Norfolk City Council pushes for school uniforms

I'm not a teacher, but I can read and write well enough to see the errors in her writing. Maybe she needs to go back and take a few English classes. Maybe her English classes were substituted with Political Correctness class.

When I was growing up, all schools had uniforms. You knew which school a child attended by the colors on that uniform, and we had pride in our school colors. It was quick and easy to pick out a child in the street playing hookey..and, yes, I was busted once or twice. The best part was there was no differentiation between the "haves" and the "have nots"...there were no dress code grey areas...there were no questionable slogans...there were no hidden gang color issues.

Regarding the cost issue...well, when a whole school is wearing the same thing, the thrift stores overflow with uniform items and our schools always had a little something put back to help a child/family in need. School sweaters and shirts were passed down in our family (the girls and the boys wore the same sweater) and tunics lasted forever and were passed around between families. Because the style didn't change all this was possible...unlike "trendy" clothes that go out of style and have "hand me down" written all over them when parents have to use the thrift stores or pass clothes down.

Ultimately, uniforms are a cost saver. Again, I know...I lived it.

Research studies (and there are many) have shown that schools who implement uniforms see an increase in academic performance and less behavioral problems. Kids still get to express themselves outside of school wearing whatever their parents allow. They are in school to learn, and we as a community need to do whatever it takes to make sure this happens in school. I have no problem if teachers were also required to wear a uniform, i.e. same color pants or skirts that students wear and polo shirt with school logo. I, personally, would rather teach in a school with uniforms. What is best for the students? This is what we need to ask ourselves!

I grew up in the country in a lower middle class family all students at my HS were basically in the same financial status. We were not required to wear uniforms but the guys wore dress/casual pants and a shirt, not a T-shirt. Girls wore dresses or skirts and blouses. Rarely did anyone wear a pair of jeans, and no one wore just a T-shirts. Why did we dress like that? Because we took pride in our appearance. Todays kids don't take pride in how they look, and you can thank the parents for that. Todays kids look like slobs and have the attitude that goes with it. Way to go parents you have raised some fine looking kids!?!?!

knees, young ladies come to school wearing clothes that looks like something their momma would wear at the late night club. It's not they don't have money to buy clothes, the girl wants to show off before they get sent home. Parent(s) stop blasting the teachers that your child won't learn how to read, write and do math, it starts at home, don't blame the school because your child has to fight and be disorderly.
The education process starts at home but when you have many kids who live with grandpartents because mom is in jail or prison with no dad in the home, the child has no one to teach him or her. To the ones who want to blame the schools, start being part of your child's life, join the PTA, Go to school events, make a difference, educate your child that he or she just can't what ever they want in school.

Everyone should agree that parent(s) should be teaching their children the moment they can learn on how to read and write to get them started in school. Parent(s) should teach their children in verbal and written form their phone number (if it's not disconnected) and home address. The parent(s) should be reading to their children each night and start letting the children read backm, that's call home education. Many
Parent(s) are not doing this, they feel it's the teacher's job to teach everything. Some parent(s) allow their children to go to school covered in pot odor because mom smokes her breakfast everyday while taking her or his kids to school. Child gets in trouble for fighting or causing problems in school, when the parent is called to pick up their child to take home, they go off on the teacher, "My child never does that type of stuff, you're just picking on my child" Parent(s) are the biggest problems in many cases but the school board will never ever blame the parent(s. Parents has a duty to help educate and know what their child is wearing at school and when out with friends not the school. Wearing a uniform at school means kids can't wear their pants down to the k

has been in schools that require a dress code/ uniform and one that doesn't I can tell you that the uniform will cause more issues than its worth. The school I went to would regularly check for dress code violations wasting time that did not need to be wasted. Not to mention the students hated it and had to buy twice as manny clothes because many of them would not be caught dead outside of school wearing them. The issue is not what you wear it is your attitude. People with bad attitudes wearing a uniform and those without a uniform both have bad attitudes, one is just dressed up.

Rose, don't make such "sweeping generalities". I was told that once. Oh please....make me where a uniform...I beg you. It would be so easy getting ready in the morning. There would be no deciding on what skirt/pants to wear with what top. Do I wear the heels or boots, which are heels too. I can take a shower, blow dry my hair, do what little make-up I wear all in 20 min, but when it comes to deciding what to wear, its a nightmare. A pair of khaki pants and school themed shirt? YES...I love it. I agree, some teachers could spiffy up what they wear, while others could tone it down. Some teachers could learn to use an iron. Making teachers wear uniforms would be a great tax deduction too. I envy the PE teachers walking around in sweats and shorts, even during their "health" weeks. Even coaches that don't teach PE take advantage of the athletic attire too. And if my daughter had to wear a uniform that would save me another 20 min in the morning fighting with her about what she had to wear. I say...BRING IT ON!!!!

Providing the Teachers and Administrators are in uniform also! OH!!! Did I just hear a pin drop? A big part of the problems we face is because most teacher dress like slobs. I have seen everything from jeans and sweatsuits to mini skirts and low cut tops to proper attire. Teachers, like parents, should not try to dress or act like their kids. Uniforms are not going to solve the gang problem. Uniforms are not going to solve the brain problem. Uniforms are not going to solve the attendance problem. These problems need to be solved by setting examples of how to dress. These problems will be solved by actually teaching, not just giving out assignments and not answering questions. These problems will be solved MOSTLY by PARENTS sitting down with their kids and helping them with their homework, PARENTS talking with their kids and finding out what they are doing after school, PARENTS listening to the teachers and administrators when their kids get in trouble for misbehaving or when the teachers show concern about the kids grades. If you show your kids YOU care, THEY will show you they'll work to succeed. Don't let your kids end up like you, quit making excuses and do your job.

I teach in Norfolk and my children attend Norfolk Public Schools. Both wear/ wore uniforms as part of their experience in middle school. One attended Ruffner MS and the other is currently at Meadowbrook. Both will tell you that uniforms have made their lives easier and created a better atmosphere for learning than would have been the case without a uniform.
When your child catches a bus at 6:20 AM each morning, the uniform helps to keep things running smoothly. I also worked in a middle school that did not have a mandated uniform for students, and handled the disciplinary consequences for the students who teased, bullied and otherwise placed great importance on what they/ others "had on" over their education. Some parents say, "we've taken away the rights of our children to express themselves and their individuality by placing them in uniform." I say that we've taken away much more from our children by allowing them to misbehave without consequences, ignore rules and regulations that exist to keep them safe, and blatantly disrespect the teachers who work so hard to impart knowledge on a daily basis. Enough is enough.

I for one as a Norfolk taxpayer would like to see our future generations in clothes that prepare them for learning not the beach or lounging pool side. Get rid of the flip flops, too!
Also, if the school board doesn/t want to comply get new one. They work for the city council and the people of Norfolk.
The people of Norfolk want safe schools that have productive students.
Thank you!

I probably shouldn't even have a say in the matter, since both my boys are graduated from high school. But I think its pretty sad that our youth have to sacrifice individuality, to make us, or the schools feel more comfortable... If I was a school age child I'm sure I would prefer a dress code, even if strict, over a mandatory uniform. If the kid is a gang member, it's likely one day that kid will be dressed like everyone else where he lives...in prison blues..Kind of unfair to the other kids who stay out of that type of lifestyle, to be forced to take on the appearance of an automaton.

At least for part of the day, we wouldn't have to look at the boys baggy butts, with the pockets down around their knees.

You made and interesting point, most companies out there do have a dress code and if we do not teach our children at an early age about dressing properly then we are setting them up for failure. School officials should enforce the uniform policy and so should the cities. All these other people whining about how bad it would be should consider the benefits involved and stop complaining. Your comment about having colored-coded shirts to distinguish the grades was right-on. Gosh, I wish someone would listen!

It seems to me that instead of relying on 70% of the parents to agree on a uniform policy the issue should instead be placed on the ballot. Since all citizen's taxes pay for these childrens education then the voices of all the citizens should be heard on this topic.

I agree with davidh's comments; but I'll add that it's not really a bad idea in concept, but execution is a completely different matter. How many times has a city government tried this and failed? It seems to me it was an issue in Norfolk when I was in grade school.

I don't see how unforms are the solution to discipline problems in school. So we force every child to wear the same uniform. Does that stop kids from joining gangs? No...it justs makes it harder for school administrators to identify who is in the gangs. And I don't know what math you are using if you think this is going to save any parent money. I'm quite sure that my children will want to change clothes immediately upon returning from school. So now I not only have to buy the clothes that they will wear everyday for the second part of the day, but I have to buy uniforms too. Seems like I'm buying twice as many clothes.

Belonging to a "gang" is not against the law. Nor is wearing any particular "colors." Schools can, however, establish a reasonable dress code or require the wearing of uniforms.

If approached correctly schools uniforms (school wear sounds more politically correct) would benefit both the school and parents. Boys should be made to wear khaki pants with a belt and a polo shirt and girls could wear the same with the option of wearing a skirt instead of pants. Parents could buy inexpensive clothes instead of branded sportswear and it would eliminate morning arguments regarding style. Students would not have to worry about being harassed about their clothes. Schools could even use shirt colors to designate grade levels to control movement in the building. Plus, we would be preparing students for the real world where most companies have a dress code. Everybody wins except the student but the thing to remember is schools exist to educate students not to cater to their whims.

I studied abroad in an education system that consisted of wearing uniforms. Not only this prevented many cases of child abduction thanks to the children wearing uniform being recognized in the streets by citizens when child predators tried to steal them, but it also prevented older children from skipping school to go do wrong things because since they wear wearing uniform during school hours, everyone knew whenever they saw a child on the street, that they were supposed to be at school. And you know what was a plus? The school logo was at on the uniform which made it easier for the citizens to identify which school the child went and which school notify.
Also, parents save tons of money because all we have to buy is two to three uniforms the most for the year instead of thousands of dollars in clothes for our children to wears throughout the school year.
It also teaches children to respect themselves and the school system because now, they are expected to act by certain standards since they wearing their schools uniforms everywhere they go so they have to carry themselves in a different manner, like the military do when they are in the streets in uniform. Trust me, we had to do i

“You can walk into any high school or middle school and tell what gang kids belong to,” Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot said. “It shouldn’t be that way.”

Isn't membership in a gang against the law? If so, why aren't these kids who are sporting gang, "colors," not being, "detained."

If not, then why are they proposing to deny themselves that knowledge (who is in a gang, based on their attire), by making everyone wear a uniform?

I live in a rural NC county where uniforms are mandatory for all schools. At first it was just one or two schools, but about five years ago they became mandatory through the whole system. Do they help with learning? Not really when you have some teachers so focused on enforcing the uniform policy that they take up valuable class time checking out every student's uniform to see if it complies. Do they help with discipline? I don't think so. If a kid wants to be unruly or get into a fight they are going to do it no matter what they are wearing. The scores of the students here have not improved. The only thing that has improved is that my son gets ready for school quicker because he doesn't have to think about what to wear.

I'd like to see uniforms if it reduces the problems in schools.

If it helps cut down on problems, I support uniform in our schools.

With all the troubles with gangs in our schools and peer pressures for how they are dressed, kids have enough problems to be concerned about other than what they should be concentrating on while in school: their studies. With that in mind, if EVERYONE had to dress alike with the same hair styles and all, those pressures should be removed. Then, the power of the individual would come to fore. The trick is, to make the uniforms reasonably priced so parents can afford them.

Our schools need to get back in the business of concentrating on teaching and not be centers of discipline or dealing with all sorts of other social problems.

I believe in the children having uniforms. Imagine the money you would save. The price for uniforms at Target and Wal-Mart are inexpensive compared to buying 5 days worth of everyday clothes. I only hope that when the day comes that my children enter the school system there will be a uniform policy.

The clamor over uniforms in the late fortie's and fifitie's was driven by the fear that America wouldn't have enough children learning math and science fully, to win a cold war with the Russians. Those kids had us on the moon by 1969 and a space airplane by 1982. Today the clamor over uniforms rests entirely on "be good Johnny". Thirty percent of children are dropping out. One percent of the population is in prison. The base 4% of unemployment are fully unemployable; lazy, or stupid, or covered in tats and piercings, or just plain evil or a mix of any of these. Children have been turned into dumb, driven cattle, commodities of Dis-Ed. So many children been pushed and pulled by whims of culture, disruptive social engineering, and their parents and educators who were never in it for the long haul, abandoned. No education, manners, respect, privacy, community, work-ethic, discipline, among others. Destined for unhappy, unfulfilled lives, broke, destitute, victimized. And a uniform will lead them.

This was an issue when I was in high school.

I totally agree with Burfoot

It is like "we want immigration reform only if the neighborhoods want it"...The school board in Norfolk is spineless. Are they afraid of hurting someone's feelings. They set the rules for cell phone use. But no the parents may want the children to be on the phone during class so there should be no rule. School Board - make a decision and stand by it - do not leave open alternatives.