For me, I think having uniform in schools is much better. From preschool til I graduated college, I've worn uniforms.

Pros.
- Students from different schools can be easily identified by the particular uniform they wear.
- Students looks more professional or more appealing to the eye cause they doesn't have to wear strange looking clothes (applies to those who have weird fashion sense).
- Students with less clothes don't have to be conscious on repeating the same outfit they only have.

Cons.
- If the uniform looks bad, only few students can actually look good on it.
- If this is the first time that students will be required to wear a uniform in a certain school, they have to spend money for it.

Those are the reasons why uniform vs. normal clothes in school wins for me.
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I'm kinda mixed on the idea of uniforms at school. As a parent, I think it's a great idea. It'll save us a ton of money on clothes, there would be less fuss in the morning when kids are getting ready for school and deciding what to wear, and it would kind of "level the playing field" at school because everyone will be dressed the same.

On the other hand, I remember being in high school (it wasn't that long ago), and how I loved shopping for new clothes (I guess cuz I'm a girl), and assembling my outfit for the next day. I would definitely say it was a form of expression, and as a teenager, I would not have wanted to wear a uniform.

So, as a parent I say it's a great idea - but from a teen's point of view, I say it would rob kids of their self-expression.

http://www.charlesbeyl.com/images/School-Uniforms.jpg
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being 14, i like the idea of non-uniform, especially as a i live in england so i have always worn uniform, but i think if there was non-school uniform all the time people would start be picked on for what they were and personaly i would get tired of picking what to where everyday whereas uniform makes it easy, my only complaint on uniform is how it looks and feels, i would prefere polo top than blaser shirt and tie
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Another reason to have uniforms... gangs.

Uniforms eliminate any type of "gang colors". It also emphasizes the idea of homogeneity.

I somewhat disagree with the idea that it "robs kids of individuality". Kids can express their individuality in many other ways..
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I've heard two diferent arguments for this. I've heard that it helps lower the tendency of high school students to form "cliques" based on socioeconomic status because all the kids dress the same, so there's nobody thinking they are better than anyone else just because their parents can afford the $150 jeans rather than the Wal-Mart specials.

However, I have also heard that it hurts the self esteem of some kids because, let's face it, what looks good on one person can make another look dumpy and lumpy. So, you may have one girl who looks like every guy's dream in her little school girl uniform (causing her to get a lot of unnecessary and probably very distracting attention), while this other chick looks like a washing machine wrapped in plaid. So, by this argument, a child being able to wear what he or she wants can really help their self esteem.

I believe it's all a matter of perspective. Although, I know Catholic school girl uniforms are a favorite of men in their 40's (the quagmeyers of the world), so whatever good the school feels they are doing, they may be doing more harm than good. LOL
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I agree, with both. But first, let me tell you, in no way am I raciest or sexist. It is just my opinion and it fits in EVERY Race, Sex, Sexual Preference out there, just naming the ones I see.

On the one hand you have the fact that some kids like to wear clothes to express himself or herself or something they like. A Band or a T.V show, all good right....

Nope, you always have some dim wit want to be gangster thug kids that destroy it for all of them.

You have them wearing clothes that have naked women on them.

You have girls that show so much cleavage that they might as well be wearing just their bras (I am sure some would do it too). Also wearing skirts that they might as well be naked!

You have kids who where their pants down to their knees, Really...why? In prison it means open for business and that’s what they want to say with themselves?

They go to school to learn yet they usually go and mess around. They say we want to be treated like adults, but they can’t even dress themselves properly!

I agree they should not be allowed to do some of the aforementioned things, but to get them a dress code really kills their individualities.

I say they create a dress code that says what you cant wear rather then what you have to (which if I'm not mistaken is how it should be now). If that is true then why create a uniform and punish the kids that wont wear it anyways? Just punish those who cant seem to dress to some degree of dignity and allow those who like to where their Linkin Park and Jay-z Shirts to school the right to do so.
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EQUALITY
The idea that uniforms "promote equality" is inaccurate, as the same socioeconomic divisions persist regardless of the convenient blank-slate masking. "Evening the playing field" to prevent socioeconomic friction negatively impacts acceptance of and cooperation between classes, further instilling those very divisions (1).

INDIVIDUALISM
Uniforms as a theft of individualism is also an inaccurate concept--they are a theft of unique resources perhaps, but not of youthful pursuit. I have been in both public and private schooling, and in both cases the student population rebelled against, circumvented, or simply ignored restrictive policies.

I do find school uniforms valid in one field: as preparation for adult life, where there will always be a professional or stigmatized dress code. Education is supposed to prepare students to be a productive members of society...but at the same time, youth is the age during which it is socially acceptable to be crazy or wild in your loves, likes, music and appearance. While uniforms do not rob individualism, they do make youth just a little more serious than it has to be.

OTHER ARGUMENTS
There are also arguments that uniforms increase student achievement, make general discipline more easily enforced, reduce cliques/gangs, etc. However, there have been studies contrary to this perception. For example, David L. Brunsma, an associate professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri, released a study in which he found that "there was no empirical relationship between a uniform code and student achievement, substance abuse or violence" (2).
Source(s):
1. Solutions to Social Problems: Lessons From Other Societies by D. Stanley Eitzen (http://www.amazon.com/Solutions-Social-Problems-Lessons-Societies/dp/020548...

2. http://rcp.missouri.edu/articles/brunsma.html / http://sociology.missouri.edu/New%20Website%20WWW/Faculty%20and%20Staff/Dav... / The School Uniform Movement and What It Tells Us about American Education: A Symbolic Crusade

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I think uniforms are a good idea, because it is easy for parents to help the school with the dress code. For example, if everybody is wearing uniforms the girls skirt should be the same length (all the way to their knees). I just do not like 10, 13 and 16 years old wearing miniskirts when they are going up the stairs in school or giving oral presentations in class. It is a distraction for the boys and sometimes for the male teachers.

In addition to that, if boys are wearing uniforms they cannot wear sleeveless t-shirts to school or pants that are all the way down to their hips. I do not like to see part of their underwear showing in the area between their waistline and hips.

My point is, if we parents want that our kids feel that school is an important place and to respect school, we need to pay attention to the way our kids are dressing when they go to school. If we cannot pay attention to the clothes our kids are wearing when they go to school, because we leave the house before they do, then maybe uniforms is the solution to the problem.

It is my opinion that uniforms promote equality. One of the reasons is, nobody is allowed to show their body. No exceptions to the rule. Everybody is equal. Another reason I believe uniforms promote equality is, that kids cannot wear brand clothes and show off. School is a place where you need to go and get an education. School is not a place where you suppose to go and show off your brand clothes, because you think that clothes make you better than everybody else.
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I think its a great idea-it would decrease kids getting jumped for expensive clothing or shoes they own. It will also make kids who dont have the money feel less poor or shameful for not having what other kids do.

it would stop gang violence from color claims. and kids will focus more on education instead of how they look!!
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