Rediculous School Rules

kyethra · December 16, 2007

I'm big on school uniforms. In Australia nearly all schools have uniforms anyway and I really think they're a good thing. But public school uniforms are often a pretty loose interpretation, short dresses, odd socks, shocking hairstyles, make up etc. The girls from our local secondary college look like tarts. I would never allow my daughter to go to school looking like that.
But I'm totally behind a proper uniform - shirt, tie, blazer, proper school skirts (not short!), tidy hair, no weirdly dyed hair, no facial piercings worn to school, school shoes, sports uniforms etc. I think kids have a right to their individuality but they need to learn there's times and places to express it and times and places to conform. And if they're totally the type of kid that's artistic or creative or whatever and are NEVER going to end up working in the corporate world or similar, then the chances are they wont be at the type of school that has uniform requirements like that anyway.

Ack, I'm such a middle class conservative white person, lol. I just assume my kids will be doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc like most of my family and Doug's family, so I tend to believe in the type of education that takes kids there. As a teacher myself, I have to be very mindful of the fact that there's no right or wrong, no one way to success, no one way to bring kids up.

But I still dont think a little old fashioned discipline, rules and respect hurt any kid.

I think with today's standards its ok to have fun colored hair and facial peircings. Yes, some industries might not like it, but with others it really is ok. I have three nose piercings, for example, and I've been known to have oddly colored hair (currently I favor blue streaks). this has never negatively affected me employment wise, and I know of others with things like multiple facial peircings who don't have problems with work.