Should Students Have To Wear School Uniforms?

Discipline and its Uniform
The world is slowly but surely moving towards being more democratic and tolerant. This is changing the daily behavior of people all around the world. One specific change seen today is rebellion against discipline.

Discipline today is seen in varying lights, right from the positive, neutral to the downright negative. It is also one of the hottest topics for debate.

The young as well as the old generation simply refuse to adhere to norms which don't seem right to them - a behavior unheard of just a century ago. Inadvertently, this change in daily behavior is springing up quite some uncomfortable but relevant questions. One such question is - should students have to wear uniforms?

The Uniform

A uniform is today seen as an act of forced discipline and also of being one with a group. The uniform, in fact, is known to be the epitome of submission, obedience, system and of course, education .

The uniform was an attire of high standing once, and many a student must have their chest puffing with pride over the fact that his or her uniform is the cleanest in the class and the smartest as compared to other schools.

This brings to mind the thought that there is a certain age when the human mind not only accepts but requires systematic discipline, wherein others take decisions about their day to day life.

Modern thinkers and modern thinking have brought about a change in this thinking. Modern thinking says that the uniform is a cage to creativity and a way of bringing out obedience to the authorities and the system right from an early age. Some may also point out that children are at their creative best as well as ready to be molded into a certain character at a certain age.

Some thinkers have also propagated that students of the different genders should be given a free hand over whether they should come to school wearing clothes, let alone uniforms, to school.These ideas are nothing new, nor are they totally illogical.

For example, the thinkers propagating 'nudist schools', as in 'nudist beaches' say that if children are exposed to the anatomy of the opposite bodies at a young age, chances are that we may have lesser blushing faces in the 'Human Anatomy classes' of higher and medical schools, and therefore, better and frank education from day one.

These ideas aren't new or anything out of the world.It is just now, with the freedom and globalization and the internet, that the ideas have got a wider audience, and therefore, wider acceptance or non-acceptance.

Should Students Wear Uniforms?
All said and done, the uniform is not only apparel; it is the identity of the child till a certain time. How many cases have we heard when a lost child was recognized not by their 'baby blue eyes' or 'brunette bangs at the side' but by their dirtied uniforms?

I Cards may be lost or stolen, other school tags may be thrown away by run-away children, but the uniform will always stay.

The uniform also maintains oneness and equality amongst the school children. There are times when students from varied socio-economic backgrounds study at the same school. It is at such times that the common identity these uniforms give come in handy.

Wearing a uniform is helpful even in later life. Students wearing a uniform all their educational years will have no qualms about coming to office wearing the corporate uniform - formal wear, tie and jacket.

Though the uniform is the visualization of discipline, even discipline is not wrong till a certain age. Therefore, children should be kept under discipline, and therefore, in a uniform till they become majors, and that is when they can make their own decisions.

Therefore, it will only be safe to not only allow, but ensure that every child leaving home is properly attired in his or school uniform for safety. and progress.