Dressing for Success

In local news, there is much talk regarding a proposal in enforce school uniforms in the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) school district. While I haven’t taken any polls, my understanding (at least from the few people that called the local morning radio show) is that most adults approve of the idea.

In most of all cases, I am NOT for the powers-that-be telling me how my child should be raised. For instance, I could (and may) write a separate blog entry with my questions regarding the implementation of full-day kindergarten. However, I’m not opposed to school dress codes. I know it won’t eliminate the typical social classes in schools but I do believe it will help remove some of the distractions clothing can cause. Who knows, maybe I would’ve scored higher on my AP Physics exam if the girls in my physics class were limited to only one, mostly boring, outfit. Probably not…but it’s a decent theory. And, as a parent, if it keeps me from arguing with my kids about what they wear to school, that’s even better.

I can see one drawback to uniforms. If everyone wears the same thing, how will they later be able to look back at their school photos and say “I can’t believe I actually wore that!”? Seriously, what’s going to be the point of your yearbook if you can’t laugh at your skinny tie, the white suspenders hanging off your shoulder, or your acid washed jean jacket. That’s why I would like to especially support highly embarrassing school uniforms. A school full of parachute pants or pink IZOD polo shirts (oh, wait, those ARE back in style) would certainly get my attention.

I would likewise support uniform haircuts if they involved heavy, heavy feathering.