{"id":1778,"date":"2016-04-28T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woocommerce-632430-2060185.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=1778"},"modified":"2018-12-19T11:08:34","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T15:08:34","slug":"are-we-hurting-children-by-making-them-wear-uniforms-in-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicallatin.org\/exordium\/are-we-hurting-children-by-making-them-wear-uniforms-in-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Are we hurting children by making them wear uniforms in school?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Brett Vaden<\/strong><\/p>\n

In “It’s 2016. Why are school uniforms gender-specific?”<\/a>, a recent article posted on the Australian-based Special Broadcasting Service’s website, Nicola Heath argues that school children shouldn’t be forced to wear uniforms that limit them to a particular gender.<\/p>\n

Heath says, “Dressing girls in skirts and boys in shorts sends a message to the children that the two are very different from one another \u2013 which in turn arguably contributes to the gender inequality that is evident in everything from the pay gap to the relatively small number of women who occupy board positions in Australia.”<\/p>\n

Setting aside the dubiousness of Mrs. Heath’s unstated assumption\u2014that by affirming that boys and girls are different we thereby devalue women\u2014I’d like to challenge another assumption she makes later on in the article, where she argues that by making students wear certain uniforms, schools make it harder for students to decide who they are, that is, to choose their identity. In contrast to such schools, Heath applauds the example of Newtown Performing Arts High School, where students were allowed to change the school’s uniform policy, so that now “students of any gender identity can wear boys\u2019 or girls\u2019 uniforms.”<\/p>\n

Before I get to the question of students’ identity and gender-specific uniforms, a simpler question to consider first is whether school teachers and administrators should enforce certain standards of dress at all.<\/p>\n

I’ve taught in a private school<\/a> that mandates uniforms and I’ve seen them used in public schools. My oldest daughter, now in first grade, wears a uniform to school every day. (Well, every day except for the class Christmas party.) Although I grew up in a public school system without uniforms, I think they are a wise choice for three\u00a0reasons:<\/p>\n