It is something that has stuck with me whenever I think about teaching. I was fortunate enought to do my last block of student teaching in Wales, when I attended Brandon University. It was one of my first days at this Welsh school and I was making my way to a classroom when I had to pass outside to get from one building to the next. A young girl was waiting by the door for me. She had a big smile on her face as I approached. She opened the door for me and in a very cheerful, welcoming voice said, "Morning, Sir." I was a bit taken aback.
"Thank you," I managed to reply. "Good Morning to you too." With that, she smiled again and was off to join her other uniform clad friends. It's funny, but at that time more than any other in my life, I wanted to teach. I would have run through a brick wall for that little girl. I felt like a professional. That teaching was a noble, life affirming profession. ( a little To Sir With Loveish, but hey) One of my fellow Canadian contemporaries, wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being addressed so formally. He even asked his students to call him by his first name.
"First name?" I said in disbelief. "How many times in your life are you going to be called Sir?" Ah, the North American casual cool.

This past year there have been rumblings across Manitoba to institute a dress code for public schools. And I say why not? But not for the fear mongering reasons that some school boards are toting. Gangs? That should be the least of our worries. We've got to reclaim our kids. Wrestle away control of the Nikes, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger and the GAPS. Our children have been reduced to a demographic - something to be bought and sold with little regard for their well being. The marketplace of this consumption driven culture has no memory and has no soul - so why do we continue to pledge allegiance to it? But what about the right wing fundamentalist, fast track to fascism government thought control aspect of uniforms you ask? Won't it extinguish the sense of individualism in expressing who you are through how you dress? Depriving young people of one of the few ways they have to define themselves? Asserting their identities through unique clothing? News flash - everybody looks the same and thinks the same already. (Hey, who wants to be a millionaire?)

School uniforms would signify that young people are part of that school, part of the community - and valuable members of it. They would belong somewhere. Belong to a place where the needs of students come first, where the people who are responsible for them, closest to them, can make decisions based on their well being. Not some corporation, who's only goal is profit by polluting minds and fashioning soulless consumers. This may sound far fetched and a bit idealistic, but it would be symbolic, a first step - and schools would become a brand free zone. Uniforms would differentiate between school time or academic time and social time. If extra-curricular events were spent without uniforms, think how much more exciting they would be when students could see how someone looked when they were away from the classroom. There's absolutely nothing wrong with expressing yourself with how you dress, but wouldn't that time where you do get to express yourself, be a little bit more special?

In a radio piece I did for CBC last year I asked students how they would respond to the requirement of uniforms in public schools. Most of the students were against it. They cited their right to express themselves through dress, the right to be unique, the right stand out in a crowd. The right to do what you want, when you want. Apparently the Charter of Rights and Freedoms can be summed up by the rap group the Beastie Boys - You've Got To Fight, For Your Right, To Party.
I did not expect anyone to agree with wearing uniforms. But a few young girls in a middle school surprised me. They thought school uniforms weren't such a bad idea. These young women weren't comfortable with the pressure to wear sphagetti straps (thin straps) holding up a sort of tank top with the bra straps provocatively exposed. Wouldn't a uniform eliminate this kind of pressure? What kind of message is this sending? Are they there for Math class or a night out on the town? Is the primary goal to get noticed by the baseball cap wearing Nike adorned boy down the row? Isn't this a bit of a step backward for women?

So all you sixites, post modern liberals out there - there is nothing left to rebel against. (today rebellion is wearing a shirt and tie on casual Fridays) The rights of the individual have exceeded the well being of the community. It's time to take some of it back - and sure some people may huff and puff about school uniforms being purely cosmetic, a bandaid solution to the real problems afflicting schools today, and that lower income families won't be able to afford them. (apparently the federal government has some subsidy money kicking around) But it is the little things that have melted away under the auspicious of this casual attitude toward life. Courtesy, politeness, and respect for each other are the building blocks of a healthy society. (all sides of the political spectrum agree with that) Maybe school uniforms could spark and rekindle these fast disappearing social graces. In a country where differences are highlighted and even legislated, children feeling like they are on the same team, part of the group, at least for a little while, can't be such a bad thing. So parents, let's stop and analyze this. (and you people that don't have any kids in the education system - we're all in this together) Make things a bit easier for yourselves and your kids. Send them to a brand free zone - and make that zone where your kids go to school.