By Gary Klahr

Apr 5, 2009 5:15 PM | Link to this

Paul belives in rules for rules sake> NO THANKS---this is AMERICA---not Cuba, where you will be happy to know, ALL kids wear unis---even little Elian Gonzales (remember him--a hero to rt-wingers like you!@!). All kids should wear APPROPRIATE clothes to school; on THAT we agree; but WHY in God's name should they wear IDENTICAL clothes?? Again, you think this is an effort to justify Goth or gang clothes----NO---99 pct of the million uni protesters in the U.S. JUST want to wear STANDARD TX wear of tees and jeans worn since we were part of MEXICO. COMPRENDE dude?????

By BR

Apr 3, 2009 3:16 AM | Link to this

Hey Paul, GW, and BDDH,

You obviously have no memory of what is was like to be a kid, a tween and/or a teen. Surely you must have at least one memory of having to wear something during your childhood that felt so ridiculous, so 'not you', that made you feel so uncomfortable that you wanted to just disappear, now try going to school feeling like that everyday, all day long. No wonder the teen suicide rate is so high.

It is not easy going to school wearing something you absolutely hate. I know, when I was in the 7th grade my mom made me an outfit to wear to school. She was going through some sort of susie homemaker phase, it was a hideous plaid polyester blazer and red polyester pants ensemble! I was horrified. This was in the 70's - the days of jeans and t-shirt's. That was all I wore. That is what I felt comfortable in, that is what I felt like myself in. When you are a tween/teen everything makes you feel self-conscious and jeans and t's were all that I felt good about myself in.

Well, I wore that outfit to school because I didn't want to hurt my mom's feelings but I ended up ditching because I felt so horrible wearing that outfit, so displaced and awkward, and incredibly self conscious. A feeling I will never forget and never want to feel again. Even if everyone was wearing that same outfit it wouldn't have made a difference because it wouldn't have changed how I felt about myself, in that outfit, on the inside.

I believe that you can only do your best work at school or anywhere when you feel good about yourself on the inside and by that I mean not having such paralyzing feelings of awkwardness, displacement and self- consciousness.

For some what they wear is what gives them the self confidence needed just to get out the door in the mornings, head held high to face the world. Let's face it when you feel you look your best, whatever that may be, you will have a hell of alot better day than you would walking out that door with your head hanging down feeling crappy about the way you look.

Students should be able to feel good about themselves walking out the door in the mornings too. Especially during such an awkward, critical stage in their lives. You cannot make a horse drink just because you lead him to water - he has to want to drink!

You cannot make students get better grades just because you dress them in uniforms - they have to want to! and they will never want to when they are being forced to wear clothing that is so ridiculous and unnatural to them.

Gary is right about opt-out, there will probably still be more students in uniforms than not but the option should be in place as part of the policy. Uniforms should be a decision for the parents to make for their children not the school. Why do schools presume to think they know these kids better than their own parents do?

I say NO to uniforms but since school boards will continue to impress their will upon the communities they are supposed to be serving (not ruling) at least offer the opportunity to opt-out.

By Paul

Apr 2, 2009 3:48 PM | Link to this

But, there are a lot of things I do not agree with but we have to follow those rules, even when we disagree or vote the other way. I say the school/district will make their rules and then they (the students) abide by it. Students summer break, spring break, Christmas break, Thanksgiving, and all the teacher work days, plus the weekends to dress however they want, whether that be as a cowboy, a vato, goth or pimp, or nerd. But, when they are in school, they dress according to the standard mode of dress. My kids have gone to schools for the past four years that require this and it has been great for us. The kids know what they are going to wear during the school week and then when school is out, my son can put on his skateboarding clothes and there is not a problem....that is all i have to say about that.

By John Young

Apr 1, 2009 7:35 PM | Link to this

John Young responds
No foolin', Paul. You affirm my point. Homogenized dress will make little difference in the learning experience at Waco High. So, why give a pass to policy makers making arbitrary edicts that are topical ointments of specious design? And if you say it's the principal's call, I say citizens have an obligation to tell public servants (administrators, school trustees) what they think. And I think the principal solicited public input. This is that.

By Paul

Apr 1, 2009 3:57 PM | Link to this

I think john Young is a genius in his article. He is right on every topic that he touched and I cannot agree with him more. This just goes to prove that Mr. Young is in touch with what is going on in the schools and what kids think...APRIL FOOLS! True, the uniform will not bring scores up and make the student want to learn, the parent has a part to play in that, and if they didn't have a part in that out of standard mode of dress, then they will not have a part of it when the students are in standard mode of dress.
I tell my kids, 7th and 9th grade, they are not at school for a fashion show and they are not at school to make friends, they are there to learn and that is there only purpose. They can do it in dress code or out of dress code, but the school and adminstration decide what is best for their campus. I wish i could have a beard and show my non-offensive armed tattoo at work...but i cant...they have asked me to shave and where long sleeves...that hasnt been so hard for the past four years.

By BR

Apr 1, 2009 1:18 AM | Link to this

Anyone ever hear of:

"ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS":

"absence of a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made"

A clear error of judgment; an action not based upon consideration of relevant factors and so is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law or if it was taken without observance of procedure required by law.

ARBITRARY:

1: depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by standards, rules, or law
2: a: not restrained or limited in the exercise of power
b: marked by or resulting from the unrestrained exercise of power
3 a: based on preference, bias, prejudice, or convenience rather than on reason or fact
b: existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as an unreasonable act of individual will without regard for facts or applicable law

CAPRICIOUS:

1: governed or characterized by impulse or whim: as
a: lacking a rational basis
b: likely to change suddenly
2: not supported by the weight of evidence or established rules of law

Uniforms, standardized dress or whatever disguise you want to give it, will never raise test scores, improve upon attendance or make a kid suddenly want to do better in school.

Ensuring that parents and children have hassle free mornings is not part of the criteria that a board should be basing decisions on, their only concern should be the education of the children, and uniforms have never been proven to improve upon that.

If hassle free mornings are your goal you shouldn't have had kids to begin with as they are not and will never be hassle free. Uniforms are just another way of deferring your parental responsibilities to the school. Don't schools have enough to do?

And yes, policemen, fireman, nurses, etc wear uniforms but they are uniforms worn in honor only after they have been earned through much hard work and training (like the military) and they are not polos and dress slacks.

Unfortunately, the polo shirt/dress slacks ensemble has become the uniform of the non skilled, minimum wage earner. Why would you want to lower the bar for your children? Where's the honor in that? If they dress like minimum wage earners why on earth would they ever want to achieve more in their lives?

Why only give them the future of becoming someone else's idea of what they can be?

Instead, why not give them the world!

By Rick W

Mar 31, 2009 11:59 PM | Link to this

I live in a Texas school district that has had "standardized dress" for 4 years. It has made NO change. Enforcement has been HARDER because of opinions over color: is that really navy blue? when does khaki become brown, or white? Students have been suspended in by a 4th period teacher who disagreed with other teachers and decided that a student's shirt wasn't really navy blue. Test scores have not improved; truancy has not improved; behavior issues haven't changed.

Student respect for authority has deteriorated because the students understand how the administration is flouting the law. Everyone knows our district has a uniform requirement, but because the district calls it "standardized dress" instead of a uniform, they do not have to follow the Texas Education Code regarding uniforms. If the students treated district rules in the same way that the district is treating Texas law, they would be expelled.

By Gary Klahr

Mar 31, 2009 10:03 PM | Link to this

John Young is my HERO. He speaks common sense when the "great unwashed" proletariat spout populist nonsense that amounts to a COMBO of SOCIALISM & FASCISM. Why in God's name should every kid dress like every other kid 180 days a year at a PUBLIC school??? FYI, the kids & PARENTS (mostly the latter) I represent have NO interest in a school FASHION SHOW or preppy competition. They just want to wear TRADITIONAL Texas and SW (I'm from Az) casual clothes worn in public schools here for ONE HUNDRED YEARS---mostly striped and message-logo tee shirts and properly-fitted denim jeans. It is the PRO-uni people who want to EXPEL kids unless they "dress up" in preppy polo shirts and khaki pants. Contra the other posters here, WE are the4 conservatives---you uniformers are the RADICALS. Nuff said./s/ GARY PETER KLAHR, JD, Phoenix (former 8 year Elected HS Governing Bd member of the second largest HS-only district in the nation)

By GW

Mar 31, 2009 2:53 PM | Link to this

Mr. Young, again, displays his being out of touch with decent society. His statement, "Actually, outside of the military, uniforms mainly are a trademark of services where pieces of meat get browned and cash registers do all the thinking. is an insult to every firefighter, police officer, nurse, and other professions.

Hopefully, when Mr. Young needs one of these person's help, they would leave him to wait for "a cash register" to save him, but they wont, because they are true professionals, serving their fellow humans. John Young is serving his inflated ego.

By BDDH

Mar 31, 2009 10:08 AM | Link to this

I, too, support a uniform. Making a fashion statement should not be a student's goal, but peer pressure influences that kind of thinking. You have the "preppies" (those who can afford the name-brands for prep-school type of dressing that is advertised in magazines and on television); the "goths" who rebel against the "preppie" mode of dressing (mainly because they can't afford the clothes); the "cowboys and cowgirls" who favor the "Texan" image. I'm sure there are others ... and my labels may be a bit dated since I am not that age and do not have much contact with youngsters, but I remember what it was like several years ago.

It seems to me that if the school requires a type of uniform, the parent-child hassle every morning of what's appropriate will end as well as the "policing" required of teachers and administrators. TEACHING and LEARNING should be the focus in school -- not a style show and trying to impress peers with what you have.