A large number of teenage children in Australia complain about wearing school uniform - mine included. They say it looks horrible and does not reflect their individual personality or who they are. They say they want to express themselves by wearing their own style of clothing, and they hate conforming to school rules that they see as unnecessary.
However, my teenage daughter had a change of heart recently after an interesting discussion began by one of her teachers during the first week of the new school year.
There are several new pupils in my daughter's class who have recently moved to Australia from other countries. Among these are a girl from England, and a girl from Arizona in the United States. The discussion began when the teacher complimented the class on how smart they looked in their new uniforms for the start of the school year. This was met with a groan and the usual comments on “Why do we have to wear a uniform to school?” The teacher diverted the complaints by asking the newcomers how they found school uniform Australia rules compared to those in the UK and the USA.
The English girl said she liked her Australian school uniform far better than the one she had to wear in the UK. She said it was trendier, and very comfortable. She complained about the materials used for the English school uniform, and said the girls had to wear a skirt made of a material that did not require ironing, but that clung around the legs and frequently produced electric shocks if anyone had the misfortune to brush against the wearer. She also said that in England she had to wear a tie, although she could not understand why because the children would make ridiculously large knots in the ties resulting in anything but a smart look.
The American girl had a worse tale to tell. Her old school, that was an all-girls school, had a rule that pupils had to wear their school uniform even out of class if more than two students were together. Therefore, if a trio of girls wanted to go shopping or visit a coffee shop after-school hours, they could only do so if they were prepared to wear their school uniforms. This rule was thankfully relaxed at weekends. When asked what would happen if pupils met after-school out of uniform, she claimed they would face a two-week suspension, and if they offended again they could be suspended permanently. She said the school was so strict that pupils simply did not try to break the rule as they were afraid of the consequences.
In both schools,jewelry and make up were completely prohibited, whereas the school uniform Australia regulations usually allow girls to wear jewelry items as long as they are unpretentious and minimal make up. once they reach the age of about 14 or 15.
My daughter said that after hearing the American girl’s story, the majority of the pupils vowed never to complain about their school uniform again. I will wait to see how long that lasts!
