I am only talking about this because an article popped up in my Telegram feed that always points out what they consider to be absurd news stories. One of these news stories was talking about how certain dress codes around the county are racist because of course they are since everything else is.
In grammar school I had the privilege of attending a school that had a uniform policy in place and since I didn't know any different as a little kid I didn't mind at all. Basically, if you wore anything other than the very basic outfits that the school dictated and provided for sale at a very low price, you would be denied entrance into the school. This included any sort of designer products, excessive jewelry, fancy watches, or even nice gym shoes like Air Jordans or something like that.
Our uniforms were not this special but it was boys had a polo shirt of 3 available colors and girls had essentially the same thing but had to wear skirts of some sort. Nobody complained.
I realize that times have changed and there are a lot of girls that might have a problem with this now and this is exactly what is happening at a school in North Carolina and I would imagine other places in the United States. This discrimination lawsuit is supported by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and almost anything that group gets involved with is something I am going to be opposed to because their name suggests they are a law center but mostly they are just a political action group that stirs up trouble anytime anything conservative is at play.
I get that times have changed and that my perspective might not be shared with a lot of the youth today. Someone "OK boomer"ed me the other day online and I got a kick out of that because I am not even a boomer but in a way ok, I get it, my views might be outdated.
I guess I just don't understand what is so terrible about traditional norms and who really has a problem with wearing a skirt? Just a few people have to rock the boat I guess. I don't think that there is anyone that would really have a problem with girls wearing trousers instead but I would be willing to bet that since the SPLC is involved that they don't really want that, they just want to make trouble for Christian groups, and this particular school is exactly that.
I can see where this is going though. The boys will be wearing skirts before you know it as well and well, I guess I don't really have a problem with that either and you know that SPLC would probably demand that they be allowed to. So how about a compromise? No more skirts for anyone. This seems like a simple enough solution but herein lies the problem: These groups like SPLC don't actually want solutions, they want to stir up trouble.
When I was in school I actually preferred my uniform years because it was just one less thing that I had to worry about before going to school. Being pressured into fashion and the stress that can come with that wasn't at all of an issue when I was in grammar school. You knew what you were going to wear and the only issue was making sure that it was clean.
Later on in high school I experienced some level of stress about deciding what to wear to school. Also, the richer kids would definitely be at an advantage as far as this was concerned, this much should be obvious.
What is school supposed to really be about after all? I remember a line from a very old Fresh Prince song where his mom is saying "you go to school to learn not for a fashion show" and I really agree with that sentiment. The question of what the school is teaching is another matter of course but I think uniforms are a great step in getting rid of a bunch of unnecessary stress for young people.
With all the talk about everything being bullying these days, wouldn't this be a good step for everyone? I know that I would totally be on board with uniforms and can't really understand why anyone would be opposed to it. It's cheaper too, so no one can claim it is classism.
Any thoughts ?