School uniforms were introduced to camouflage the socio-economic gap among students’ families. Children should feel equal.
But, what about the fancy pencil box a kid has or that shiny backpack? What about the stains on the light colored shirt of the uniform or the tiny holes in the pant? And don’t get me started on kids carrying iPhones to their school. Peer pressure exists with or without a uniform.
But hey! Aren’t school uniforms supposed to be affordable to all? But so can be polos and track pants. And they turn out to be much more comfortable, especially during physical education. And often, they turn out to be more durable and maintainable than the uniforms, especially when in dark colors.
I can’t see why we still have uniforms in school. Why not just have a no non-sense dress code? Why not use that decade of schooling to let children adapt to reality. That, socio-economic inequality exists and still the world goes on. That, there is harmony in this imbalance. That, this imbalance gets redistributed with time, opportunity and hard work. And is it so bad to desire better clothes? Why suppress that urge?
We adults conveniently forget that children are more observant than us. They have spider sense. They are very sensitive to their surroundings. They question everything, even though they never express those questions. Over-protectiveness confuses them and hampers their growth. May be no one cares what a child thinks.
I used to hate my school uniform. I would’ve been very happy to wear some more colors. I would’ve been even happier to see more variety around me. And, I would’ve welcomed the absolute clarity of knowing why I can’t have that fancy pencil box, when we all look the same.