Education is, unironically, the best tool to combat inequality, but the effect only kicks in after the students have finished school.
In the meantime, uniforms cut down on bullying. What else do you want them to do? They don't have a magic wand, nor do they have magic money to hand out to struggling parents.
Edit: unironically some of the dumbest takes I've ever read on the internet in this thread.
Maybe instead of throwing money for uniforms it could be used to hire teachers, repair the building, or buy furnitures? Just a couple of ideas you know...
I've noticed that people on Lemmy aren't happy with incremental change for the better. It always has to be a magic solution that solves everything. It's pretty silly but also understandable considering the demographics of Lemmy.
Apart from all the other points made here, I always wonder why uniforms have to look like there has been no development in clothing/fashion for the last 100+ years? Why do they have to look like they are extras on a Harry Potter filmset?
Some schools have uniforms that are just khakis and a polo, but yeah I dunno why a lot of places think blazers and ties are a good idea. I had to wear those in HS and never got used to it-- still hate ties to this day
I hated wearing uniforms in school, but as an adult idk it wasn’t that bad so long as they’re unisex and modern. I still hate wearing business casual but I did never get picked on for dressing poorly
Which shows that they really don't understand bullying and are looking for an easy way out. Bullies will now just pick another "excuse" to harass other kids. If you want to have less bullying you have to tackle why bullies do so in the first place. And that's personal problems of the bullies them self and not external factors.
There are ways to pick on kids for being poor even in school uniform. Trousers too short cause the kid grew and parents couldnt afford new trousers? Picked on. Not wearing the latest brand name shoes with your uniform? Picked on. White shirts starting to look a little grubby cause its just been washed too often? Picked on. Backpack not the latest in kids fashion world? Picked on.
We were little shits at school and could always find a way to bully the poor kid even with school uniforms.
School uniforms are an extra financial burden on those who are already poor and more often than not have to be purchased through a specific supplier. If your tie was off brand from the supplier and slightly cheaper it might be the wrong shade instead. I saw teachers send poor kids home for having the wrong shade of blue on their jumper or tie cause their parents tried to buy a cheaper option.
I just do not see this as a solution and it also gives members of staff a way to bully poor kids too.
But uniforms have made a return to one town as part of a government pilot scheme to establish if they can reduce inequality – and improve behaviour.
In the Brittany village of Plouisy, the mayor from Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party signed up for the experiment but pulled out after complaints from angry parents.
Uniforms were first introduced in secondary schools in France by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, who wanted to instil more military-style discipline in the education system, and were modelled on army outfits.
They have not been compulsory in state schools in mainland France since 1968, seen as a watershed moment in French society because of the civil unrest that dominated the spring.
In 2016 the rightwing presidential candidate François Fillon and the far-right leader Marine Le Pen included the imposition of school uniforms in their election manifesto.
Parents are divided about the utility of introducing uniforms: some have suggested it will lead to more apparent equality while others have pointed out that inequalities can be still expressed in such items as shoes, scarves, mobile phones and backpacks.
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So basically theyre doing the "europeans arent racist" thing. A few steps more and you can justify imperalism and then ethnic cleansing. Of course this is an exaggeration but you get the point.
Most countries do it to create discipline(still think its a flawed method). Using it as a tool to create equality is strange because it makes people equal by making them the same. If you erase everyone whos not like you technically that creates equality.
This is just dump as people will flex woth different things: Smartphones, Watches, Jewlery, the Car their Parrents pick them up in, their School Bag Brand ...