High school students begin Gentleman's Tuesday

[Lou]

Here's a nice article about high school seniors making an effort toward civil dress and manners.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20101118/NEWS02/11180344/Fox-Lane-seniors-set-new-civility-standards

 

[Widebrim]

Hey, I like it. For two years at the school where I teach, we had "Necktie Friday." Quite a lot of boys and girls got involved (heck, I even gave away about 50 ties). Sadly, after the ones mostly involved in the tradition graduated, there weren't any others to take their place...But I'm trying to revive it!

 

[Yeps]

I have been trying to get Bowtie Fridays of the ground for a while now. It hasn't quite caught on.

 

[Widebrim]

I have been trying to get Bowtie Fridays of the ground for a while now. It hasn't quite caught on.

Good luck!

 

[WideBrimm]

Wow. What a great idea. :eusa_clap Variety is the spice of life. Do high school kids still dress up for year book photos? Or has that gone by the wayside ?

 

[Widebrim]

^^I believe that most Seniors still do.

 

[Edward]

Interesting. As is the norm here in the UK, when I was at school we wore uniform the whole way through; when we did have the rare non-uniform day, nobody wanted to wear a tie again! I have heard of a few schools wherein the sixth form / A level classes (17 / 18 year old kids) are not obliged to wear uniform as I was, but instead are given a dress code - typically business dress, collar and tie, and the works. I think that's a great idea - prepares kids for the real world.

 

[HoundstoothLuke]

Interesting. As is the norm here in the UK, when I was at school we wore uniform the whole way through; when we did have the rare non-uniform day, nobody wanted to wear a tie again! I have heard of a few schools wherein the sixth form / A level classes (17 / 18 year old kids) are not obliged to wear uniform as I was, but instead are given a dress code - typically business dress, collar and tie, and the works. I think that's a great idea - prepares kids for the real world.

My school was like that- school uniform in years 7-11, and then in the sixth form suits or jacket and tie. As would be expected from any lounger, I was wearing a three piece with pocket square, and a fedora in winter!

 

[AntonAAK]

Adelberg was noticing the start of "Gentleman's Tuesday," where boys trade in their jeans, sweatshirts and T-shirts for formal garb such as blazers, slacks and ties.

Blazers, slacks and ties are formal?

Still, good on them.

 

[dwebber18]

Haha, all you Brits and your school uniforms. I went to private school my whole life and they had a dress code of pants(not jeans) and golf shirts. They then went to uniforms when I was in 7th grade which were either white or blue button downs, white/blue/khaki/green/black golf shirts and the same color t-shirts which had to be paired with either khaki/navy or black shorts or pants. Not much different from what we had to wear already except for it had to be purchased from 1 store that monogrammed the clothing and charged an exorbitant amount for this rather cheaply made clothing that rarely lasted the whole year. It was nice to not have to wear uniforms anymore, and I know the girls liked it because all the pants and shorts were cut for boys so nothing really fit them right and I can't imagine how uncomfortable it was for them.

 

[Dulouz]

Blazers, slacks and ties are formal?

Still, good on them.

Certainly more formal, but maybe not "formal".

 

[Edward]

Blazers, slacks and ties are formal?

Still, good on them.

Not by our standards, but if the norm is ratty denim and washed out T shirts etc.... Einstein's theory....

Haha, all you Brits and your school uniforms.

I think it's the norm much more widely spread than just the UK. It's done in Eire too. Not sure about mainland Europe, but I think it happens there too. I actually welcomed it, as did many of my peers. In our school, non-uniform days were to run a gauntlet of the risk of being sneered at for wearing the 'wrong' thing. Some of us as we got older took pride in not being 'right', but for a lot of kids that was a harsh thing to experience, and many were very glad it didn't go on day and daily.

I went to private school my whole life and they had a dress code of pants(not jeans) and golf shirts. They then went to uniforms when I was in 7th grade which were either white or blue button downs, white/blue/khaki/green/black golf shirts and the same color t-shirts which had to be paired with either khaki/navy or black shorts or pants. Not much different from what we had to wear already except for it had to be purchased from 1 store that monogrammed the clothing and charged an exorbitant amount for this rather cheaply made clothing that rarely lasted the whole year. It was nice to not have to wear uniforms anymore, and I know the girls liked it because all the pants and shorts were cut for boys so nothing really fit them right and I can't imagine how uncomfortable it was for them.[/QUOTE]

That's something that has changed significantly in the last nearly twenty years; when I was at school (until 1993), girls' uniforms involved skirts - trousers were not an option for them, no matter how cold and windy the Winter. I believe this began to change after court action on a gender discrimination basis.

 

[Widebrim]

I think it's the norm much more widely spread than just the UK. It's done in Eire too. Not sure about mainland Europe, but I think it happens there too. I actually welcomed it, as did many of my peers.

That's something that has changed significantly in the last nearly twenty years; when I was at school (until 1993), girls' uniforms involved skirts - trousers were not an option for them, no matter how cold and windy the Winter. I believe this began to change after court action on a gender discrimination basis.

I'm not sure about the rest of Europe, but uniforms are very common in "Latin" America, and the girls do usually wear skirts. As for girls' uniforms in the States, skirts are still pretty much the norm in parochial and Protestant schools. (One local parochial school here offers slacks for the girls, but I rarely see a lass wearing one.) Some public schools require uniforms, but often it consists of simply a dark pair of pants, skirt, jumper, or shorts (or "skort"--a combination skirt and short) and a white shirt or blouse.

 

[dwebber18]

Guess I should clarify, the girls had a few different skirt options and that's what most of them wore almost exclusively. If they didn't want to wear a skirt one day then their options were quite limited, however an exception was made that uniform pants could be worn under the skirt and that would be appropriate; that seemed to help them in winter. I'll also mention as a frame of reference I graduated high school in 2007, and both private schools I went to were church related though not Catholic. But I agree after I got used to uniforms it was quite convenient and the colors offered a bit of variety depending on mood, its a good idea to get kids dressing better even if its a bit forced.

 

[Lokar]

I actually welcomed it, as did many of my peers. In our school, non-uniform days were to run a gauntlet of the risk of being sneered at for wearing the 'wrong' thing. Some of us as we got older took pride in not being 'right', but for a lot of kids that was a harsh thing to experience, and many were very glad it didn't go on day and daily.

Absolutely! I don't get why people sneer at the concept of a school uniform - I see many positive effects, and then only "negative" effect is that "people can't express themselves" - which is a load of bollocks.

I know I'd have had a much worse time at school if I'd had to wear my own clothes rather than a uniform.

I was in Cyprus for a year, and my uniform there was shirt, jacket, tie and trousers - girls were the same but exclusively skirts. All the rest of the time, in the UK, my uniform was just a jumper, shirt, tie and trousers for girls and boys. Since I left they've changed it - it's now just a polo shirt and trousers (no tie). Such a pity, in my opinion.

 

[repeatclicks]

Absolutely! I don't get why people sneer at the concept of a school uniform - I see many positive effects, and then only "negative" effect is that "people can't express themselves" - which is a load of bollocks.
Since I left they've changed it - it's now just a polo shirt and trousers (no tie). Such a pity, in my opinion.

I agree with you that uniforms are a far more positive than negative thing. I went to a private school with uniforms, and although I hated the polyester, I was glad I didn't have to think about what outfit to wear for the day.

Lots of schools in the UK still require boys to wear ties and jackets. I can name at least 3 in my area including one at the end of my street!

 

[Yeps]

My high school did not have a uniform, but it did have a dress code of a jacket and tie which I pushed against for three years to find the boundaries until my last year I realized that it could look really good, and I just kinda stuck with it from then on.

 

[Cobden]

Both the junior and senior schools required girls to wear skirts, though in the case of the former it was somewhat fairer as boys were required to wear shorts. What is a shame, I feel, is that many schools in my area have abandoned jackets and ties in favour of polo shirts, which strikes me as instead of educating them sartorially for work in an office environment they are aiming more for MacDonalds...

 

[Hal]

As a (now retired) teacher in the UK I strongly disagree with those who advocate school uniforms. Uniforms seem to me an escape route for parents who can't or won't decide what their children should wear. The dress of schoolchildren should not be a policing matter for teachers, who have more important things to attend to. Continental Europe manages very well without school uniforms, and in my opinion continental men dress better than do my own countrymen. A boy who is made to wear jacket and tie daily is likely to react strongly against it when he has the choice, and to adopt slovenly unkemptness afterwards. The sixth-form college where I taught had no uniform - yet on special occasions the boys wore suits and the girls dresses without any prescription whatever.

 

[Lokar]

I don't think a lack of wearing a uniform makes people dress better - many schools are relaxing dress codes yet the standard of dress is worse than ever. Kids wear what is fashionable - baggy jeans and t-shirts for boys, for example. If their parents forced them to wear proper trousers or even polo shirts, they'd despise it just as much as a uniform - except they'd despise their parents too.

Another point is that many US schools don't require a uniform, yet the standard of dress their is not higher than the UK. Clearly, the uniform is not to blame. Kids wear what they want to once they get home from school, dropping a uniform requirement would just mean they look like that at school as well. People on the continent dress better because you're allowed to care about how you look without being labelled gay or metrosexual. In the UK, as a teen, if you care about your appearance, you get teased. That's how it was when I was at school in Wiltshire a decade ago, that's how it is now (or so my younger friends tell me).

When I was at sixth form (I left five years ago), the dress code was "no torn jeans or dirty clothes" because otherwise people _would_ have worn them. Even wearing a jacket would have been mocked. Speaking of mocking - I knew several people at school who bought their uniforms second hand. As a uniform is never-changing, this worked fine. They also had to buy their normal clothes second hand - on any non school uniform days they were teased and bullied. A lack of uniform would make this much worse (or the poor parents would have to buy expensive clothes - another win for consumerism!)