Almost every level of government resents being told from someone up the food chain that they have to do something, but pay for it out of their own pocket. Unfunded mandates can be particularly troublesome at the local level, especially for school districts that have to struggle with less money and more regulations.
Now the school board can see how it feels to be on the giving end by enacting an unfunded mandate with school uniforms.
Requiring uniforms to combat safety is along the lines of needing a new transmission for your car but fixing the problem by getting it repainted.
They are better ways to address the issue. Fences, cameras, more security personnel- all would be more effective than making kids dress alike.
We need better test scores and higher student retention for graduation instead of fretting about collars and khakis. That is what the school board should be concerned with.
Thanks SNEditor – good analogies, good thoughts.
I don’t have a dog in this hunt as I do not have children (yet). A such, I feel I can look at this a little more rationally than some.
There are pros to having uniforms. Take bus drivers on 50+ passenger busses. A bus driver has a legal fiduciary responsibility for the safety of each child. It’s hard for him/her to keep track of that many kids getting on a bus (even harder for a substitute)– it would be very easy for an unauthorized child/person to slip onto a bus unnoticed. A uniform would help the driver as well as monitors in the loading area know who belongs or not.
We recently read about the child who was nearly abducted from a school playground. Luckily that child is safe and sound. A teachers uniform would help others from a distance note if the there is an unauthorized person on a playground or in a school hallway with just a glance.
Unfortunately, a uniform would limit a students ability to express themselves non-verbally while at school. Yet again, coroprate America does that to millions by forcing them to wear a dress or a suit and tie. Life is not fair- we don’t always get what we want, and that is a lesson Gen x, y, etc could use going forward. I commend the board for taking a proactive approach to look at all options rather than waiting on someone to get kidnapped or hurt.
I keep hearing about these ‘pros’ to having uniforms, but I have searched and searched for some kind of data to back up these claims and keep coming up empty handed. Every peer reviewed study on this issue has found that uniforms did not improve safety, behavior, or morale among students. Even more shocking, the studies did find that students perform worse academically once uniform policies were implemented. Perhaps stifling creativity isn’t so insignificant after all?
We all want our kids to be safe. But uniforms have been around for decades, and in all that time no data has shown them to be effective in making the schools where they were adopted any safer. Why will Starkville be any different?
Give us policies that will help. We need answers, not educational fads.
Be careful, BoardtownDawg, if you don’t agree with this group who are against uniforms. They will make posters with swastikas (per the Starkville Dispatch) and loudly boo you if you dare speak FOR uniforms.
Kate Spade – (wink) – That darn first amendment is just terrible isn’t it?
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Kate Spade – I was at the forum as an undecided parent interested in hearing both sides. I sayed the full 2 1/2 hours and did not hear one boo or jeer from the crowd toward those for or against uniforms. There were many cases of applause and cheers for individuals speaking on both sides, but boo’s? I didn’t hear one. At one point it was requested that all applause (for both sides) be held, but that request was ignored (by both sides).
In the end, I was pleasently surprised with how well thought out and respectfully presented the statements by those opposed to uniforms were. They just seem to want some assurance that this policy has not been blindly entered into, and honestly no such assurances, in my opinion, were given. There was a slideshow with some pictures, and vague statements about safety which all seem to have much more direct and less controversial solutions. In the end I came out of the meeting surprised to now be among those opposed to mandatory uniforms.
And honesly, the accusatory statements towards those opposed to uniforms, despite their respectful objections, has been troubling.
Thanks Boardtown Dawg (COUGH voting member of the school board) for supporting the school board’s (AHEM your) decision.
Another Starkville Mom-
You’re cold– very cold. If I were you, I wouldn’t sign up for any game shows anytime soon, b/c you are not a good guesser. Did you not R-E-A-D my previous post? What could possibly make you think I am on the School Board? (Other than the fact I don’t agree with you???)
I have no kids (that I know of, anyway) therefore I am not even sure if I would qualify to be on the school board (Not that I would want to, b/c I have better things to do with my time). Also, If I were on the School Board, I would not have held a meeting on the night of the biggest basketball rivalry game of the year (which is where I was Thursday night). I would have held it at a time when more people would have shown up than just the opposition.
Thanks for playing, and keep guessing if you like- I might even give you a hint.
ko-
Sorry, but the Supreme Court has repeatedly supported the idea that school children have limited Constitutional rights. Sadly, your First Amendment argument can’t hold water.
That is not to say that I am for uniforms. I am of two minds on the issue will have a school aged child in a year or two…
Tony – my first amendment comment was directed toward “kate spade” and her comment regarding people speaking out and making posters.
I am very aware that the First Amendment is not an argument against uniforms.