A Discussion on School Uniforms
By T. Scott Muschany
| Every
Christian school at some time in its history must establish a standard
of dress for its students. America’s ever growing cultural obsession with
immodesty and vulgarity (which is often expressed in the clothing that
children and young adults wear to school) has prompted many Christian
schools to revisit the question of dress standards and review enforcement
policies of those standards. This of course is being done to ensure that
a standard of appropriate attire, once established, is maintained. Even
secular and public schools agree that dress limits must be defined in
order to maintain a level of decorum, acceptability, and modesty for minimizing
distractions within the educational environment. Beginning with this foundational acknowledgment, the leadership of a Christian school must first determine the best standards that not only serve the school’s mission, priorities and particular |
 T. Scott Muschany |
composition but, above all else, reflect what Scripture teaches on the subject. Ultimately that decision will result in one of two choices: an explicit dress code or a school uniform. This article will outline some of the reasons that a school may choose to utilize a uniform as opposed to a dress code to best serve the aforementioned purposes.
Whether a school should have a dress code or uniforms is a sensitive subject for Christians and non-Christians alike. Therefore, please be advised that this article is in no way meant as a condemnation of dress codes, nor should it be read as an assertion of absolutes that apply equally to all schools. If anything is clear, it is that a school is not “more Christian” because it utilizes uniforms, nor less so, because it does not. It is also important to note that there are many decisions which are much more critical to the quality of a Christian education than whether a school employs uniforms or not, such as the school‘s mission, curriculum, teacher selection and training, to name a few. In fact, those mentioned and others should be established first before any reasonable discussion can occur on the appropriateness of uniforms at a particular school. The decision should flow out of more fundamental elements of the school’s purpose and priorities, which have hopefully already been well rooted in Scripture.
Related
Biblical Principles
Scripture sets out a great number of principles that apply not only to one’s spiritual walk, but can be applied to personal appearance as well. Those principles include such concepts as modesty, humility, selflessness, discretion and submission. None of these principles can be used to emphatically make a case for uniforms, but neither do they preclude them. The uniform is one potential tool to help students (and parents) not only express these principles through their personal appearance but, more importantly, seal them in their hearts so that they rejoice in modesty, humility, selflessness, discretion and submission. There are a number of reasons that some schools may find uniforms to be a more effective tool toward these goals than a dress code. Several of those reasons are examined under the following two headings; clarity and purpose.
Clarity
Uniforms are a clearer standard than a dress code for both students and faculty. Any review of a dress code will immediately reveal a complex (and often arbitrary) list of what cannot be worn to school. The list generally includes vague statements of appropriateness and/or very specific measurements for appropriateness such as skirt lengths, the fit of sweaters and pants, types of tops and fabrics, emblems, logos and wording on clothing, etc. Such lists can turn into a mind numbing review of practically every potential fashion eventuality. And, of course, such lists are bound to miss something, not to mention continual revision with each new fad that comes along. Rather than attempting to cover all of the items that can NOT be worn to school, a uniform prescribes what IS to be worn in very simple terms.
The simplicity of a uniform also provides two very important advantages over that of a dress code in that a uniform dress standard requires much less of the schools precious administrative resources to articulate and is easier to enforce. If a school is going to have some standard of dress (and we have already established the need for such), then the choice of what standard is to be used must take into account the time constraints of teachers and administration to make sure the standard is well articulated and then applied fairly and consistently.
Purpose
Genesis
It has been argued that a uniform limits the self expression of a child. The questions that must be asked of that argument are: a) is self expression the purpose given to clothing by its original inventor? and b) is clothing a good method of self expression? As we have already discussed, the answer to the first question is “no”. And, as far as question “b” is concerned, Christians would agree that the more important expressions of a person’s heart are to be found in their speech, their acts of love and kindness and their artistic abilities rather than what they wear.
Finally on this point, what is clothing being used to express? Dress codes can be helpful in addressing sinful expressions of immodesty and overt sexuality (and so can a uniform), and that is usually the focus of such policies. However, expressions of vanity and extravagance are equally troubling influences in our culture on the dress of students. A school may find it much easier to correct the halter top when it arrives at school than it does the flamboyant expression of wealth and privilege when it is revealed in the fashion, fabric, style and especially brand logos of the clothing worn. Trying to address these influences on students through a dress code becomes very difficult (although not impossible). Not addressing them in some way would amount to parents and schools turning a blind eye to important principles in Scripture which are our responsibility to teach and enforce with our children.
Not addressing the subtle expressions of wealth and consumerism in our schools also makes it much more difficult for schools in wealthier communities to reach out to families in lower socioeconomic areas. Parents from such areas often have understandable concerns about their ability to dress their children in a way that is consistent with students in more affluent communities. Uniforms assist in overcoming that very real hurdle to a school’s attempts at ministering to people outside of their immediate community.
If a uniform policy focuses a student’s attention on those more important self expressions of their hearts, and reminds them of the purposes for which God gave us clothing, then it can be a beneficial tool for both schools and parents.
Conclusion
The most misused accusation leveled against school uniforms is that they are legalistic. This accusation is difficult to reconcile when you consider the alternative standard. Any review of a dress code must conclude that a prescribed uniform is much less “legalistic” (if the term can be used to describe either option) than a dress code, which is often filled with precise minutia related to size, length, cut and style of the clothes that may be worn (and necessarily so in today’s cultural climate).
Are
uniforms a panacea for a
T. Scott Muschany is the President of the Board of Directors for