Instead, I will talk briefly about New Zealand school uniforms. They are so old-fashioned! It is a common sight to see teenage boys walking along the road in shirt, blazer, long shorts, and knee-high socks. Long uniform shorts, something I have never seen in real life before moving here. And there is at least one school here that kits its girls out in skirts so long that they practically brush the ground. In most Irish schools, those skirts would be hemmed and/or rolled up to somewhere mid-thigh. My own school skirt was rolled up at the waist until I grew tall enough that it barely skimmed the tops of my knees when worn the usual way, and that was still quite conservative compared to some of the other schools in the area.
I'm all in favour of school uniforms - they surely make it easier for parents (although not necessarily cheaper) than having to sort out fashionable outfits for their kids to wear to school, and I imagine it makes for less clothing-related bullying, too. And I don't have a problem with the uniforms that are worn here - I just found it really noticeable.
Sadly I have not managed to take any photos of kids in school uniform for this blog entry, as I fear it would make me look like I was up to no good if I start stalking them with my camera. But here is one from the interweb for your delectation - it is from a Dunedin website, but seems fairly like what I see here in Christchurch too:
6 comments:
Those long skirts drive me mad! They look so stupid. In my day we wore kilts which had to touch the groud if you knelt (yes they checked them that way)but once the teacher had gone we'd roll them up as high as possible on the waistband. Those formal uniforms are expensive but over 5 years or so end up being very cost effective. I'm glad we still have them.
it is interesting that you've noticed this. the girls' uniforms have certainly changed quite a bit in the past decade and have become much more conservative. i think it was mainly designed to incorporate the growing number of muslim students at high schools these days. so now the skirts come down to the ankles and each student is able to decide their own length to hem, but usually intended to be below the knee...
i was one of the last years to get the old style, and don't worry - they were every bit as skanky as the ones i'm sure you're familiar with; they usually got rolled up to somewhere mid-thigh :)
you can see what i mean (not my pictures btw!):
http://www.oldfriends.co.nz/InstitutionPhotoView.aspx?id=74733
compared with the same school one year later:
http://www.oldfriends.co.nz/InstitutionPhotoView.aspx?id=51203
Yeah they do seem a bit Olde English don't they? Can't blame you for not wanting to photograph children on their way home from school either!
There's a school in Belfast (the Inst prep school) that still enforces shorts, caps and leather sachels, etc. Not the most modern look.
I'm not very pro-uniforms myself. Having come from a Primary School with no uniform and a High School with a uniform, I have experienced both sides of the coin.
Basically people in uniform will wear their uniform differently and still mock you for not being the girl with the shortest dress, the boy who wears his shirt tucked in, etc. Kids will always find a reason to be kids. The presence of a uniform (or lack thereof) doesn't matter too much.
As for expense for parents, our school had a system for parents who couldn't afford a uniform where the school could buy it and the parents would pay it back over the course of months or the school year. They are expensive and I don't think they are worth it.
Also if you do well at a sport you get a special blazer pocket to commemorate this, which you are heavily encouraged to wear, costs a lot of money and then you need to get it stitched on!
Uniforms are just a way of the school making sure they get your money and not a high street store...
Laura, those links don't work :(
I had no idea that this style of uniform was a recent thing. That is so strange - but I can understand why they were made more conservative, if there are lots of Muslim students.
At least the long school skirts even out the playing field as far as fat vs slim legs goes. I always felt sorry for the girls with tree-trunk legs who attended schools with teeny tiny skirts. A longer skirt would have been much more flattering for them, and I'm sure they knew it, but there's no way you could wear something knee-length or longer without being ridiculed, in a school where the average hem is at mid-thigh.
The lonks worked fine for me, and can I just say :O
What a difference a year makes! You can really tell and, although the colour and pattern is more modern, the look is certainly more dated.
Glad that I don't have to worry about this kind of thing any more -SCHOOOOOOOOOOLS OUT, FOR, EVER!!!
I don't know why the links aren't working. Maybe try copying and pasting into the address bit...I'm not very technically savvy. Sorry!
I agree - chubbier-legged individuals definitely lost out with the shorter skirts. But the new summer dresses they have seem to resemble the structure of a potato sack and aren't flattering for even those with gorgeous bodies.
I'm loving the house-related updates. You'd do those makeover shows very proud :)
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