Every day for 9 years, I had the same routine. Wake up, throw on the same navy, forest green and white school uniform and walk about two blocks to the jail that I called school. Everyone and everything was exactly the same at this school. We all wore the same clothes, ate the same lunches, and did the same activities. Everyone was almost the exact same; like we were clone copies of each other. This is was exactly how the administration wanted it to be. I still rememeber the countless amount of detentions I recieved during these 9 years of my life. Looking back, I realize how ridiculous these rules were. For being different by wearing jewelry, nail polish, different socks, adding color to the bland uniform or just expressing your personality through accessories you would get punished. This stunted my creative mind greatly because I was so brainwashed in this system of everything being forced down my throat the way these teachers wanted it to be. When I read the article Creativity Crisis, I instantly flashed back to my days at OLPH.
Our society today lacks motivation and inspiration for kids to think outside the box, or to look at something and take away a deeper meaning of that thing. We are pushed to read, study and memorize and if we do not do that than there are consequences.
It's the same thing, day in and day out. What if things were different here? I know in some places it is different; students learn what makes them happy or excited and those kids succeed more than the ones being forced into school.
In the article, teachers from schools in Asia say how they find it almost funny how here in America we are still learning based off this system, while they are trying to reform theres to what they presume ours is like.
Annie, I found this blog post very interesting. I've always been on the fence on whether or not mandatory school uniforms were beneficial to learning or not, but I think you have fully convinced me.
ReplyDeletePersonally - I know how much time, effort, and money goes into buying my own clothes and putting together outfits in order to look presentable at school and, for this reason, I have always felt that school uniforms were advantageous. They would put the focus directly on schoolwork rather than on looks and would substantially simplify everyday school life.
Such a significant part of learning, however, depends on creativity and what you can do with the information teachers are throwing at you. If a student is not even allowed to display their personal identity and creativity through wardrobe, accessories, and/or makeup, then they most likely are not given the opportunity to be creative through classwork either.
All in all, I have now realized how important it is for students to be able to express themselves through dress. Without this kind of creativity and individualism, it is easy very to get lost within the rest of the crowd.