Why I Hate School Uniforms
About fifteen minutes into my first hour class today, our assistant principal entered the room. What he saw was twenty some students at their own desks, with books open, diligently working on an assignment I had given them. What he heard was nothing but the sound of little minds working.
What he then did was ask everyone to stand up for a uniform inspection. Belts were the major focus. Those without one had to come up front and let him pull a zip tie through two belt loops as a replacement. After completing his task, he left.
Now, without me even telling you about the class after the uniforms were corrected, do you think my classroom was more productive before the appearance of the uniform police, or after?
That is why I hate school uniforms. They serve no academic purpose whatsoever. (I don’t think they serve any of their other purported purposes, either, but that’s a subject for another post.). All they do is give students and teachers one more think to fight over. And frequently, as it did today in my class, enforcement undermines academics.
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The NorLa Blog 
March 6, 2008 at 10:01 pm
If I had been a child in your class, i would have only seen the crazy absurdity in a person in a position of authority pulling a zip tie through my belt loops. But if I were young enough, I am sure it would have been forgotten soon enough.
You have to get older to brood on things.
January 12, 2012 at 11:53 am
fuck off school uniform
March 7, 2008 at 5:29 pm
it was certainly funny.
March 11, 2008 at 5:11 pm
i am a 7th grae student at summit hill junior high school in frankfort illinois and i agree with u i HATE SCHOOL UNIFORMS my school was almost goning to aprove of school uniforms and i think that school uniforms should be baned foreer and i really like that you put ip this site for kids and actually a TEACHER dosnt like uniforms and i know if you were a teacher at my school i would tottaly love you for that
yours truley
alyssa lyen=]
March 11, 2008 at 7:16 pm
glad you liked the post.
if your school ever again tries to institute uniforms, exercise your first amendment rights by researching and writing a formal statement against them. i’ve considered doing something like that with some of my students.
January 21, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I didn’t expect to read the phrase “I hate school uniforms” from a teacher. Here in Puerto Rico most if not all schools require them. The schools are stricter with some students than with others about the enforcement of the uniform, so it’s not fair for anyone. Maybe it’s just that I find them all itchy, uncomfortable and useless — all fifteen of them!
I’ve heard every excuse under the sun (and some probably from above it) and seen them all disproven, from school violence prevention (a girl almost got killed in a fight once in my school… both she and the attacker wore school uniforms) to enhanced academic performance (I’ve been in both advanced and mainstream courses this year… both the same things I took in other grades– from second to ninth grade) and cost efficiency (I knew a girl who didn’t even have her own pair of shoes, she borrowed them. You can imagine how much she would’ve liked to have a pair of shoes and an extra outfit… technically not extra).
~A tenth-grader who fins most things itchy… specially school uniforms.
March 1, 2009 at 6:28 pm
. I hate school uniforms because you always have to wear them 5 times a week to school that means that you will need to wash your uniforms at least 3 times a week and that will make you spend a lot of money on just washing your uniforms. I hate when you can’t be unique because you always have to wear the same uniform color as everybody else and they’re looking the same as you that just take the surprise of the day from you. I hate when you can’t express you self for example you can’t wear whatever clothes you want to wear you always have to wear the uniform the school force you to wear. You can’t share how you feel, it’s like you have your feelings trapped inside. I also hate school uniforms because you loose you individuality when wearing a uniform, people won’t really know what kind of person you are. I hate the school uniform because it makes you look nerdy for example if you wear glasses and you wear the school uniform some people will think that you are a geek or a nerd and some people will call you a nerd. That’s why I hate about school uniform.
June 7, 2019 at 11:19 am
school unforms suck because the just make us wear the same clothes over and over again and they allways talk about how we smell and i be like yall make us wear uniforms we wear unforms and they the same color and everything so wen can just put them in the dirty clothes basket and wear them again tomarrow
March 11, 2009 at 2:24 pm
school uniforms SUCKS
May 4, 2009 at 6:01 am
My school is gonna have uniforms next year and i hate it.
September 16, 2010 at 7:44 pm
i hate school uniform because it it suck
August 16, 2009 at 1:40 pm
School uniforms teach kids to be like everyone else. It doesn’t save money on the cost of school shopping. Uniforms are the same price as clothes and you still have to buy clothes for after school. I am not going out to dinner or shopping without changing my child into regular clothes. I hate the fact that I have to spend money on clothes that are worthless so my child can go to public schools. They do nothing. There is still voilence, bullies will continue to be bullies and if you want to sag you will continue to do so in uniforms (I see it daily).
November 9, 2009 at 11:35 am
i agree with everyone.
i ama 10th grader.
everytime the stupid principal comes we have to be fully dressed otherwise we will have to do 50 pusups for every piece of uniform missing.
Can u believe it.
one time it was my birthday and i wore casuall to school. i was made to do 150 pushups.
ofcourse i didnt do them at once i did them 50 then took a little break then again another 50 and so on.
the best thin g is that if u dont wear the uniform daily you have have six abs in no time lol!!!
February 17, 2012 at 2:06 pm
you are kinda redarted.but
January 22, 2021 at 9:26 am
Lmao. I love how I am years late. I am currently in class researching for an argumentative essay, and see this site, I love how you cant spell *that* word correctly. Oh the irony, spelled the R word wrong (shouldn’t be spelling it anyway because it wasn’t in a medical context and was meant as an insult). Even better how you didn’t even capitalize your sentence, put a space after the punctuation, used the wrong punctuation, and still have the balls to call someone a name.
June 6, 2010 at 1:34 pm
i am a student from argentina, and even HERE we think school uniforms suck and should be banned.
totally agree with you.
June 30, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Too bad the “enforcement” had to take place during class.It was wrong for the authority to interupt just to look at school uniforms!!
November 5, 2010 at 10:04 pm
I hate school.
I hate school uniforms.
I hate my P.E class.
I hate cafe food.
I hate enforcement.
I hate the stupid people who don’t have feelings.
I hate homework.
I hate the stupid principal and stupid assistant principal.
I hate everything related to normal school days.
November 5, 2010 at 10:29 pm
and I hate those authorities barging in classrooms like yours just to look at SCHOOL UNIFORMS.
Seriously, I go to a private school and everything there is stricter than ANY school in the world. It’s just rules, rules, rules. If somebody were absent, the school just immediately calls the authorities and police even if they already know your terribly sick. Also, we have to wear the exact same thing. Collar shirts and jeans for both boys and girls. Ugh. And you have to eat the lunch or you will get in a LOT of trouble. If you are absent for five days, they automatically kick you out of the school. Also, The P.E teacher is SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER mean. He doesn’t care whether you are in terrible pain for once. One time while I was running I got some kind of stomach cramp and I stopped running. Then he barked at me saying get moving, and I told him I couldn’t move. But all he said was ‘Get moving or you will fail P.E’ Gosh. The teachers are also annoying. They’re mean and constantly nagging people. But they’re sometimes also pretty nice. Other than that, the only ones that are nice at my school are my few friends and the people who work at the office. This is the second worst school i’ve been to here in California. Other than that, I most definitely agree with you. School uniforms don’t help at all. They only teach you be like a clique and not be unique. So all of you who agree that uniforms should be banned from the whole universe, it makes me so glad that I finally have someone who agrees with me.
I’m in 6th grade. I think this is great coming from a teacher, and I really hope uniforms stop.
June 29, 2011 at 8:39 am
Collar shirts and jeans would be a nice change in the uniform policy at my school, white oxford shirt or solid white polo, and Khaki or Black pants. Unfortunately our uniform hungry middle school teachers allowed us one “dress-down day”. If any fights broke out or if anyone was issues a detention, the clothes were to blame. We have problems at our school constantly, and that day is not exception. The teachers also gave us this dress down day the last week of school, so with no school work, what else do students have to do?
November 5, 2010 at 10:30 pm
T-T
December 15, 2010 at 3:02 pm
im really great fall for you posting this blog and it has inspired me to write on this as a subject for my school essay.
thank.
January 11, 2011 at 3:48 pm
MAN UNIFORMS…..IDK WHAT TO SAY…BUT UNIFORMS ARE HURTING MY LIFE I BEEN WEARING DEN SINCE 3RD GRADE NOW I AM IN DA 11TH GRADE N I AM STILL WEARING IT CAN U BELIEVE THIS..LIFE WID UNIFORMS ARE SO COMPLICATED.!!!
March 21, 2011 at 4:54 pm
school is horibal a nuff now they say school uniforms now school is stupider.
March 21, 2011 at 5:01 pm
wow school uniforms are so stupid only privet schools were uniforms and stuff that are so stupid i go to a publick school and they said that if i don’t were uniforms then we will be kicked out of school an so i was so happy because i got a warning that if i did not were school uniforms i will be kicked out i was so happy but my mom bought me unirorms i was crushed i hatted it.
August 15, 2011 at 11:07 am
I agree with all of you, I hate school uniform because its plan and boring in my school we have to where black and white that’s boring right,we rather wear fun colourful clothes then some plan and boring uniform.SCHOOL UNIFORM SUCKS!
August 15, 2011 at 11:19 am
I agree with all of you,I hate school uniform because its plane and boring,in my school we have to wear black and white that’s it no other colours,we should wear whatever we want not listen to what the stupid teachers are saying,I agree that school uniform should be banned and that it sucks
August 18, 2011 at 4:32 am
I go to a public school in Malta,and the uniforms there are so itchy!!!
We dress like business men with ties,suits and uncomfortable stuff.
Plus,here it is very hot and the feeling of the sun on that stupid GREEN uniform makes me lose about 2 kg a day due to excessive sweating!
Plus,anytime we are in the corridor,outside during recess or simply waiting for the bus,PUT YOU STUPID BLAZER(suit)ON!!!!!!!!!
August 25, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Personally JE DETESTE school uniforms, because they are bloody expensive and since they are made to a ‘one size fits all’ basis, they end up unflattering to almost every body shape and they generally dont fit YOU personally.
I have to deal with my school jersey and it makes those of us who have skinny frames look grossly disproportinate because of the extra fabric, such as myself…. they should be outlawed.
January 3, 2012 at 1:30 pm
who ever hates uniforms put ❤ below
January 3, 2012 at 1:32 pm
cobb county sucks am i right right …. like i said abouv ❤
January 12, 2012 at 11:54 am
fuck u school uniform
January 22, 2012 at 5:04 pm
I was homeschooled so no uniforms but the school I volunteered at had uniforms the younger students followed the dress code older students some did some didn’t I don’t think I would have minded wearing a uniform but not our boring American ones but like the Japanese uniforms those are cute ( girls ) I never cared about clothes
December 17, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Fuck off shit like that
December 17, 2012 at 12:38 pm
I hate shit like that
January 16, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Uniforms eliminate individuality
February 26, 2013 at 3:42 am
Wear it or you in trouble haha
November 5, 2013 at 12:40 pm
i agree with you because people don’t like to wear school uniform.
i hate shcool uniforms
November 7, 2013 at 10:44 am
wat u said
May 6, 2014 at 7:47 am
This sucks
June 13, 2014 at 10:58 pm
Id forever want to be update on new articles on this internet site, bookmarked ! . aeecdkceaddd
April 21, 2020 at 5:07 am
First time a teacher supported the no-uniform plan thing
April 21, 2020 at 5:13 am
Uniforms Violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution