemble.
The question of how the city can help fund uniforms for families of limited means is also being discussed. Rather than fund mandatory clothing, perhaps the School Board and city leaders should worry more about the “mandatory” buildings our children spend six hours a day in. Many are still in appalling condition, with no concrete fiscal plan or schedule to upgrade or replace them. City funding is scarcer now than ever, and to worry about diverting funds to pay for homogenous clothing or light rail’s escalating costs in the face of decrepit educational facilities is frivolous at the very least.
Here’s my own modest proposal: Any Norfolk public schools student caught engaging in disruptive, dangerous behavior should be required to wear a uniform. Replace gang colors with navy slacks and a white shirt. Don’t institute corporate consequences for the actions of a few. The rest of the students are too busy learning in their jeans and red Chucks.
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