Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to the letter regarding school uniforms that appeared in the Hoboken Reporter on 11/15/2009.
I have a child in the public schools and I think it’s a great policy and would like to see it enforced. The current school uniform policy in Hoboken is really more of a “dress code” that’s easy to follow.
School uniforms DO SAVE MONEY. You buy alot less clothes for your child’s non school wardrobe. The American Civil Liberties Union states their opinion on a variety of issues. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are right.
Who are these skeptical parents that wonder “whom on the Hoboken Board of Education or the new administration has ties to the uniform company”? There is NO “uniform company” for the Hoboken public schools. We are free to shop at any stores that sell the particular clothing needed, some of these corporations are: Landsend, Gap, Old Navy, Children’s Place, Sears, JCPenney, Macy’s, Target, Kohls and various online shopping outlets. Exactly which corporation are you implying that anyone has “ties”?
A uniform policy will not take away from a child’s creativity or independent thinking. It will not stifle freedom of expression or turn kids into drones. Are you saying that kids who attend private school, where a particular uniform is required lack creativity and are turned into drones? As far as decision making skills for clothing, kids can have input, but parents have the final say. Parents decide how much to spend on clothes and what type of clothing is appropriate.
Go uniforms!
A Public school parent