School Uniforms at St Mary's Kitchener

Uniformity versus Individualism

Supervision and Uniforms at St Mary’s High School, Kitchener

The population of my school is about 2200 students with a staff of about 200. I think by most standards that qualifies as large.  During my first year there I made the mistake of wearing a white T-shirt with dark navy pants to class.  I immediately had the feeling that I had gone under cover among the masses as I was essentially in a version of the school uniform. I never made that mistake again.

Although I have never attended a school that required me to wear a uniform, I think on that one day I wore white and navy I had a sense of what it was like. I felt as if I had lost an element of my individuality, definitely my teacher identity was gone, as I become one with the student body, if only briefly.

As a teacher I must also enforce the uniform dress code which is much easier said than done.  The reality of the situation is that the wearing of uniforms is really about the ongoing and universal conflict of individuality and personal rights versus conformity and standardization. Enforcement of a dress code is problematic at best especially in such  a large school already fraught with numerous disciplinary issues.

For every standard in the dress code students can find a dozen ways around it, or to adapt the rule to their will.  In fact students adapt rules like flu viruses mutate.  The “How to Wear “section of the agenda book provided to each student states things like: “in a neat tidy fashion, not excessively long, only two buttons undone, plain white T-shirts with no markings, shirts tucked in, pants at waist level, shorts no more than 12 cm above the knees, ties must be worn in the conventional manner, dress shoes, running shoes or sandals.”  The combination and permutations evolve from this starter list of dress recommendations.

Boys, for example, can wear either a white T-shirt or a white shirt.  T-shirts do not have to be tucked in, but the shirts do.  Therefore it is possible to wear an extra long hip hop style T-shirt under a shirt that is loosely tucked in at the belt.  Then of course there are the inevitable low slung baggy pants, still very navy and technically in uniform.  The ensemble is complete with running shoes with laces undone.  Between classes some choose to accessorize with ball caps. Next gold chains and bracelets appear for the seven minute excursion between classes.  Briefly the students score on the side of individualism.

While on cafeteria duty I see a senior student approach with shirt out.  I prepare.  I get eye contact and point to the offending shirt.  He does a quick fake, temporarily going for the shirt tail he pivots around me, picks up speed and is gone into the crowd.  I could pursue but there are twenty other young violators in easy range, my dance card is full.

After lunch, back in my classroom, I begin the pre-class routine.  “David sweat shirt off, Laura that pink lacy thing is not uniform, Kyle, chain under your shirt,” and that’s only what I can see from the waist up.  I’m tired and I haven’t even started teaching yet.

I saw the irony off the uniform issue when we once had “Civvies Days” during which time students were allowed to wear their individually chosen street clothes.  Peer pressure being what it is among adolescents, they may as well have been in uniform.  In fact I’d say they were, uniforms that they had chosen for themselves. On those days you would hear me say, “David, what does that actually say on your T-shirt?...and the beat goes on.  Students, by virtue of their conformity, have created their own uniforms and they don’t even know it yet.

Will uniforms make for better schools, improve learning, create safer schools, or at least an illusion of safety, I really don’t  know.  My own choice, having once taught in a private school (my bias) is to see students appear professional in sharp uniforms which would, at least in a perfect world, represent their pride in self and school.  I believe individuality in our society is currently very over-rated.