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SCHOOL UNIFORMS
As you dig deep into your pocketbook
to buy all of those new back-to-school
clothes, fretting over what’s
in style, I’ll bet the
idea of school uniforms sounds
pretty good to you. It should.
Imagine a world where you
spend less on school clothes,
and the question “What
am I going to wear today?”
is only uttered on weekends.
Imagine a world where your
children are more focused
on school work and less on
fashion trends and peer pressure.
Teachers and principals report
that school uniforms often
improve student achievement
and promote a safer and more
disciplined learning environment.
So why don’t parents
jump on this bandwagon of
rich rewards? One reason:
Our kids don’t want
uniforms. Or I should say,
they don’t think they
want them. Neither did my
children, before moving to
England for five months when
they were 9 and 12. One of
their biggest regrets when
we moved back to the States
was giving up their uniforms.
According to a survey of elementary
school principals, parents
are the prime initiators of
school-uniform policies. For
help in getting started, or
just to learn more about school
uniforms, click on these websites:
Department
of Education, Manual on School
Uniforms, Archived
National
Association of Elementary
School Principals
National
Association of Elementary
School Principals (under
"Search" type in
"school uniforms")
A LESSON ABOUT CLOTHES
I realized that each week
I was washing twice the amount
of clothes for my 13-year-old
daughter than what I would
consider normal, even for
a teen-ager. Often, a top
or pants seemed barely worn
– probably tried on,
rejected and left on the floor
before being thrown into the
laundry. In part to teach
my daughter to take better
care of her clothes, I turned
her laundry over to her completely.
I wrote out washing and drying
instructions for each kind
of load, and I helped her
as needed. I now enjoy some
extra free time and have noticed
that she does a lot less laundry
than I did for her. A lesson
learned! -- N.K., Wilmette,
Ill.
SCHOOL UNIFORMS MAKE
LIFE EASIER School
uniforms simplify life for
families. I say that as a
sort of expert, since my two
boys wore school uniforms
for their first eight years
of school. For me, morning
meltdowns were rare because
clothing was not an issue.
I never heard them rant and
rave over what to wear. Moreover,
I never had to set out their
clothes. At school, the uniform
became an equalizer for the
students. The kids who could
afford the latest fashions
looked exactly like other
kids who could not afford
it. Overall, uniforms saved
me money on clothing and made
life easier for my boys and
me. Uniforms also promote
school safety since campus
intruders easily stand out
from the crowd. -- Chris Ventimiglio,
Livermore, Calif.
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