4th grade. :doh:

anyway, there are plenty of ways to be creative, expressive, and individual. with your personality, your work, your dedication, your ambition, etc. etc.. no one should need to use clothes to express themselves. maybe going all uniform all the time is a bit of a stretch, but i see nothing wrong with a set of firm ground rules.

and yeah, you're right, socializing is a big part of school. i think, as kids, we do our most important learning in how to socialize, and interact with other people, through school. actually, that probably supports the uniforms argument. i mean, how many kids did you know in school that hated it, that were always picked on, that became absolute introverts, purely because of the clothes they wore, or because they were just a little bit different (whether because their family couldn't afford anything nice, or whatever)..

anyway, i'm just thinking out loud here.. i realize that there is a lot more to the issue. but i truly believe there are a few basic problems that happen in every school across the nation, that can easily be solved, or at least improved, if people were to open their eyes just a little bit, and take a bit more responsibility.

and contrary to popular belief, anarchy is not a good thing. you can't just let people do whatever they want. and teaching respect is extremely important.