If the shoe fits?? February 27, 2009

School uniform has been around a long time and in the last 30 years, even infant school children are expected to wear the set uniform. Usually they are also required to wear ’sensible school shoes’. Often they are allowed to only wear Black or Brown shoes and they must be Lace ups or Buckle fastened. The shoe retailers make the choice fairly extensive because they are aware that children or and parents, still want to have a choice.

40 years ago, in state primary schools, children could wear any shoes at all. Sandals were popular amongst girls and boys but plimsolls were still only for games lessons. Children, who walked to school in rain or snow, wore their plimsolls until home time. Now manufacturers have woken up to the idea that children wish to wear sportswear even in school and have made some shoes in sports styles but without the stripes, or name tags emblazoned over them. They look just as smart and comfortable as the ’school shoe’.

I don’t think children work better in school because they are wearing a certain style of footwear. Schools if anything have become too authoritarian about the apparel and less interested in who is wearing it.

When I was at primary school, I had absolutely no say over the style of shoes I wore. Parental choice dictated that I had ´sensible shoes´. Children today have far too much control over what they wear, and as a consequence have become miniature dictators, demanding branded trainers from their parents.

There are very sound reasons for pupils having to wear particular styles of shoes as part of their uniform. This will mean that they have practical styles, rather than fashionable ones. Safety is, of course, an issue. Younger children spend their break times tearing around the playground, and need shoes that won´t come loose and risk an accident. Older children may have to rush from one part of the school to another, and girls wearing high heels may trip over and injure themselves.

Naturally, children develop their own tastes, but sometimes rules are necessary. Growing feet need shoes that won´t harm them, and a uniform also enables everyone to appear similar. The great advantage for parents of a uniform including shoes would be this: no arguments in the morning about which shoes to wear, and no delays!