My second grade students were doing an art project one afternoon. The art teacher was circling the room, helping students glue something to something else. And I was at my desk, grading. I could have gone to the teacher workroom to grade. But I like the children to see me working; to lead by example. I left to use the restroom.After, I washed my hands, and put my hair up.
When I came back in, a few kids looked up, as they usually do every time someone opens the door (bless their short attention spans), and one student gasps and says: “Ms. Lacrete, you look beautiful!!!”
I was really caught off-guard. I wasn’t wearing any makeup or anything; I’ve gotten that kind of compliment on School Picture Day. But it’s just a Tuesday. I wondered, is this the first time today that this student really looked at me? The school day has been in session for four hours already. And I don’t think I look particularly good with my hair up. A friend told me I look older with my hair up/in a bun; so did the student think I looked more mature? More like a mom, which she probably considers beautiful?
A Uniform Philosophy
At our school, students wear uniforms consisting of polo shirts and pants or skirts. We try to send the message that it matters who you are on the inside, not the outside. You should take pride in your appearance to the extent that you are clean, feel put-together, and confident. But it doesn’t matter who has the light-up sneakers, or who has the sparkly bracelet. At least, that’s the intention of our elementary school dress code as I understand it. And since my class is a single-gender girls class, I try to be as much of a role model as I can.
There is a lot of pushback against dress codes these days, on the (often accurate) basis that dress codes are enforced against girls, young women, trans, and gender non-conforming students, but not so much against boys. However, I have also heard praise for uniform policies, pointing out that uniforms level the playing field between students of different socioeconomic statuses and encourage camaraderie amongst the student body. I was surprised to learn that there is a lot of research on the topic, across countries, even. This article by The Journalist’s Resource, a project by the Harvard Kennedy School, summarizes these points, and more.
Pros and Cons to Uniforms
As someone who owns a lot of clothes, I do admire the simplicity in getting dressed in the morning when you only have a few options. That said, I like clothes. I like finding statement pieces, keeping them for a long time, finding the perfect occasion to wear them. I like wearing jellyfish earrings on the day that we are studying underwater animals. Or waking up feeling like the color red, pulling out a pair of bell-bottomed velvet maroon pants, and building an outfit out of that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying the art of fashion, of color coordination, of finding something that makes me feel like a million bucks, that fits well to boot.
Even on dress-down days, my students don’t all have as much choice in their clothing. On the last Picture Day, one girl came to class in tears because even though she was wearing a delightful matching rainbow shirt and skirt, it wasn’t the outfit she wanted. Her mom made her change last minute. Because the outfit she picked the night before, and slept in because she was so excited, was closer to a crop top than it should’ve been.
Since most days are by default, uniform days, she must have felt so much pressure to look perfect on the one day when everyone would be free to dress in a way that expressed their personality. This is exactly the pressure our school wants to avoid by implementing uniforms.
So, how do we teach children to make responsible, sensible, and fun clothing choices, without raising them to be vain, or materialistic?
Are we Closing off an Entire Avenue of Creativity for Some Kids?
A different student stood out to me for her clothing choices on Parent Teacher Conference Day. This is a day when class is not in session; students only arrive for their scheduled conference. They most likely will not see other students. So they are really only dressing for themselves, their parents, and their teacher. This particular student, who has typically been quiet, easily distracted, but still very bright, came to her conference in a sparkly blue tutu! Her head was adorned with a flower crown. A feather necklace hung over a green tank top. Around her waist, she wore a yellow fanny pack, and, throughout the conference, she would take out little treasures to show me: a rock, a rubber worm toy, and a panflute, from which she would whistle silly songs and swiftly return it to safekeeping.
She was the most whimsical young girl I had ever seen! And I had already known her for three months at this point. I’m not sure the woodland fairy vibe is the right vibe for an industrious classroom setting, but I was definitely missing something from never seeing this student through the lens that she chose for herself.
The same student complimented my maroon velvet bell-bottoms, while she pet them at snack time.
You Can Tell a Lot About a Person by How Well they Rock a Ballgown
I do think clothes are a form of personal expression. I appreciate that the work-from-home period of the American workforce has loosened the boundaries of appropriate workwear. But I do think children should be taught that there’s a range of appropriate clothing choices somewhere between “floor length sequined ball-gown” and “pajamas that I’ve slept in all week” that is considered appropriate by society. But that range is changing every year, and in the end, we just want people to be comfortable and productive, right?
Still, I hope that range continues to include maroon velvet bell-bottom pants.
