Once upon a time, a very long time ago, I wore a plaid jumper with a white shirt and knee socks to school. This week, I found myself buying a very similar school uniform for Teresa, who will be starting kindergarten next year. I was fortunate to find most of what I needed at our school’s annual, end-of-the-year used uniform sale, getting two jumpers, the required school monogrammed sweater, a skirt for warm-weather months, as well as gym clothes for $47. One jumper bought new from the uniform company tops $40, so I thought I did pretty well. Of course, there are still things to buy: I’ll look for the white polo shirts, knee socks and brown or black leather shoes at the back-to-school sales this summer. But the cost, for an entire year’s worth of clothing, is more than reasonable. Especially since there’s every chance that at least the jumpers and the sweater will make it back to the used uniform sale when she outgrows them. Those uniforms wear like iron. Teresa, of course, will look adorable. That’s the nature of kindergartners in school uniforms, especially when school first starts and their hair is combed and their shoes are unscuffed. At the moment, she’s rather looking forward to wearing a uniform like the other kids in the big school. I expect her tone will change in a few years. I don’t think I’ve met a middle schooler, boy or girl, who actually liked wearing a uniform, but most of their parents appreciate it. It eliminates arguments over what counts as appropriate school attire and costs less than outfitting pre-teens and teens in clothing in which they actually want to be seen. While there isn’t a lot of rigorous research that shows uniforms have a big effect in schools, surveys of teachers show they think uniforms help minimize distractions and competition among students, and they find discipline easier. Distinctive uniforms also make students identifiable when they are in the neighborhood. The opinion is held widely enough that public schools have jumped on the uniform bandwagon, with about 23 percent of all schools from kindergarten through 12th grade requiring uniforms and 80 percent of public schools in Chicago requiring them. Most of the neighborhood public schools I’ve seen haven’t gone as far as requiring plaid jumpers and knee socks, although some charter schools do. Most seem to settle for a combination of navy blue or khaki bottoms and a polo shirt, with or without a school monogram. Then again, Catholic schools are a bit more casual as well: most no longer require ties, and the Peter Pan collar seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur. Such changes don’t really take away from what might be the best reason I was ever given for requiring school uniforms: that people’s behavior can be influenced by their environment, not only what they are wearing, but what the people around them are wearing. If everyone is dressed appropriately for school, ready to get to work, everyone will learn more. I don’t know of any research that backs that up, but at least the kids will look good.