School Uniforms

[luv_lyf_az_it_iz]

u mean in NZ, every school has the same uniform or??
cause i know there's some countries that used the same uniform throughout the country.

nah its just our school who has that uniform. other schools hav different uniforms. i know one school around the area i live in, and the juniors wear uniform but the seniors can wear nething.. but some schools in nz dont wear uniform. and our school is extremely strict on uniform. a shirt not tucked in is a straight up school detention lol.

 

[Fionuir]

Actually, I like my uniform, and (mostly) everyone at my school agrees. Like Pinky said, it creates a real camaraderie amongst students and helps to build pride in your school. We've got a summer, winter, and sport uniform and the same one is worn from kindergarten students (~4 yrs old) to Year Twelve girls (~17/18). The winter uniform hasn't changed much in a century (except for the hemline) and so it's very distinctive. The uniform policy is very strict eg. underwear must be white, only studs as earrings, hair tied back, but it means we all look similar and relatively smart. Like Pinky we have colours (embroidered symbols on the pockets of our blazers for sporting/cultural achievements) and half-colours (badges), but I don't feel they have any bearing on the cliques or groups in our school. Your personality isn't demonstrated through only your uniform; the way you act, what you think etc. are more important factors in determining this.

Our winter uniform (but high school girls wear black stockings instead of the socks

Our summer uniform is kind of hard to explain ... It's a white dress with lots of little Aboriginal interpretations of our crest in navy blue, and a blue tie. It comes with a white boater hat

 

[zengiraffe]

I prefered my school uniform to the option of being the only person in school who's parents hadn't spent a fortune on expensive jeans and trainers (I hated non uniform days so so much). A flavour is here: http://www.arnoldhillschool.co.uk/website/uniform.php
Except when I went until I was in the 3rd year (year 9) girls weren't allowed trousers (ok with me, less ok with many of the other girls) , and it was knee length white socks only. They also had an official tie measuring 'stick' which they would compare the length of your tie against to make sure it was not too short (some reason short ties were uber trendy in my school). The PE uniform I was less struck on though, tiny skirt and tinier shorts.

Now as a grown up I have to wear a uniform and I despise it. I love the days when I am doing duty management and get to wear a suit and look neat and tidy instead of like a sack of potatoes.

 

[Stargirl52]

im from auckz. where u froM?

Chch.

Golly gosh Fionuir, I can't believe they regulated your underwear. Did anyone rebel? Did they check your undies?

-G.

 

[luv_lyf_az_it_iz]

^lol

 

[Fionuir]

Originally Posted by Stargirl52
Golly gosh Fionuir, I can't believe they regulated your underwear. Did anyone rebel? Did they check your undies?

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly didn't wear white underwear.
I don't think they check any more, but according to my mum (who went to the same school) they used to. She said that after assembly the girls had to walk past a stairwell, and the wind blew up their skirts, exposing the colour of their underwear to the teachers. I don't know how true that is, but the sad thing is I can see it happening. Our school has a very strict uniform policy
eg:

• Blazer- Must be worn to and from school by day girls in Terms 2 and 3. Optional when inside school grounds.
• Jumper- Not worn as an outer garment when outside school grounds. Not worn with summer dress. To be worn in Terms 2 and 3 only.
• Summer cardigan- Optional. Not worn as an outer garment when outside school grounds. To be worn in Terms 1 and 4 only.

Members of the public actually ring up if they see a girl walking down the street without her blazer/hat or wearing her cardigan/jumper. It's really bizarre. I mean, they even give descriptions of the girls involved so they can be identified and given a detention ...

 

[luv_lyf_az_it_iz]

lol thats lyk our school 2, lyk if u have messy hair = detention. shirt untucked, even not tucked in properly :| = detention. combination of uniform (e.g p.e uniform wit school shoes) = detention. and get this - if u're seen eating or drinking anything bsides water outside school grounds = detention. its crazy

 

[lovedanielle]

At my school, we wear a uniform. It's never made me feel that I can't express my style or be an individual. Sometimes I will wear fun accessories, or do my hair different, or even something as simple as switching up my eye makeup. On some days I really like wearing the uniform as it makes me feel like my personality is standing out more than my clothes. And on other days, I want the freedom to wear whatever I want to express myself. I have a love/hate relationship with my uniform, haha.

It doesn't create equality or prevent cliques at all, in my opinion. There is still a "cool" and "stylish" way of wearing the uniform. Short kilts and polos with popped collars are what separate the in crowd with the not-so-in crowd.

 

[Pinky*]

speaking of crazy uniform policies, i rbr when i studied in japan they were quite strict in ways diff from my usual school.

at the main entrance of the school each morning, there would be a teacher who welcomed everyone to school but also acted as a uniform monitor. depending on how anal the teacher was, you could even be criticised for pulling your pullover sleeves over your hands which is a common habit.

if they caught you with a serious uniform infraction, even if you bumped into a teacher after school-hours, on the street say, you would get some form of detention. usually for uniform ones, they ask you to come to school extra early to do some chores like wiping windows or help clean up the courtyard, etc.

its not like child labor or anything bc each day after class they stayed to clean up the classroom, incl mopping the floor and cleaning the chalkboards for the next day. its a very good system actually.. more $ into other programs, school pride in keeping it clean and general cleanliness habits.

 

[indie_fairy]

my school is steriotypically quite strict on school uniform ie. we must wear a tie, blue or white shirt, black trousers, black or navy v neck jumper (optional) and a blazer between classes however;
> most in our school have several variations on the black v neck jumper eg some wear black boleros, black zip up jumpers and black lycra v neck tops the list for many, basically any kind of black top is accepted however the couragous wear white and grey but in my personal opinion these colours don't look as smart or classy as black.
> skirts come in many forms, the sluttier wear very short mini skirts from topshop or logo and the more demure wear slightly longer black skirts that skim the knee with boxpleats
> shoes; most wear flats and stillettos are very rare. some people wear bright shoes however once again these don't look as classy or smart as black... the emo kids wear their converse but trainers are a no-go
> accessories; most don't wear accessories the most common is the vintage inspired topshop drooping earrings
> hair- must be natural looking... most get sent home if they arrive with bright blue hair and of course most girls are fans of GHDs in my school
> makeup - allowed and boy god do a lot of girls wear it and a lot of it

 

[luv_lyf_az_it_iz]

what do u think is better: no uniform and being able to b creative and original, or attend a school that looks smart and professional with nice uniform?

 

[PonyShow]

i went to a school, well until i dropped out, that required uniforms and i didn't mind it too much, honestly. me and my friends would wear really high socks with our plaid skirts and always get in trouble so when our class graduated they changed the rule to ankle socks. hahaha suuuuuuuuuucks for them.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly didn't wear white underwear.
I don't think they check any more, but according to my mum (who went to the same school) they used to. She said that after assembly the girls had to walk past a stairwell, and the wind blew up their skirts, exposing the colour of their underwear to the teachers. I don't know how true that is, but the sad thing is I can see it happening. Our school has a very strict uniform policy
eg:

• Blazer- Must be worn to and from school by day girls in Terms 2 and 3. Optional when inside school grounds.
• Jumper- Not worn as an outer garment when outside school grounds. Not worn with summer dress. To be worn in Terms 2 and 3 only.
• Summer cardigan- Optional. Not worn as an outer garment when outside school grounds. To be worn in Terms 1 and 4 only.

Members of the public actually ring up if they see a girl walking down the street without her blazer/hat or wearing her cardigan/jumper. It's really bizarre. I mean, they even give descriptions of the girls involved so they can be identified and given a detention ...

You may want to consider moving away after graduation

 

[eternitygoddess]

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly didn't wear white underwear.

I don't think they check any more, but according to my mum (who went to the same school) they used to. She said that after assembly the girls had to walk past a stairwell, and the wind blew up their skirts, exposing the colour of their underwear to the teachers. I don't know how true that is, but the sad thing is I can see it happening. Our school has a very strict uniform policy

eg:

• Blazer- Must be worn to and from school by day girls in Terms 2 and 3. Optional when inside school grounds.
• Jumper- Not worn as an outer garment when outside school grounds. Not worn with summer dress. To be worn in Terms 2 and 3 only.
• Summer cardigan- Optional. Not worn as an outer garment when outside school grounds. To be worn in Terms 1 and 4 only.

Members of the public actually ring up if they see a girl walking down the street without her blazer/hat or wearing her cardigan/jumper. It's really bizarre. I mean, they even give descriptions of the girls involved so they can be identified and given a detention ...

O_O.

Is this some kind of ultra religious school?

 

[PonyShow]

well, that's a bit bizarre, but my friend got kicked out of school because she slapped someone in a drugstore in her uniform. i still think it's ridiculous. but we would walk home from school smoking in our uniform. how the hell did we not get busted haha.

 

[saann]

^if she wasn't wearing it would she still have gotten kicked out?

 

[vampodrama]

in soviet times we had to wear a school uniform, which was the exact same for the entire country. and butt ugly. all the clothes were dark blue. no accessories, makeup or hairstyling.

what was funny though was that when the USSR fell apart, the uniform thing was cancelled. but in my school, about 80% of the students kept wearing the uniform for about a year afterwards.... old habits can be hard to break.

 

[Eurasian Mélange]

I never had a uniform in primary school (lower/middle school?), but I had one in secondary/high school.

You had to wear either navy or black trousers or skirt. If you wore a skirt it had to be at the knee. The boys had to wear black or charcoal trousers, but while I was there they were also deciding to change the rules to include black/charcoal shorts for boys in the summer.

You had to wear a light blue polo shirt with short sleeves (like a T-shirt). You would get told off if it had long sleeves and that kind of shirt was rather hard to find. What a nuisance. Over the top of that years/grades 7 and 8 had to wear a navy jumper/sweater with the school logo on one side of the chest. Years/grades 9-11 could choose between a navy, maroon or green jumper/sweater.

Everyone had to wear black shoes with either black, navy or white socks underneath. Girls were allowed to wear heels, but if they did the heels had to be chunky ones.

When we did PE we had to wear a green version of the polo shirt and navy jogging bottoms, shorts or a skirt. If you chose to wear a skirt you had to wear green knickers underneath. I am not surprised all the girls avoided wearing skirts, especially when many of the PE teachers were creepy.

Does it supress individuality?
I don't think a uniform suppresses individuality at all. People still keep their own personalities, interests and beliefs even when they are in uniform. Perhaps it restricts one's expression of individuality, but I wouldn't say it takes it entirely away.

Does it create a feeling of equality and belonging?
No. I was always ostracised and bullied. Putting me in the same clothes as everyone else didn't magically make everything better. Perhaps for someone who had a good time at school and many friends to support them, but not for somebody who was 'different' and was constantly attacked for it. I think the only way I would have felt equal and as if I belonged with my schoolmates would have been if I were richer, white, not shy, dumber (they hated me for being clever), louder and followed everybody else more often.

Does it prevent cliques?
Not at all. People with similar personalities and interests still drifted towards each other and eventually formed cliques. Uniform definitely didn't make people blind to other students' personalities and so on.

Does it violate personal freedom?
Only in terms of dressing how you wanted to. Even then you could still play around with what was allowed and add your own personal touch.

 

[fashionista-ta]

in soviet times we had to wear a school uniform, which was the exact same for the entire country. and butt ugly. all the clothes were dark blue. no accessories, makeup or hairstyling.

what was funny though was that when the USSR fell apart, the uniform thing was cancelled. but in my school, about 80% of the students kept wearing the uniform for about a year afterwards.... old habits can be hard to break.

I'm wondering if they had anything else to wear ... I can picture my mother going, "This is a perfectly good uniform, we paid for it, you're gonna wear it ..." I wonder if the year was when they outgrew those perfectly good uniforms

And btw, I am shocked, shocked, that the Soviets came up with "butt ugly" uniforms

 

[yellowetpink]

I've always had to wear one (primary and secondary)
but we can adapt it, as long as we have a school tie or school colours on,
but I rarely do