Teach-Secondary-14.1

John Lawson considers the evolving attitudes around school uniforms, and what it will take for everyone – schools, students, parents – to get on the same page... “ When you put on a uniform, there are certain inhibitions that you accept. ” – Dwight DEisenhower. Before entering the perennial and reliably pyrotechnic school uniform debate, one should accept that neither side has the ‘might of right’ in their corner. We cannot definitively discern the minds of thousands of students, parents and teachers by creating policies that please or placate everybody. We can, however, make intelligent pro- or anti‐uniformnoises around an honest and transparent agenda. Conversations, not confrontations Whatever decisions schools make with respect to the uniforms worn (or not) by their students, it’s difficult to avoid polarising scenarios with winners and losers, whichmakes extracting the ‘knowable’ doubly important. Traditions, preferences and opinions should always be respected and carefully considered. Many children aren’t all that vexed about the uniform issue; some will obviously dislike them, though very fewwill be seriously distracted or traumatised by them. What we need are calm, decisive and inclusive conversations, rather than confrontations around where schools should set their boundaries. So let’s separate out the rhetoric fromwhatever facts and truths can be uncovered. A sense of pride First off, there’s nothing intrinsically ‘fascist’, authoritarian, or indeed sinister about schools wanting to establish dress codes, and it’s unfair to demonise any schools that insist upon students being uniformly attired. Uniforms undoubtedly make it trickier for children to truant. Most UK schools have had school uniform policies in place for many years – how likely is it that they’ve been wrong all along? Some uniforms may well be ugly (in the eyes of some, at least), uncomfortable and/or expensive, but these are all avoidable. We could reasonably suggest that uniforms ought to be inexpensive without looking cheap. It seems fair to assert that outfitters shouldn’t be routinely given exclusive rights to any elements of a school’s uniform, since a lack of competition will usually push up prices. We don’t, after all, approve of senior managers accepting kickbacks for exclusive and lucrative contracts. Moreover, we can perhaps agree that dress codes serve to teach children how to look presentable. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Lawson is a former secondary teacher, now serving as a foundation governor while running a tutoring service, and author of the book The Successful (Less Stressful) Student (Outskirts Press, £11.95); find out more at prep4successnow.wordpress.com or follow @johninpompano THE LAST WORD While there’s no conclusive evidence that wearing uniforms inevitably raises performance or achievements, we can at least observe the sense of pride and identity engendered in athletes by the kit they wear when competing before the crowds, as shown by how they’ll kiss their shirts or emblems when celebrating a victory. ‘Uniformmischief’ That said, the scope for ‘uniformmischief’ is immense, and can be highly toxic. Self-styled student rebels will often challenge their school’s authority on day 1 via some form of attention-seeking uniform violation. At some non‐uniform schools in America, students will form gangs that create their own uniforms which ‘outsiders’ are forbidden fromwearing, while using violence and intimidation to enforce their gang’s presence. In other cases, some non-uniformed students may opt for outfits featuring countless zips and pockets that they’ll then use to conceal phones, drugs or even weapons. Others might habitually wear oversized hoodies that they refuse to peak out of during lessons. Are they in any way engaged, or even awake in there? It’s difficult to tell. Formative assessments are almost impossible without eye‐to‐eye contact... Too short, too low? Baggy clothes canmeanwhile hide worrying weight fluctuations that might be noticed by teachers – and then there are matters of decorum. I remember a female colleague once being harangued by an angry mum, who had refused to accept that her daughter’s micro miniskirt was inappropriate – even though the girl would deliberately flash the boys in her class. The act of defining a ‘low-cut top’ can be similarly contentious. Any notions of ‘too short’ or ‘too low’ long ago succumbed to subjectivism, resulting in futile discussions that are a waste everybody’s time. How practical is it to create manageable dress codes when students can wear whatever they like? Fewer secondary teachers in secondary schools even will enforce uniform codes these days, simply because of howmany potentially contentious issues there now are. Education is a journey fromnaivety towards enlightenment, and as with any journey, somebody needs to take charge. Teachers can be trusted to devise uniform policies that are sensitively enforced, but it’s also imperative that children and parents be given the right to politely challenge said policies or have a say in their design. Listening to families and their views is what will ultimately generate more win-win situations. You are what you wear 82 teachwire.net/secondary