January 29, 2002

Dear Sir,

The vast majority of my uniformed students have gone home for the day and I have logged online, in my 21st Century classroom, to read The Royal Gazette.

In the Letters to the Editor section I have come across a January 23 entry from a disgruntled parent regarding school uniforms and would like to take the time to respond.

Quite frankly the tone of the letter does nothing but bolster that which the parent is so vehemently arguing against. It is a prime example of what something that is, in his/her opinion, silly and inconsequential can escalate into. Namely an uncooperative spirit and verbally combative approach to dealing with something you are not in agreement with. My students have asked me questions along this line as well. Thankfully, within their questioning, they have been respectful. Within these educational walls, the 'dress code thing', aside from the well specified uniform itself, extends to hair and nail colour, belts that must match shoes, and size of earrings. When they repeatedly break the code, they are not sent home, but their parents are called from their work places or homes and asked to bring the correct item for their child to be re-dressed in. Until then, the student is removed from the general population.

The older students have asked me: "What in the world does complying with any of this have to do with learning?" I have tried, along with other teachers at our school, to teach our students that their learning place is a mere microcosm of a very large world. It is not only a place where you learn maths, facts, grammar and history, but a place where you learn about life as well.

The fact is, when you join the workforce, you won't agree with, or understand the reasoning behind every regulation you are asked to adhere to.

However, to blatantly disregard these things is to display that you are not a team player, which could translate to you being perceived as someone that does not work well with others. That can cost you in the long run in a variety of ways, more so than monetarily.

Of the times when you feel you must take a stand, for whatever reason, whether economic, moral, hormonal, or other, there is a way to do it. An orderly, respectful, and appropriate way. After all, we are talking about socks here, not world peace. Instead of the rant that was presented, it could have been a learning opportunity for this parent's child to learn how to handle a matter productively toward a positive end result. Bear in mind, positive does not always mean it will go the way we like, but the son would have learned a process of how to express that which he is displeased with without alienating those in authority. A teacher may teach this, but a parent must reinforce it, or vice versa. Also, there have been plenty of studies to support the stance that the wearing of uniforms lends itself to positive results more so than negative.

The wearing of a uniform is not the answer to raised test scores and better behaviour, but is seemingly part of a whole. In fact, in America, there is a trend towards the wearing of uniforms in more than just private schools. Many school districts have grown weary of battling the Destiny Child/Britney Spears' midriff bearing regalia that has overtaken the halls.

Even within the schools in America that do not have a uniform, there is indeed a dress code, a list of do's and don'ts. There too, the students say, 'Why can't we? It's no big deal'. You see, it truly is not merely about articles of clothing, but of an attitude. Uniformity does not mean conformity. Don't confuse the two. If you are going to take a stand as a parent on something, why not go for something bigger than the colour of socks worn? For the record, I am a Bermudian educator teaching in the non private sector in Worcester, Massachusetts.

BERMUDIAN IN UNIFORM IN AMERICA

Ru-zelda Severin

103 Hamilton St.

Worcester, Ma