School uniforms
I have never accepted the idea that we must force children and teenagers to wear school uniforms. As I have travelled to countries that require uniforms I have been thinking a lot about this. The more I travel and the more people I talk to, the more I am opposed to it. The reasons I have been given for school uniforms have never convinced me of their need.
Yesterday I met someone who had lived in Russia. She gave me more reason to feel skeptical.
But feeling skeptical is putting it lightly.
I feel resentful when I am lied to, or when children or teenagers are lied to. Or when the whole world is lied to. Like when Bill Clinton said, "I did not have sex with that woman." And when Bush said America was invading Iraq because of its weapons of mass destruction
I have been told that school uniforms are to keep the rich children from showing off their expensive, designer clothes. I have never accepted this reason. In my experiences with school authorities, like with other people whose power is ultimately based on the ability to hurt you, I have learned not to trust them or their stated motives. In other words, I have learned not to believe what they say. I have learned to question everything and take nothing on face value.
I have learned that most of these people feel insecure. They feel insecure because they know they don't deserve to have the power they have. They know they are not using their power to help the human species. They may never consciously acknowledge this, even to themselves in the middle of the night when they are alone and there is no one to be afraid of admitting this to, but deep inside, they know they don't deserve the power they have.
It is like a military dictator who has risen to power by his ability to kill people or get others to kill them. His power is based on the use of force and fear. Unfortunately, I have come to believe that most children and teenagers around the world, are being sent off to schools where the school authorities are more similar to military dictators than they are different from them.
But let me return to the idea of uniforms. I have many things to say about uniforms, but I won't try to say it all this morning. I am just getting started with really organizing my thoughts about them.
This morning I just want to focus on the conversation I had with Anita from Russia. Anita told me in the former Soviet Union all the students wore the same uniform. All the students. All of them across the whole country.
This was the same in Indonesia with the government schools. But in Indonesia there are also private schools. Evidently in Russia there were no such things. The people in power wanted total control of what was being done to the children and teenagers.
Now I honestly don't really want to write about the implications of what Anita told me. I assume she is telling me the truth. So if it is true, I just want you to think about what this means.
What are the implications and possible consequences of a group of people, called the "government" or the "state" having or even wanting so much control over children and teenagers?
Why would they feel a need for this much control?
And in what way was the former Soviet Union a good model for the rest of the world?
Anita did tell me that what the students learned in Russia, they really learned. If they were taught to memorize a poem, they would really memorize it and would be likely to be able to repeat it twenty years later.
But is this really what we want to call "learning?" And no matter what we call it, the question remains: What was there about the former Soviet Union which was a good model for the rest of the world?
Now I want to bring up the point of equality. The other day a product of one of the countries where school uniforms are the norm told me that school uniforms were good because they are "social levelers." She implied that it was a good thing for all students to be equal.
But first, is this based on reality? Are all children really born equal? Do they have the same potential for art or music or math or emotional problem solving? Do all children and teenagers learn at the same speed? Are they all interested in learning about the same things? Do they all have the same desire for knowledge?
And are all children born with the same needs? Are they born with the same needs for either water or freedom? Does each child, in other words, need exactly the same amount of water to be healthy? Does each child need exactly the same amount of freedom?
So are children born with the same needs and the same potential?
Second, is it a "good" thing to try to make all children and all teenagers equal? Is this good for the survival of the human species? Is it good for the survival of all life on earth?
If your answer is yes, then we might be able to say that school uniforms can be justified based on the desire for all humans to be the same. But we still have the question of whether this is consistent with the reality of nature, which humans have still not been able to completely control, though we sometimes seem to be obsessed with the desire to do just that.
I am of the belief that it is neither a "good" thing for all humans to be equal, nor is it a natural thing.
But what about this idea that school uniforms are good because they keep the rich kids from showing off their expensive clothes? First, let me ask: What is the real problem with this?
The problem seems to be that the rich kids believe they are superior to those with less expensive clothes. And those who cannot afford such clothes feel inferior.
Let's examine this a bit further.
First, how did the rich kids come to believe they are superior just because their parents have more money?
Second, why do the "poor" kids feel inferior? Are they really of less value to the world?
This leads me to ask, where does a child, a teenager or an adult get a sense of self-worth, of value?
Do they get this in schools? Is this part of a good education? To learn to value yourself? To develop a belief that your life is worth something? That you matter to the world? That you have a contribution to make to the human species?
And do schools help children and teenagers develop a belief they have something of real, not superficial value? I make the distinction because I believe people know deep inside their "souls" if you will, that they have something of value to contribute. I believe they somehow "know" what this is. A child who contains the genetic code to become a great musician somehow knows this is his highest destiny, his greatest contribution to the species.
I also believe that if children, teenagers and adults do not live their lives according to their genetic codes, they will feel frustrated, empty, unfulfilled.
But if they are able to discover their own "genetic code", to find their true selves, let's say, then they have a chance at fulfillment. When they have discovered their own potential, their own life's mission, their own interests, then and perhaps only then, can they have a real feeling of value to the human species.
So is helping them discover their inner genetic code, their potential their life's mission part of a "good" education?
I believe it is.
I believe that if schools would help the "poor" children see that they have something of value to offer the world, then they would not feel so inferior when someone showed up to school dressed in expensive clothes.
I also believe schools are the perfect place to discuss these kinds of things. I believe it is much better to discuss these things openly than try to cover the problem up by forcing everyone to wear the same clothes.
Just a couple more notes on this....
1. Students quickly know who has money and who doesn't anyhow. They will group together based on the level of status of their parents no matter what clothes they are wearing. This has been confirmed to me by many people who came from schools where uniforms were required.
2. In many countries, unlike the former Soviet Union, schools can choose their own uniforms. Let me clarify this, school directors can choose the school uniforms, it is rarely the students who can make this decision. (see note on Ecuador). So what happens when school directors choose their own uniforms. I will quote a 25 year old from England: "The more posh the school, the more posh the uniform."
What she means is that the more elite the school wants to appear, the more expensive and elitist the uniform.
But this leads me to ask this question: If school directors really believed in things like social equality, why would they want their school to appear more "posh" and elitist? If school directors really, truly wanted to reduce feelings of superiority and inferiority based on external appearances such as whether a person is wearing a jacket or "blazer" or a pressed shirt and a tie, then why wouldn't they all get together and agree to stop competing with each other through their students' uniforms?
I think we all know the answer to this question. And it is not an answer which those who support school uniforms want us to be talking about.
But before I end this editorial, let me return to Anita and the former Soviet Union.
In the former USSR, I think it is fair to say there were not many rich kids buying designer clothes. I think it is fair to say this was not a big problem in the villages of the vast countryside. Many of us know that it was difficult for the people to even buy potatoes and they would often have to stand in long lines for this luxury.
So could we rule out the possibility that the former Soviet state chose to force uniforms on children and teenagers because they didn't want the poor kids to feel inferior when their classmates came to school with the latest overly priced shirts and sweaters?
Yeah, we can probably rule that out.
So why then did the former Soviets force their children and teenagers into uniforms?
Was it because of their idealistic dream that everyone be equal? Maybe. Let's assume for a moment that this was the case. Then we have to ask the question, did their vision of an ideal society work? And were they a good model for the rest of the world?
Another question, how free can a country really be where they don't even let a 17 year olds choose the color of their socks?
I have my own ideas on why school directors and government authorities have decided to make children and teens wear uniforms. But I will leave those for another article. Till then, I would like to know your thoughts.
When you write me, please let me know if I can use your name.
Thanks for reading.
Steve
May 17, 2004
Quito, Ecuador
I have asked hundreds of female teenagers if they would rather wear blue jeans or skirts as part of their uniform. Over 95 % have said blue jeans. Yet the school directors still force them to wear skirts.