yes it is sad that uniforms have become necessary.

the board members do remember going to school, don't think that they don't. there used to be a dress code that was strictly enforced. there were no gang colors to worry about, nobody wearing pants halfway down there backsides either. now the parents don't like getting calls that there kids don't dress properly for school. they are to busy trying to raise hell when they get the calls about there rights. or in other words there rights to "not have to be a parent and control there kids". it's time that the adults start acting like they should and try to prepare there kids for the real world. appearance is a big part of what is required of them in the real world. start preparing them early unless you want to see them going nowhere in there lives.

remember this.

by failing to prepare, you prepare to fail.

where do you want your kids to go from school?

I think parents of Georgia's public schools would do well to focus on their children's academic achievements and not what they are wearing to school.

the parents of Georgia's public school students WOULD do well to focus on their children's academic achievements, but it's not happening. every year we hear the same old stuff at the end of the year. ( my son/daughter ) couldn't pass the graduation test, but they should still graduate, it's not fair. the fact is when parents stop there whining when there kids don't do good and quit making excuses the education level will go up. the teachers hear more excuses for bad behavor and bad grades from the few parents that try to look like they care, rather then just admitting my child needs help and say, what can i do? and when the parents dress there kids properly, then and only then will the schools be able to concentrate on teaching, instead of raising kids. in the real world we have to dress for success. parents are suppose to be teaching there kids that now, not when they are out of school. you let them out dressed up like gang bangers and prisoners with there pants down, don't act to shocked when thats where they end up. teaching kids starts early in there lives and doesn't end just because they are in school.

quit with the sorry excuses and be a parent.

Uniforms are an easy excuse to not deal with the kids. They do NOT make it easier to sort out who belongs where. They do NOT cut out the clothing competition. They do NOT make the kids behave any better. They do NOT make a difference in grades.

If a kid is determined NOT to success and his or her parents are allowing it, then putting Junior in khaki, royal blue or green with purple polka dots is NOT going to make a better/smarter student or increase AYP scores.

Besides, I have seen how, even in a "uniform", the ways kids can individualize their looks--making the whole idea of conformity a joke anyway. Anyone ever see those girls at St. Vincent's? They can make a school uniform look mighty hoochie when they get more than a block away from the nuns.

Clothing is no more an indicator of future success than hair color or blood type, so to push uniforms as a "cure" is a joke.

When I went to school, culottes and scooter skirts were considered "bad". In fact, so were pants in general for women. But you know what? We all wore them anyway and it didn't make our grades go down a single point or keep us from gainful employment, did it?

Have you seen what some of the TEACHERS wear? Obviously, their lack of standard attire isn't harming their ability to teach, now is it? When they come up with a dress code for the adults so we don't have to see another pair of ill-fitting stretch pants or shirts that were old when Truman was a haberdasher, THEN you can talk proper dress for the kids.

Funny how the comment of those all for uniforms have the worst grammar? Bet all of the writers went to schools with strict dress codes, too. More proof that clothing does NOT necessarily make the man!

Well written, MizEry. I’m afraid the jury is still out on my opinion in the matter. However, you seem pretty specific in your opinion and I was wondering where your research comes from. I am able to find some information regarding the success of uniforms, but in fairness, the sources are usually pro-administration and uniform policy implementation is often coupled with changes in disciplinary policy as well.

I can understand the "think" in the uniform policy. Consider the military, and how in basic training everyone wears the same uniform, has the same haircut (for the most part) and is subject to new (sometimes harsh) discipline. The result is performance to standard and unification. Yes, we are dealing with kids here, but often the military is shaping soldiers just years out of schools.

On the other hand, I understand the argument about individuality. This is an extreme example, and I’ll probably be lambasted for it, but consider the impression Adolph Hitler had when he uniformed youth. The point becomes more about psychology than unity. Is this the goal of public education in a uniform policy; psychological influence? If it is, do we really want our schools playing psychologist?

Just a few points to ponder! I’ll reserve my opinion indefinitely.

Uniforms are not meant to make your kids smarter or increase their "AYP" scores. That is the responsibility of the student and his/her parents. They are not an attempt to make your children "conform" or stifle individuality. Parents place too much of the blame on the schools when their kids are not performing well. In order to be successful in school, there has to be a level of discipline and rule enforcement. A child that will not follow the simple guidelines of a dresscode for school, will certainly not want to follow the law when they are an adult. The law says 70 MPH, but your dear little child was clocked at 100...what made him go that fast? He/She felt that he didn't need to obey that rule. He/She never obeyed any of the other rules. People, this is simple. It's a dress code. Too much energy is being expended complaining about this. Complain about the color of the prison jumpsuit that little junior is wearing when we see him on the side of the road with his fellow rulebreakers, being chaperoned by a deputy with a shot gun.

Mr. Holmes, you hit it right on. We have a generation being raised by parents who were kids when they started having babies. The out of control, I'll do as I please, my little junior would never do that attitudes are being passed to another generation, sending them right to the slammer. Parents need to start acting with respect, honor, and gratitude for what this country is fortunate to offer so they can teach it to their childern, earning and sacrifice instead of false entitlement (teaching to take advantage, no matter the outcome).