The Great Debate: Week 1

HOLY ***, lol. This forum seriously needs a great AH quotes thread.

Lolz.

Im going with no. I dont like the idea of forcing a child to wear a uniform, i understand why some schools do, but i just dont like it. Sure dress codes need to be in effect, at least, in the highschool, and unfortunately middleschool ranges...

I grew up in northern CA, Pretty damn liberal place, and i was raised by hippies... so my opinions are based on that i suppose. I dont feel its right to force kids to go to school period, but thats a different topic, lol. I dont belive in uniforms, but i certainly dont think that girls under 18 should be allowed to dress like total skanks, or guys to have there pants around thir ankle's showing off their boxers to everyone.

-Edit, Im sure somones going to dog me on the "under 18" crap.

I dont think girls should dress like skanks period. No matter what age. My neice is 13, and i am sickend by her myspace. Its absolutely pathetic... 13 and she has pics of her shaking her booty and other pathetic kids hitting on her left and right.

I didnt like wearing a uniform at first either. My middle school/high school decided to change to uniforms one year. I think the reason I didnt like it was because it was the cool thing to do to go "booooo uniforms"

but it was nice not to have to worry about what to wear. I never was a stylish dresser. In fact all the casual days were a killer to me because I never knew what to do wear and if you went to school in uniform then everybody was like "why uniform!?"

however, it wasnt very good at stopping the cliques from forming or kids from making fun of how you dressed. There were still those kids who came to school in the big name brand clothes. At the time you were super awesome if you came to class wearing Tommy Hilfiger. All the cool chicks wore that name brand....you were extra cool if you wore the type of polo shirt that was too short to tuck in and the teachers never said anything to you.

I though woulda kinda liked to have a preppier classier uniform lol...I actually kinda think some are adorable >.> the khaki/navy blue pants and a polo shirt wasnt exactly that classy looking.

not too many schools in America have arts or music anymore. it's all about the "athletics department".

i'm going to have to go with yes to the uniforms. at the very least in elementary and middle school uniforms should be required. i don't know about you guys but all the schools where i grew up had uniforms and when you out grew them you could trade them in for a larger size. it saves money and people can still have their individualism with jewelry or writing on themselves or whatnot.

as far as public schools go they usually have dress codes and not uniforms, whereas most private schools have uniforms. dress codes aren't really enforced too often, but when they are it's usually something stupid like the chain story up a few posts. i do however see a LOT of girls around here (prepubescent girls) that REALLY shouldn't be wearing the clothes they have on if you can consider them clothes. tbh i think out society is going down the drain with parenting. i mean really...these 7 year olds don't have the money to buy those clothes themselves.

everything comes down to parenting imo. but again, yes on uniforms in elementary and middle school.

Agh, in reference to an earlier post I made, the Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, Chaps, Nautica stuff is all the crap I just haaaad to have and wouldn't wear present day unless it's for an interview. lol What a depressing memory. :|

Just wanted to say before I go to bed that I'm actually really impressed with the responses so far. It's interesting seeing not only the differing opinions of people but also the different experiences that everyone has worldwide.

I'd like to keep this topic going another day or say, after which I'll request PM's from people on the next topic.

I am all for the uniform.

I had to wear both uniform and casual clothing throughout my school years, and I always love the idea of the uniform.

No one is going to judge you on your clothing, because you all look the same. You are not at school to make a fashion statement- as much as many children/teens would argue- you are there to learn. I've always found that casual clothing is more of a distraction than a uniform, anyways.

Trends are pretty stupid, imo, and kids will always want to break the bank trying to look "cool" like everyone else. Uniforms are generally, much cheaper than casual clothing and keeping in style. Why drop all that money to stay in style- which might I add only lasts a couple of months- when you can pick up uniform items for $100~, which very well last the school year, if not longer? Of course you are still going to need some "weekend wear" but still is a lot cheaper from my experiences.

If people are going to do the uniform thing, they really need to enforce it, right down to the shoes on your feet and the bag on your back. Kids will still tease others or judge based off those two, sad but true.

Also, it just makes you look prestigious. :P

QFT.

As if kids didn't have enough to deal with in school already with peer pressure from all sides. At least this leaves them all on equal plane IMHO.

k, 1) socialism really has nothing to do with uniforms. is the u.s. military socialist? america would be much better off if it was socialist, but thats not for this thread, i just hate ppl who don't understand core fundamentals of something yet still pass judgement.

2) 50% of the schools in the u.s. use uniforms so...

anyhow, i never went to a school that enforced uniforms but my junior high did have a rule that all boys had to tuck in their shirts. one of my high schools had rules had enforced dress code where boys couldn't wear tanktops or sleeveless shirts, no plain white t's, no jerseys, nothing graphic or offense, no chains. girls couldn't wear strapped tops with straps thinner than x, no revealing bras, skirts and shorts no shorter than 2 inches above the knee. and no one could wear trench coats or combat boots, and this was pre-columbine. also no extreme hairstyles. my mohawk was permitted but i couldn't put it up, and they suspended me and tried to expel me when i had dreads. but we fought that.

i can see why they would use uniforms, cuz they believe that all gangs adopt a certain color and what not and adopting a universal uniform would prevent any problems that would stem from such a thing. of course this is what they were saying back in 96 so not sure why they do it now. i assume boarding schools and the like do it cuz of control. it strips someone of their individuality, thus in theory making them a bit weaker in the hierarchy of administration->student. maybe i'm wrong, thats just my thought.

i prefer people being able to express themselves whether it be through clothing, tattoos, piercings, music, art, whatever. thats the only freedom worth fighting for to me. but i do see where they're coming from with uniforms

Hmmm... Well, i get this. But its still not right. Yes the standards are there, and the clicks, cliche's and "whats in, and whats not in" are already part of people's minds. But thats just not right.

I never thought anyone would favor uniforms due to the specific reason of not having to worry about how to dress, i just find that so robotic, (no offence). I never worried about my "style" NO ONE SHOULD. Peer pressure is a terrible, terrrrible thing. The fact that it exsists, does not mean we should smother it with uniforms, we just need to be more accepting of others.

Now yes, i know i say this after saying i dont belive girls should dress like skanks, but i dont find that expression, just stupidity, or they think they must look that way to get a boyfriend. I dont really know, trying not to drag this on, lol. I just think its unfair for anyone to think they have to look a certain way, or have to fit in. Im a fan of abnormal people. I dont want to fit in. I favor those who are unique, as opposed to those who go with the flow.

right, these trends are pretty dumb. some do it right, while others do it different or "wrong" and people criticize them. for instance the booty shorts thing. some chick with a big *** was probably like "hmmm...these accentuate my rump", although i doubt she used accentuate and then said rump, but whatever. anyhow, she starts rocking them, then other chicks are like "hey, i have ample backside. let me try." and so it became a fad. now girls are seeing this and not wanting to be unpopular or out of touch they copy it, but then you get mary-sticks-and-bones with no curves doing it and people start mocking her. you know, snicker here snicker there. at some point you figure out that its directed at you, and your self-esteem is lowered all cuz of following a fad and trying to fit in.

that probably makes no sense at all. i just got home from work and i'm tired. but thats my story and i'm sticking to it

{/pat} :)

There are plenty of ways to be unique while wearing a uniform. Personalities, perhaps? ;x

Theres more to clothing then finding or giving up a precious and unique style...theres alot into figuring out how to dress ones body (from a chicks point of view because Im a chick) because nobody is built the same way. What I would think was cute on one girl, I couldnt wear...and it was simple stuff like Graphic Ts+ jeans...I still cant wear...its a serious self esteem killer because you have no idea what you can wear that wont look awkward.

So I never considered it to be robotic or ruining my creativity...I, most of the time, considered it to be a blessing because it was a far cry to my usual resort which was large tshirts and hoodies cause I didnt know how to make nice looking things look nice on me.

In any case, my creativity and style always came out in artwork. I was happy never to fiddle with clothes.

fffffffffffffff

My schools from K-6 did not require uniforms, but I went to a school for middle and high school that had uniforms, and so therefore I've lived under both uniforms and not.

I was apprehensive about the uniforms at first, but really I grew to like it. I wasn't the poorest kid at school, but I wasn't rich either. At a private school, however I was definitely in the lower third. There are enough other ways to express yourself that you don't need clothing to do it. Trust me, you could tell by the cars in the parking lot who had status and who didn't. I had some money because I worked, but I also paid half of my own tuition for school, so I didn't have a car. I either took the city bus or walked to school, since my mother was already gone to work by school time.

I think clothing is a nice way to express who you are, but what I mostly see is everyone being "unique, just like everyone else" and not actual expression of who they are. People rarely ever "do their own thing" with clothes as a kid, and usually the one kid that does is seen as a "freak" by their peers.

Either way, I think that mandatory uniforms in all schools isn't necessary, and it doesn't solve every problem there is, but uniforms are also very nice for their reasons.

Besides, where would Ludoggy be without Asian girls in school uniforms >.>

This is true, but at the same time, why would you bar any sort of creative expressionism? I suppose that's the core of my view. I heavily value expression and personal freedoms, even if I don't particularly use them. I'd rather have the option of standing out and not use it than not have the option at all.

Indeed, it really goes by the person, I for one am ok with uniforms due to my lack of caring about having the ability to express through clothing, I'd rather have that closed off then them to close off what I can say etc.

Personalities are great and all, but in a school setting of all things you certainly aren't going to take the time to have a one-on-one with everyone you come across. lol Clothing, like the rest of a person's appearance in both the way they look and carry themselves says a lot about a person. You get the opportunity to visually express the person you are through a variety of channels and in young adult-hood I think that's important when everyone's dealing with life, school and trying to find their own identity. I stick with my earlier post that early child-hood uniforms seem applicable because kids can be giant *** and generally take everything at face value anyway, including attire.

I agree with most of what you're saying, Darkmod.

Off Topic: I love how morons throw around the word "socialist" because their favorite TV station *cough*FOXNEWS*cough* throws it around like a fraternity throws around beer pong balls after a football game. I understand it's the trendy thing to do, like your overpriced Air Jordans, but get off Fox News' *** and learn to think for yourself, hm? Or is that a little too much individuality for you to handle?

On Topic: School uniforms never really bothered me. I went to public schools all my life, hence no uniforms, but it never would've bothered me if there were school uniforms. Fashion trends come and go. I never saw a need to keep up with something so superficial to begin with.

Maybe if every school had uniforms, retards like the one throwing around the word "socialist" wouldn't think sagging your pants down to your knees is considered a fashion statement.

Well said, Katarzyna. I hate to use the Fox News line, but really, HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE ***like stems from no other, and it's such a cop-out. Why there's this obsession with American superiority and demonizing socialism in the first place is ridiculous, but an entirely different argument I guess.

Don't pick on my '99 Jordans, though! >o

Maybe that can be next week's debate, lol.

They wouldnt be so special if everyone wore them.

Maybe that is how people think, ever think of that? Just because you share the same views as a TV station doesn't mean you got your views from that.

Ludoggy, you're honestly telling me the following added to the conversation?









I think I'll steal a line from Sectumsempra on page 2, only altered a bit.



Edit: @Rumaha: Half the country didn't even know what a socialist was before Fox News started using it in every broadcast they do. Why should I believe someone who thinks school uniforms as "socialist" isn't one of those people?

Because people have free will and think as they wish to think, you say say that about that half of the country that didn't think it prior to Fox News, but you can't blanket that on everyone who uses the word.

Edit**

Also, I do not believe uniforms to be socialist as it is a school rule and generally at private schools, and they enforce rules as they wish to. Not controlled by the Gov't or State.

But he can blanket the idea of school uniforms as "socialist."

The hypocrisy is strong within this one. Either think we're both allowed to make assumptions, or we're both wrong.

I never said a word about the person using the word, my general point is assumptions are a bad thing.

Edit**

Read my previous Edit, you are both wrong.

Edit2**

If I said it was bad for you to make a blanket assumption as such, I think it is bad for him to do that as well.

I would feel dirty looking at a 13 year girl wearing a thong that was showing. Not like I purposely try to look, but it's a guy thing you see a thong and look almost subconsciously. Then you realize oh ***she's 13!