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It's always seemed to me that enforcing a uniform dress code simply (ahem) skirts the issue. Enforce a reasonable dress code, don't look for another seemingly easier "fix". It's about behavior, not about clothes. Parents shouldn't pawn that responsibility off on the schools.

And BTW, having been down this road in another community not long ago (which ended up not adopting uniforms), there's plenty of good research out there which shows that school uniforms do none of the things claimed in terms of changes in behavior or improved grades. There's been no change where it's been studied, so beware of the selling point that it will lead to better behaviors. It just doesn't appear to hold water.

On a high school level, it appears that it could actually make things worse. Dress is probably the numero uno method of relatively harmless acting out in the service of developing identity and independence and by far the least objectionable form of acting out among all those which teens could choose. Better to have them wear funky clothes and sport creative hair styles then look to other more destructive things to get attention or assert themselves.

You can start by educating them (make it mandatory) in an ongoing way about self-esteem, setting examples, and most of all COMMUNICATION with their kids. When you come right down to it, it's probably fair to say that 90% of kids' behavior---good or bad---is a mechanism for communicating something to the adults in their lives.

As long as the schools are willing to accept responsibility vis a vis imposing a uniform code, for example, the more they enable the parents in abdicating theirs.

I'm wondering if things like school uniform codes don't send a message to parents that they don't have to addresss the problem. It only begets more of same, no?

Gypsy wrote:

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My personal opinion is that it has become politically incorrect to expect standards in many respects --- language, dress, behavior, etc. Consequently we are fostering a disgusting lack of standards in almost every aspect of society. It's ubiquitous but God-forbid that any institution --- from restaurants, to workplaces, to schools --- impose expectations of appropriate dress, language, behavior, not to mention ethics and morals. But, hey, we're too "evolved" to have those standards, no?

I'd buy there's some truth to that. But rather than "standards", I'd say "expectations" which to me is less judgmental. But don't we (in the above cited examples) sacrifice expectations in the service of making profits? BTW, I'm no so convinced that the corporate world isn't a tad overboard on control issues around dress and behavior---whether explicit or implicit.

To me, we're a culture which depends heavily on external vs. internal controls and therein lies the root issue. Back in the day, we didn't need to tell people via signs and warnings the things which simple common sense would dictate (how about "slippery when wet" or "don't microwave the dog"? ). It's all very much tied to the love of litigation and the money it generates, too.

We could probably elevate the level of responsibility for starters by imposing real consequences on failures to use simple common sense judgment.