[Everglow.]

I have mixed views on this. My school had a uniform and I never had too much of a problem with it, but I did always prefer mufti days. I think they have pro's and con's.

Pro's:
- It stops potential bullying based on income. If some students have less than others, for example tattered shoes or fewer clothing choices, it stops this being noticeable and therefore allows a less divided school environment. As a person who doesn't come from a lot of money, I felt relatively the same as everyone else at school because of my uniform and the fact I didn't have to worry about wearing the same shirt for two days in a week.

- Uniforms encourage a certain behavioural expectation. If you're in your uniform, you are representing an institution and so a certain level of behaviour is expected. Compared to mufti days, school was more controlled when we were in uniform. We were students rather than kids, which I guess has it's pros and cons too but it made learning a lot easier as people were in the correct mindset.

- It prepares us for the real world. As soon as I started work it was uniforms and dress codes. If we have to wear them at school it makes wearing them in the working world easier to understand and accept. It makes you a member of a group of people who are similar to you in at least one way. And, practically, it identifies you so that if something goes wrong, such as bad behaviour in public, there is someone the public can complain to. I know my school had plenty of public complaints! But, when there was something students were doing well, the public also wrote to the school to commend us too. So it works both ways.

Cons:
- It takes away the students identity and self expression. With really strict dress codes in particular, it prevents students from being able to discover their own look which makes them feel comfortable. If five days a week are spent wearng a uniform, it limits how much time they have to understand themselves.

- It could be seen as a way of depersonalising students. They're made into members of such a school and not kids with their own personalities and identities. That being said, some schools have housing systems which gives kids a sense of belonging which, I think, it better than having a school full of the same kid a thousand times over!


All in all, I'm not opposed to uniforms. I think they're a good idea now that I'm a retail worker who has to wear one every day anyway. At school it was something I was both proud of an ashamed of. I wore my tie half way down my chest in a big old wide knot which was, when I look back at it now, really ugly. But, my mum took a picture of me when my uniform arrived and it made her proud, and when I became a house captain and got a new special tie which was different to everyone elses, I started to wear it like a tie should be worn because I was proud. I liked my house colours and it gave me a sense of identity within the school as well as something to belong to which was more than just a bit old building. Mufti days seemed to bring out the worst in some people and I always felt sligtly out of place because I was a bit worse off than other people, but I know that this may be less of an issue for others. I don't think uniforms are necessary as such, and if they weren't enforced, perhaps it wouldn't be so different. But, I don't think they're a bad idea. I think they work and as long as they're not really uncomfortable and there's still room for personality (i.e. hair accessories, maybe nail paint), they're fine and I have no issue with them.