OPINION: School uniforms, a totally unnecessary practice

As our country’s four-year-olds prepare to begin the sad Irish practice of wearing school uniforms for almost every day of the rest of their childhood until they are 18, shouldn’t we, as a nation, at least pause and consider how oppressive and totally unnecessary this practice is?

The vast majority of EU children, including a small number of Irish children, will go to school in September in their own clothes and no catastrophe will befall them.

As a post-primary teacher, I am irritated by the low-level culture of bullying, humiliation and coercion of students that comes with the daily enforcement of school uniform rules.

It is a mockery all the talk about the well-being of students when the school itself becomes the harasser.
These rules and practices are unjustifiable and anti-educational.

They are a huge waste of time and money. I have no doubt that they will be viewed, as corporal punishment eventually was, as an oppressive practice for students and may end up in court. I suggest that the way to begin this process is for forward-thinking, progressive school leaders to implement uniform trials for a year. If they do, I suspect very few will return to this outdated practice.

–
Gearoid of Riain
Be yourself at school
(email: [email protected])
Westport, County Mayo

Published: 18:15 August 25, 2024