I was sharing my old photos with our recent house guest (who went off last weekend), and she commented that my old school uniform was very nice! Well, I will never consider the uniforms of our local schools as nice, since they look about the same for a lot of schools.
Actually what is the concept of a uniform anyway? Students here all need to wear uniforms for schools, unless they are tertiary students. From what I know, in Japan, only secondary or high school onwards will the students need to wear uniforms. And I always like the Japanese high school uniforms - the sailor suit. Otherwise, it will be the western dress of top, bottom, vest, tie and jacket.
If I am not mistaken, in the West (America and Australia at least), only private or boarding school students need to wear uniforms. Students from the public schools can wear anything they like, as long as it is within regulations. The Australian private school uniform also comprises of a Western suit, and the uniforms are not cheap - about $100 or so for one set! Plus, there are different uniforms for summer and winter.
If the local students must have a uniform, can the uniform not be nicer? Most of the uniforms here comprise of a normal shirt (or blouse) and pants (or skirt). The skirt can be pleated or A-line, but the design is the same - plain. No floral prints, the most checks or stripes. Most school uniforms comprise of a white top and navy blue bottom. For boys, most uniforms are white throughout, which makes people hard to differentiate just exactly which school he comes from, especially since the school badges are so small.
Can the school or designers not be more creative, especially since uniforms are to be worn almost everyday and for the duration of the students' time in the school? Afterall, if one is to wear a school uniform, one will like to wear a nice one that he / she is not ashamed to show. I believe students will like to go to school, wearing the uniform proudly, rather than dreading about wearing the stupid uniform again!
Besides the design, some of the uniform's colours are also left to be desired. I ever came across a school where the uniform is bright red (not maroon or cerise, but crimson, the colour of blood!) for the top, and faded grey for the bottom. Odd combination. I seriously wonder how the students feel about having to wear the uniform for a few years.
A friend of mine went into a school where the uniform is green. It is one of the better girls' schools, and the uniform has a grass green blouse and emerald green pinafore. She complained about looking like a frog everyday. Yet, when she went into junior college, she chose a school where the uniform is also green, olive green top and bottom. I guess the school is near her place, and besides, it is one of the top five. So for almost the whole of her teenage life, she ended up "looking like a frog" almost everyday.
For a large part of my life, I had to wear the pinafore, the uniform of all convent schools. It consists of a white blouse, and a sea blue pinafore, with a pleated skirt, complete with a sea blue belt. We girls will wear the belt quite low on our waists, then puff out a bit of the pinafore above the belt, making the skirt appear a bit shorter (and higher up our knees). That is the fashion of how convent girls wear their uniforms. Any student who wears the belt the normal way, and pulls the pinafore skirt all the way down without puffing any out, is either a freshman, first time attending a convent, or an alien.
The only way to differentiate between the primary and secondary uniform is the school badge. The primary school badge is bigger, and the metal or steel badge is shinier, as if there is a layer of gloss on it. The secondary school badge is smaller, sleeker, and with a colour strip on top, to represent the house colour. It is duller as compared to the primary school badge, as there is no trace of any shine on it. Some convents have cloth badges sewn on the left top side of the pinafore.
My uniform is nothing really nice, but I must admit, it is at least better than a lot of other schools. At least I prefer this uniform to the other one I had, the one I wore for a brief period of my life. That uniform consists of a beige top and beige A-line skirt. The material is not absorbent, so I always became very uncomfortable whenever I started to perspire. Plus, the skirt is made of a thicker material, so I ended up rather hot and stuffy. The only nice thing is the red jacket, and striped tie, where only the priviledged few got to wear.
But the uniform I like the most is that of the prefectorial committee back in secondary school. It consists of a full white ensemble - white long-sleeve blouse (but the sleeves are often folded up), white A-line skirt, white and dark blue diagonal striped tie, a dark blue jacket, and black heels. The full white attire and tie is only worn on Mondays for the school assembly, but the tie has to be worn everyday with the pinafore.
The full ensemble, together with the jacket and heels, are only worn during school functions, guests visits, or the annual swearing of the prefect's oath. And only those in the prefectorial committee (not the normal prefects) are entitled to the full ensemble. So when I wore the full ensemble, I felt so proud and honoured, even though I only had the chance to wear it twice.
Should schools then abolish the uniform and let the students come in whatever attire they like? One thing about uniforms is that it does not cause so much distress as to what to wear for the day, especially for the older kids who are getting to be vain and refuse to be seen in anything that has already been seen by all. So thinking of what to wear everyday can be a chore.
On the other hand, if the student happens to be in a school where the uniform is of an awful design with an even more awful colour, he / she may not even be inclined to go to school anymore, just so as not to wear "that awful thing" out on the streets. But in the local context, is it feasible to abolish uniforms totally?
Actually what is the concept of a uniform anyway? Students here all need to wear uniforms for schools, unless they are tertiary students. From what I know, in Japan, only secondary or high school onwards will the students need to wear uniforms. And I always like the Japanese high school uniforms - the sailor suit. Otherwise, it will be the western dress of top, bottom, vest, tie and jacket.
If I am not mistaken, in the West (America and Australia at least), only private or boarding school students need to wear uniforms. Students from the public schools can wear anything they like, as long as it is within regulations. The Australian private school uniform also comprises of a Western suit, and the uniforms are not cheap - about $100 or so for one set! Plus, there are different uniforms for summer and winter.
If the local students must have a uniform, can the uniform not be nicer? Most of the uniforms here comprise of a normal shirt (or blouse) and pants (or skirt). The skirt can be pleated or A-line, but the design is the same - plain. No floral prints, the most checks or stripes. Most school uniforms comprise of a white top and navy blue bottom. For boys, most uniforms are white throughout, which makes people hard to differentiate just exactly which school he comes from, especially since the school badges are so small.
Can the school or designers not be more creative, especially since uniforms are to be worn almost everyday and for the duration of the students' time in the school? Afterall, if one is to wear a school uniform, one will like to wear a nice one that he / she is not ashamed to show. I believe students will like to go to school, wearing the uniform proudly, rather than dreading about wearing the stupid uniform again!
Besides the design, some of the uniform's colours are also left to be desired. I ever came across a school where the uniform is bright red (not maroon or cerise, but crimson, the colour of blood!) for the top, and faded grey for the bottom. Odd combination. I seriously wonder how the students feel about having to wear the uniform for a few years.
A friend of mine went into a school where the uniform is green. It is one of the better girls' schools, and the uniform has a grass green blouse and emerald green pinafore. She complained about looking like a frog everyday. Yet, when she went into junior college, she chose a school where the uniform is also green, olive green top and bottom. I guess the school is near her place, and besides, it is one of the top five. So for almost the whole of her teenage life, she ended up "looking like a frog" almost everyday.
For a large part of my life, I had to wear the pinafore, the uniform of all convent schools. It consists of a white blouse, and a sea blue pinafore, with a pleated skirt, complete with a sea blue belt. We girls will wear the belt quite low on our waists, then puff out a bit of the pinafore above the belt, making the skirt appear a bit shorter (and higher up our knees). That is the fashion of how convent girls wear their uniforms. Any student who wears the belt the normal way, and pulls the pinafore skirt all the way down without puffing any out, is either a freshman, first time attending a convent, or an alien.
The only way to differentiate between the primary and secondary uniform is the school badge. The primary school badge is bigger, and the metal or steel badge is shinier, as if there is a layer of gloss on it. The secondary school badge is smaller, sleeker, and with a colour strip on top, to represent the house colour. It is duller as compared to the primary school badge, as there is no trace of any shine on it. Some convents have cloth badges sewn on the left top side of the pinafore.
My uniform is nothing really nice, but I must admit, it is at least better than a lot of other schools. At least I prefer this uniform to the other one I had, the one I wore for a brief period of my life. That uniform consists of a beige top and beige A-line skirt. The material is not absorbent, so I always became very uncomfortable whenever I started to perspire. Plus, the skirt is made of a thicker material, so I ended up rather hot and stuffy. The only nice thing is the red jacket, and striped tie, where only the priviledged few got to wear.
But the uniform I like the most is that of the prefectorial committee back in secondary school. It consists of a full white ensemble - white long-sleeve blouse (but the sleeves are often folded up), white A-line skirt, white and dark blue diagonal striped tie, a dark blue jacket, and black heels. The full white attire and tie is only worn on Mondays for the school assembly, but the tie has to be worn everyday with the pinafore.
The full ensemble, together with the jacket and heels, are only worn during school functions, guests visits, or the annual swearing of the prefect's oath. And only those in the prefectorial committee (not the normal prefects) are entitled to the full ensemble. So when I wore the full ensemble, I felt so proud and honoured, even though I only had the chance to wear it twice.
Should schools then abolish the uniform and let the students come in whatever attire they like? One thing about uniforms is that it does not cause so much distress as to what to wear for the day, especially for the older kids who are getting to be vain and refuse to be seen in anything that has already been seen by all. So thinking of what to wear everyday can be a chore.
On the other hand, if the student happens to be in a school where the uniform is of an awful design with an even more awful colour, he / she may not even be inclined to go to school anymore, just so as not to wear "that awful thing" out on the streets. But in the local context, is it feasible to abolish uniforms totally?
4 comments:
I have no love of uniforms - for me it is symbolic of subjugation to conformity.
That being said, Sofia loves uniforms. And ... notwithstanding, my kids are in a private school where they wear a uniform.
Actually, do private schools provide better overall education, as compared to public schools? It seems like everywhere, parents would rather send their kids to private schools, because even though they pay expensive fees for education, the kids seem better educated (in the parents' opinions), rather than free public education.
This is certainly Sofia's belief. I am not convinced. Neither are grade school teacher friends of mine (some who did go to private school). Of course, this applies to Canada, not necessarily to a third world country like Peru.
My kids, especially Tania, are very bright and require constant stimulation to keep them occupied (Jason is more kinesthetic, though). The school they go to provides an advanced curriculum (one year ahead of the public school system). Experts claim that in the long term, there is no appreciable difference in accelerating education. This is probably true. However, I, personally know how utterly destructive and demoralizing being bored in school is. I found my high school education to be a total waste of 5 years. I found college to be so liberating. My first year I signed up for the usual slate of courses (about 26 hours per week), which I found exhilarating. The following year, I signed up for 40 hours of courses per week because I just couldn't get enough.
Tania's first comment about the school was that she liked it because they gave her more work. She recently commented that she likes her current piano teacher because she gives her homework.
While I believe my kids are perfectly capable of managing a richer and more challenging curriculum (indeed I think they need it to thrive), I am not keen on advancing then too rapidly, since I believe they need a secure peer environment as well. So the trick is to find a rich educational environment for them.
(One reason Jason is at the private school is because in the Province of Quebec, a child must be 5 by 30-Sepetember in order to qualify for kindergarten. Jason turned 5 on 02-October. In any other province he is eligible to go to school (cutoff date is 31-December) – Quebec is special (in more ways than one). Anyway, the government permits and exemption, at the discretion of the school, if the child passes a psychological exam showing they are mature enough to go to school. The public school went through the motions of considering the results of the exam, but in the end denied JJ admission. The private school had no reservations (why should they when you are giving them money). Jason is extremely inquisitive and needed the stimulus of a school, not the emptiness of a daycare. Of course, Jason is also extremely active, which counts against his maturity, however, he won’t be any better next year. And he likes school too. He is slowly acquiring French (he is in a completely French environment)
DOwn here, many parents, especially the well-educated ones, send their children to private kindergartens like the famous Montessori, as the curriculum is more advanced than normal kindergartens. THese same parents will then send the children to top primary schools, secondary schools, etc. To a certain extent, this works because many of these children later become top scholars, earning places in very reputable universities worldwide.
But that is not to say that normal schools will not churn out good students too. I know many top graduates who come from humble families and neighbourhood schools. Maybe to a certain extent, it depends if the kids want to achieve, because if the kids have no interest in studying, whatever school does not make a difference.
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