Why Our Children Fail

Other countries have poverty, also.  There will always be the haves and the have-nots.  Life in the big city. Nothing will ever change that.  It's part of the human condition.  To exonerate American decline in the quality of education on the basis of poverty, doesn't wash.

It's about motivation, about the home, about standards.  Tell a person he can't learn because he's poor, and he won't. "Aw, shucks.  Poor me:"  Self-fulfilling prophecy.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, people were very poor.  They came here in cattle boats, starving, with nothing.  No ESL classes, no welfare, no nothing. Make it or break it.

Guess what?  We became the most powerful, smartest, achieving nation in the world.  What changed since then?  Poverty didn't.  Rather, it's the value system that uses poverty and free hand-outs as an excuse, that has come into vogue.  The "poor little helpless things" mentality.  It's sickening to pity one's fellow man like that, rather than to inspire him to achieve and do better for himself. Our value system is upside down.

I'm not impressed with the poverty excuse.  Rather, I go with the reality that teachers need to teach, children need to learn, parents need to parent.  It's not a perfect world. My philosophy is more about "get over it," than "poor baby."  It's not that I'm naive.  I work in the garment district, in the ghettoed portion of town; with minorities as workers, street people, customers, and residents.  I taught in inner city schools.  I get it.

Americans have worked their butts off, in order to have a piece of the American Dream,  for over 200 years, and were magnificent, as a result.
Was every story a success?  No.  As a nation, overall, were we successful? You bet.

Give a person a hand-out (vs. a hand up), and one essentially has said to that person that he is incapable of making it on his own, so others will make it for him.  The fulfilling prophecy of failure and dependency.
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I do not feel that machines can replace a competent, thinking teacher. However, as many of the teachers today are incompetent, it becomes a debate.  Sadly, students and teachers are stumbling over one another, racing for the "Dumbest in the Class" awards:  The tragedy.  I think machines are a magnificent resource. Period.  Unfortunately, our society disagrees, in significant part:  Teachers have cultivated disrespect, society needs a scapegoat for its failing children, and the technology has become the rescuer.  Bingo...

The other day, a dim-wit of a teacher whined that each of her first graders just HAD to have a calculator. Why is that?

Well, they can't learn arithmetic without one!

What if it breaks?? What will the child do then?  Why, go next door and get the calculators from the other teacher, of course!

Augh!

Are Teachers Still Necessary For a Society To Grow

There are problems with this hypothesis. Everyone today is Not taught by a teacher, other than in some sort of metaphorical sense.  Today, many children are home-schooled, taught by parents, and/or computers; they learn on the internet by themselves, either as part of a learning program, or for pleasure; they learn from their peers; they learn just about everywhere; but perhaps less in the classroom.

Our society, and I'm speaking of the United States, does not value the teacher as it used to.  Partly, this is because of the breakdown of the society--today, the children are in charge, and the adults march to their drummers; part of the reason is that many teachers today really don't teach, or know how to teach.

The methodology is trendy rather than proven; the teachers themselves aren't that well educated; the students are there for reasons that are in addition or instead of learning.  The teachers' unions are focused on one thing: Maintaining membership in order to stay in business; this means, giving teachers what they want vs. what education needs.

All one has to do is to look at the scores, both locally, nationally, and internationally, to document how poorly educated our children are today.  We used to be the leaders of the world in virtually everything, particularly education; today, we are 25th, next to last, and scattered here and there across various scales of achievement.  The latest is that the SAT's and ACT's are being abandoned in several colleges and universities, because folks don't feel that tests measure a student's true abilities.  Isn't it interesting: When the United States was at its peak, tests were an instrument of pride and stature, and our students were the best and the brightest.  Mediocrity breeds mediocrity.

There can be only one of two reasons, academically, why our children have not been learning, and are learning less and less: Either the teaching methods & teachers have declined; or the kids are dumber.  Something to ponder...

As to the question, can society grow without a teacher:  Those who are firm believers in technology will say yes, of course!  Put the student in front of the monitor, and away he goes.  Depending on the integrity, the responsibility, the discipline, the curiosity, the maturity, and the intelligence of the student--in addition to the programmed/canned material that is offered-- this may or may not be so.

However, we are human beings. We can do something that machines can't: We can be spontaneous.  The question is, what can other human beings--in this instance, students and teachers--do to both inspire and respond to that spontaneity, that curiosity, that creative question and response?  What can a human being offer in terms of an off-handed observation, or a comment off the cuff?  What kinds of alternate routes can a human being offer that can be supportive as well as knowledgeable, experienced regarding life and application of learning?

Without teachers, how will people know how to create the machines and the programs that allow students to learn by computers as support tools?

Without education, a democracy or democratic republic such as ours used to be, cannot survive.  It is education that grants freedom.  Not anarchy, revolution, war, and rebellion.  Rather, truly educated individuals who are civilized and respect one another as a result of learning.

This is what teachers are for.

Dumb down the teachers, and the society becomes dumbed down, as well.  Without education, provided by genuinely knowledgeable individuals, our country will not survive.

So, are teachers necessary?  For an educated, enlightened society, yes.  Do we have the kind of teachers we need to maintain this kind of society, today?  Fewer and fewer all the time; which is why so many teachers currently can be replaced by machines.  

"Hypers, Nancy!" George ejaculated. Response: Political Incorrectness In Nancy Drew Books

[ The followimg post is a response to an article : Was Nancy Drew Politically Incorrect? ]

In every single thing I do, I am a detective.  Some people call that "doing one's homework."  From the moment I arise until I drop, I am a grade-A busybody; whether it is about medicine, law, education, business, or just trying to survive in today's world.

Nancy Drew's, some in first editions (yes, really), have a place of honor on my bookshelves.  I have them printed on cheaper paper for the sake of saving money to support the Second World War; I have them with R.H. Tandy's marvelous illustrations both in glossy black and whites printed from 1929 through the '30's, in pen and ink's from the late '30's and '40's, in their colored covers.  I also have the later illustrators who cheapened and simplified Nancy's style and persona.  It was R.H. Tandy who gave her her beauty.  Not to mention that of chums, Helen Corning, Bess Marvin, and George Fayne; with loyal housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, and Dad--Carson Drew. Remember???

The books, complete with running boards on automobiles that required blankets for "motoring" as there were yet to be car heaters; a whopping speed limit of 20 miles per hour; rumble seats in roadsters; or "electrical ice-boxes" as the term "refrigerator' was brand new; were also very real. That is to say, the books reflected the times in which they were written, as the author states.

There neither was nor is absolutely nothing wrong with them.  Nothing.

As several of the folks commented below, it wasn't about "racism" or "anti-Semitism'" in those days.  It was about reality: The way things were.  That's called "HISTORY."   The books, with the nom de plume of Carolyn Keene, were well written--for third and fourth graders--full of fun vocabulary, settings, adventures, and new things for young girls who wanted to be grown-up's.  In those days, when a girl like Nancy was 16, she was already running a household and solving mysteries.  As the books progressed, and our society was ever more protective of its children, Nancy's age upped to 18.  She had to be more mature to do all of those things; it wasn't so much about time passing, as it was about our society becoming less mature.

The bigotry and prejudice, if one wants to look for it, is there--"good and plenty."  But you know, it's how things were.  As the author writes, rather than hide reality from children, talk with them about it.  Learn from it.  Be glad that Nancy offers so much in so many dimensions--historically, politically, socially, culturally--in addition to the simple plots that were ever so adventuresome!  I still "blush to the fingertips" when something exciting is upon me. Don't you??

If one wants to address the 'Drew books, rather than frown upon the culture of the times, one might also take a look at Nancy as a top-drawer feminist--in fact, as are all of the women in these books.  Take Mr. Drew's sister: Eloise Drew, unmarried, a career woman, and living quite successfully in New York.  I believe Aunt Lou was a practicing attorney, and helped Nancy on more than one case...  See, it wasn't about deliberate attacks on this group or that; again, it was about society, commentary, the culture; and authors who used--yes--the ideal Girl Scout, as the epitome of the role model for Nancy's character.

This author did a very good job of discussing the slants in Nancy's world.  I have little doubt that those same slants were in far more books and series--e.g.: Mark Twain--than just Nancy Drew.  Hide the truth of the times, and they will re-live themselves.  Expose them for what they were, and they're valuable  lessons.

Nancy Drew is one of The Best aspects of my life.  She is alive and well, and with me every single day.  I am so glad that the author was as generous as she was, and wise.  Sometimes, people aren't so kind.  I have no patience with the politically correct: It's one thing to be courteous, polite, and civil. It's quite another to hide the truth, and live in a world that isn't or wasn't, or will never be: That is not Nancy Drew; it is the Emperor's New Clothes.

The Webmaster

I am old.  Bordering on ancient and senile, in fact. Depends on how old you are, as to how old I am.  You know how it is...  I live in the twentieth century. Trust me, it was a better place, a better time.  Sure, not as many doo-dads and conveniences; certainly, technology was a stick in the mud compared to what it is, today. However, people talked with one another in complete, un-abbreviated, grammatically correct, and meaningful sentences; what's more, they took the time.   Yep, they took the time to care, to listen, to understand, and maybe to offer a few kind words of advice, admonishment, or praise.

Today, a kid who is five years old, is exhausted at the end of the day. Not enough time.  It used to be that when we were young, the days crawled by, and we could hardly wait for them to pass so that we could grow up.  Now, girls in kindergarten are wearing black velvet with leopard collars and high heels. Time flies by with so much to do, people merely pass one another like strangers, albeit they even may live in the same house. Who has a meal together?  Who shares the day's events?  What happened to family, to quiet time alone, or with friends...?

Into this milieu I have been thrust, through no fault of my own: The twenty-first century.  The reality is that either I have to cope and get on with things, or lag behind and find myself even more lost and ostracized than I already am.  The Hallmark Channel can only take a person so far... Thus, in order to save myself, I found a webmaster.
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My webmaster has been such, since 1997.  He was a senior in college when he started with me.  A wise woman, to whom I am forever indebted, suggested him because she knew his mother.  One of those things. Dumb luck--or God's Will, if you prefer.  It is now 16 years later.  We're still surfing the 'Net. (How awesome do I sound?)

What can you say about a fellow who behaves like Dick Van Dyke, and is built like a dress-zipper with ears?  He is 6'6"+, and maybe weighs 165 pounds.  I come up to his rib cage. Go try to hug him.  He comes with instructions that require a Pogo stick, for any kind of physical familiarity.  I gave up long ago. If I want to give him an endearment, I rest my head just above his belly button, and go from there.

Here's the thing: He's terrific: A mensch.  When he was 21, he was that way; he's the same, now--he's humble and patient, has a sense of humor, is smart as can be, centered, responsible if a little absent-minded or too busy, and he's focused--all prerequisites if you're going to be in my corner.  The only differences are that now, he's got a lovely wife and two kids; he's smarter, wiser, and makes a good living. Otherwise, he's the same familiar old shoe--size 15.

He went through my website with me, back then.  It was like pulling teeth, for all that I needed, and what he had to do while he dragged me along with him: My ideas, his know-how and in-put. He got it done.  His first official website.  Mine, too, come to think of it...  It's still up and running, and attracts its own visitors. It's been through re-decoration and additions; it's just fine, thank you.

Currently, my webmaster has led me through Linked-in, and Facebook (oy...); now, we've pretty much finished this very blog. Can you believe it?  Can you believe I put an entire blog together??? (Well, of course, with the webmaster's huge help).  If I don't do this Stuff constantly, of course, I can't remember half of it. But, we won't go there.  When he and I are done with this project, it's on to Twitter. Oh!  For the record, I can also text--tra-la.

We meet for over an hour, once a month for lunch--usually eggs of some sort; my treat.  He teaches; I scramble--my brains, not the eggs.  Anything in-between our monthly sessions:  I either luck out, learn on my own, or cope.

Sometimes, fairytales do come true.  The webmaster is one of them.

I want to say, that if I had had to do any of this Stuff alone, I think I would have stuck to my Big Chief tablet and #2 Eberhard Faber yellow pencil. Longer to process, yes; but infinitely easier. Really.  I honestly get it, with the technological goodies.  It's incredible.

I also get it that the hours and hours and hours it takes to process all of it; fix it when it crashes or breaks down; call multiple "technical support" people--most of whom can barely speak English or can't think beyond their prepared, scripted instruction manuals; crawl around on the floor while they ask me to re-check what wires and buttons I've already checked; and remember on the side, how to relate to people as human beings rather than as mobs of pixels: All are hazards of the technological age. I don't think it's so hot, just between us.

Still, I want you to know that my webmaster is just the Best--no doubt.  He has even managed to make all this learning sort of interesting and fun.  I feel like I'm about six years old, in terms of know-how and capability; in truth, I'm older than his mother! Understand that I'm not hardwired for anything other than my bra.  So for this guy to hang in with me: I am so lucky.

Twentieth century lifestyle and values, absolutely.  Still, I cruise in the twenty-first, with the webmaster as captain of my technological ship.

Five Finger Exercise

I would like to say that I come from a long line of Fingernails.  Every woman in our family has had Fingernails since I can remember.  Generations of Fingernails.  Manicured, buffed, polished to the nine's.  Deep reds, wines, and burgundies.

It all started with Cherries In The Snow--Charles Revson's, and Revlon's, very first shade of adapted automobile paint--helping women to buck up during the Depression and War effort.

Always, Fingernails.  It was never an issue among us.  Since I was six years old, I had long nails.   I learned to take care of them myself, albeit I didn't start wearing red polish for years and years:  A family tradition. One wasn't human, let alone a female or feminine, without Fingernails.  I was convinced that they possessed some bit of magical power, in order to make a woman complete.  I had to have them.  Inwardly, I knew this.

When I was ten, I made the fatal mistake of taking piano lessons. Who knew? I was the bane of my teacher's existence.  Why?  The long fingernails.  Did you know that in order to play the piano, one has to have Short fingernails?  Yes.  I took lessons year after year, and it was an ongoing battle about the fingernails. Clickety clack, clickety clack, upon the keys.  My teacher, who was petite, tremulous, dressed in flowered silks without a brassiere, and with eminently blue hair, wanted--nay, demanded--my nails be short; to round the hand, curve the fingers, hit the keys with the soft pads of the quiet fingertips.  Power to the upper knuckles and carpals. A fair request.

I, on the other hand, wanted to look utterly gorgeous from the wrists down, even in the fifth grade.  Why not?  Everyone in my family was gorgeous in the very same way.  Long, luscious nails upon even longer, artistic and beautifully sculpted fingers and hands. Do you have any idea how refreshing it is, when doing arithmetic assignments, or a social studies paper, to absentmindedly take a break, and gaze down at such elegant, slender, appendages?  My hands were so lovely that when I injured them, nothing could give me greater pleasure than to dote on the ethereal beauty of their X-rayed poise.  Think of it.

After all, I only "tickled the ivories" a few hours a week; yet, I reasoned, I had to look at my hands, 24/7.  It was obvious.  Materialistic and empirical piano vs. spiritual, eternally beautiful hands.  What's to discuss?

Ultimately, I quit the lessons, and my fingers were at peace.  I quit for other reasons, too--like ongoing migraine headaches every Monday on the spot, about four hours before lesson-time. The nails were a part of the pain.  I assure you.
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Life came, and life has gone by.
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Now, don't drop your drawers, but I'm taking piano lessons, again.  Same piano.  Same practicing only a lot more, same everything.  Different teacher (the old one died years ago). Same Fingernails.  Only, this time, with the red polish: The true family tradition remember, from generation to generation. (L'dor v' dor.)

Wouldn't you know it?  Here we go again.

This time, the nails are eminently shorter--down to the nub.  The style has changed:  Computers, touch-screens, and smart phones are the name of the game.  Short nails are a prerequisite for survival in the information age. However, I would like to say, they are not short enough for my piano teacher, and this one doesn't even have blue hair!

So help me. I clip, I file.  The nails are Below the fingertips!  But, they click. I have tall cuticles; I have long nail beds.  No matter what I do, I still click rather than tickle, the keys.  My own rhythm section.

I've taken to giving myself a manicure the night before the lessons.  I hope this will do the trick. Maybe she won't notice.  I have painted them a neutral color so that the teacher can see how stubby and minuscule these nails are, relative to their potential.  My nails short, are longer than many women's, long!  It's the way God made me.  I'm stuck.

What can you say about a woman who has three pianos--including a baby grand that substitutes as the dining room table under a chandelier-- in a living room/dining room area that's maybe 10'x15'?  There is a heavy, Victorian jacquarded tapestry of a sofa with antique gold fringe hanging all about, two over-stuffed chairs, a disc-player, and two mammoth felines. Definitely, a room out of necessity, that commands absolute order and control; everything must be in its place. Including the Fingernails. Or Else.

There you are.  I am caught.  I love the music, discipline myself to the practicing, thoroughly enjoy the teacher, delight over the charmingly petite house--fringe and all.  What to do, what to do...

Um, maybe I should tell you that my teacher had her cats de-clawed.  Do you think this is in the back of her mind?  Naaaaah, couldn't be.  Or could it?

School Uniforms: Making The Grade Year-Round: Uniforms Magazine

Between the end of July and the beginning of September, the school uniform business is in full swing.  Stock is literally flying off the shelves.  But what happens to dealers and distributors the rest of the time?  It’s not so easy.  Yet, the same venerable companies thrive year after year, managing just fine.  Here are some of their secrets for success during the ten off-months:

Marketing—In today’s world, the Internet comes first.  Be sure that your company can be Googled, identified with a first class website, and can support online ordering for fast easy-access service, 24/7.  Make sure that freight and payment terms are straightforward, included, and safe, and that your images are present and attractive to the shopper’s eye—kids as well as adults.  Check out www.UniformsBySharon.com to see a perfect example. 

Advertisements go everywhere from the schools, themselves, to the phone book, bulletin boards, and mailers for parents.  Coupons?  You bet.  Use the media including radio, TV, computer ads, links, and text messaging; billboards, and even bumper stickers keep your easy-to-remember company name in the consumer’s mind.  Focus on particular selling points or specialty items that only you carry. 

  

Call on the schools, personally, and make repeated visits.  Become friendly with the staff, and don’t hesitate to take the store to them via samples, catalogues, and brochures.  All of this comes into play during those long silent months when business slows.

Make your store accessible.  Multiple retail outlets are optimum, and hopefully in safe neighborhood shopping areas or places that are geographically tempting for many nearby schools.  Partner with other similarly minded business concerns such as school/office supply companies or bookstores, and make agreements to support one another in terms of promoting merchandise.  You want to be a household word.

Diversification—We tend to think of school uniforms as outfits for K-12.  If a uniform company is going to survive for a period of more than two months a year, consider the broader spectrum.   Many stores today include all kinds of kids’ wear.  Cookie’s in New York, for example, handles multiple types of children’s items from toys, baby things, and children’s furniture, to mainstream kids’ clothing, and school uniforms.

“Oh, if we didn’t have a lot more than just the uniforms, it would be terrible,” Al Falack of Cookie’s states plainly.  There’s a lot to choose from, keeping business buzzing for the entire twelve month cycle.

Also, we tend to think of school uniforms as being only about kids.  There are cooking schools, nursing schools, medical schools, carpentry and trade schools, to name a few.  A school uniform store or manufacturer can just as easily branch out into these areas as not.   Look at Dickies that makes uniforms for multiple careers, and includes its children’s line, too.  These other school types have classes running constantly, plus graduated professionals who are continually needing replacement garments: Scrubs, labcoats, industrial shirts, pants, and so on.

Land’s End manufactures men’s and women’s clothing, children’s wear and accessories, in addition to its school uniforms.  Dennis Uniforms manufactures labcoats, even though its focus is the school market.  The more investment in various garments, the larger the overhead and expense, but the alternative is there are more garments to help keep the industry and the dealerships going through the winter and spring months. 

“Remember that department and big-box stores only sell school apparel during the height of the season; uniform stores stock their merchandise year-round,” emphasizes Sharon Brushett of Uniforms By Sharon.  In agreement, Sheila Farber of Denver Dennis Uniforms reiterates, “Someone always wants a fresh pair of pants, or there’s a new student who needs outfitting.  We manage to keep busy.”

Gimmicks—Sales work wonders.  January sales, June sales: Remind the folks that you’re still around, and that you’re giving them a chance to get the jump on the upcoming season.  In spite of the Fall-only big business, things happen at Winter semester, too.  Check out school schedules very carefully. 

“We present our customers with “advantage” or “bakers’ dozen” cards,” says Andrew Dunbar of Dennis Uniforms.  “We at Dennis give punch cards that offer $10 off with a purchase of $150 or more during on-season shopping, and $20 off for off-season purchases.”

Add an extra pair of socks with an outfit, a hair bow, or a fun pair of “undies.”  Include or offer school identity, such as embroidery of a school logo, screen printing of a favorite wrestling character, or a matching backpack for purchases over $200.  Maybe, some gift certificates to a fast-food store tucked inside a pocket would be just the ticket.  

“The littler kids like to pick out a lunchbox or some extra small thing to go with the uniforms,” observes Al Falack. Do whatever it takes to bring the folks into the shop, keep them buying, and keep them coming back.

One of the best ideas is the Mattel American Girl dolls that have matching uniforms in the appropriate plaids, and that can be purchased through Dennis Uniforms: The Peter Pan blouse, a hair bow, and the street length jumper on your favorite character.  How perfect for a young lady to be able to see herself and her twin doll in fashionable school clothes!

Merchandising—When doing the buying for school uniform items, shop the competition, find unique fashions in multiple sizes, and include "plus" sizes.  Carry all colors, the several styles approved by the schools, and even those that aren’t, in order to draw the attention of kids or parents who want something special.   If you skimp, the customers will go elsewhere.

Depending on the demography of the area, if there are conservative or parochial schools, skirt lengths can matter: As Sharon Brushett says, “Skorts are a definite trend setter.”  Yet, the longer below-the-knee length is often mandated for a traditional look.  Cookie’s has its own manufacturing facility and features apparel for particular religious groups, as well as stocking standard school clothing that is ready-to-wear.  “Sometimes, we have whole schools where every girl has to have a 27” skirt hem,” marvels Al Falack.

Check out what it is that your area schools are needing as well as wanting.  Don’t exclude important population components.  If you have schools that need to meet requirements for specific ethnic garb, look into this; there are small custom manufacturers around the country that make these specialized uniforms. 

Customer Service—Finally, have the best customer service that you can provide.  To keep overhead low, use fewer people during most of the year, and add another five or six employees during the height of the season.  Don’t be shy about cutting help and your hours when they’re not necessary. 

“We have limited hours during the off-months,” advises Sheila Farber.  There’s no need to pay overhead for a building that isn’t used, or for help that isn’t producing.  Think practically and pragmatically.  Your customers will adapt.

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“Hot Stuff”

Girls will be girls—that means craving doo-dads for their hairstyles.  Barrettes, headbands, bows, scrunchies: They come in different solid colors, or the plastic is designed to have inlaid plaids with extending ribbons that match the garments.  It doesn’t matter how old a woman is; for her to be well-dressed is about head to toe, and that includes items for the hair.

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Outerwear is huge.  There are hooded duck jackets, fleece windbreakers, Ike bomber jackets, quilted vests, raincoats, and of course, hoodies.  Screen printing and embroidery are available to enhance any item; both guys and gals are now dressed for the seasons inside and out, in the best fashion.  All of these items come in school colors, and may include added racing stripes across the shoulders, around the cuffs and collars, or down the front.

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Fabrics are changing as organics are entering the picture.  From pre-school up, mothers are especially conscious of “going green,” with garments that are made from environmentally sensitive, custom-dyed yarns.  (Watch your costs here though, as organics are more expensive.)  In contrast, several manufacturers are adding Lycra to their slacks so that girls can have tighter fitting as well as more comfortable pants.

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Styles are morphing away from the dressier girls’ jumpers with blouses, and boys’ pants with dress shirts; instead, it’s items such as capris, and hip-huggers with flared bottoms for girls; cargo pants and bicycle shorts for the boys.  Polo shirts are taking over the traditional shirts and blouses; solids are replacing plaids.  The reasons are not only about taste, but about economy, which is beginning to play a larger factor in uniform choices. 

Many items have become much more casual.  Land’s End has added more length to its turtlenecks so that they may be worn untucked; T-shirts are part of the uniform scene; backpacks, lunchboxes, boots and shoes, colored socks in multiple lengths with plaid trim, and even underwear are all becoming items for the school uniform ensemble. 

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A Bum Wrap: The Eton Jacket and Its Origin--UniformMarketNews.Com

Ever wonder how different styling options became industry norms?  Take, for example, one of the more commonly desired apparel offerings, the eton jacket. 

In the mid 15^th century, Henry VI (the “scholar king”) firmly established the English educational system.  One of its most notable schools was Eton College, (pronounced “eton” as in cretin, not “eton” as in futon).  Located on the Thames River in southeast London and across from Windsor Castle, some of the most accomplished Britons in history have been educated there, including the Duke of Wellington, author Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole.   Despite the presence of several fine English academic institutions, Eton stands above the rest in many categories, particularly in terms of its uniform.

Believe it or not, the precursor to the eton jacket was the medieval monk’s robe.  Originally, children in “public schools” (which were actually fee paying private schools) wore their own clothing, paid for by their families.  The charity schools—whose students were comprised of children from hospitals, orphanages, and the streets—were filled with ragamuffins who had nothing to wear; hence, the clergy provided them with cassocks from the monasteries that not only kept the children warm but visually eliminated their economic differences.  Remember, women were not a part of this equation because they were not given formal schooling until more recent times.

Ironically, as England became more prosperous and powerful, the upper classes found themselves with elitist schoolboys who had become arrogant and unruly bullies.  By the 19^th century, in the interest of greater discipline, decorum, and financial equanimity, the notion of also putting the public schools in uniform was instituted.  At Eton, the waistcoat, shirt and now-famous collar, short jacket, and accessories were introduced. 

“College” in England refers to secondary school education.  Initially at Eton College, the junior class members (also presumed to be those boys who were less than 5’4”) were made to wear the all-around short jacket, while the older classmates wore the longer morning coat: waist length in front with tails behind. 

However, there were two problems with the double-style coat system: first, there were many upper classmen who were too short and as a result were not allowed to wear the more adult waistcoat even though they were seniors; second, the longer waistcoat with its tails that covered one’s rear end was a lot warmer than the skimpy junior level jacket that had become known as “the bum freezer.” 

Ultimately, the early 20^th century solution was to eliminate the short Eton jacket so that all the boys wore a single outfit: the morning coat or waistcoat with the now-famous look of the collar, vest, top hat and tie.  More recently, Princes William and Harry wore the required Eton outfit. 

Interestingly, outside the College, the Eton suit with the shorter jacket became the standard for boys of all ages in English society, and the fashion spread to the United States, as well.  It should be noted that several of the English colleges had similar uniforms; but it was Eton’s (rather than Harrow’s, for example) that caught on. 

There is no one designer for the specific Eton College uniform; the question of the short jacket’s evolution is bound up with the history of the garment, the styling of a short formal jacket, and the name of the College.  Similar garments were worn throughout Europe once pants became the preferred mode of men’s dress.

As a particular garment, the modern eton jacket (now with a lower case “e”) became a part of the regimented repertoire for military dress, cruise ships, hotels, for special groups and clubs, and even for assistants such as waiters, butlers, and doormen in private homes or restaurants. 

With ever-increasing affluence, particularly in Western culture, the eton jacket found its place in more formal society and became a sign of class distinction.  Interestingly, worn by both the working classes that served the upper classes, and by the upper classes themselves, the degree of hierarchy was identified only by a particular jacket’s trim: the basic style remained unaltered.  During the latter part of the 20^th century, couturier designers even presented the eton jacket with a skirt as a smartly tailored suit for well-to-do women. 

Today’s Eton Jacket: A Must-Have for Customers

Today, we in the uniform industry find our customers wanting etons, many of them not knowing what they are or how an eton is defined, other than as a short jacket that is at once formal but utilitarian.  

Etons are now 1-button, or a chain-link 2-button: they are double breasted or single, with 2 buttons or 3.  Some have built-in false vestees, some have false cummerbunds attached.  They come lined or unlined, with various types of collars, contrasting or self lapels, with pockets or none.  There are braid, epaulets, shoulder straps, chevrons, and even scalloped yokes for western wear. There is the West Point jacket which is a military stand collar version of the eton.  Some etons have pointed bottoms, some have rounded edges, some are squared off.  They come in all sorts of designs and fabrics—polyester, poly wool or wool, even poly cotton or brocades.

But the basic style is still the same.  It is the short jacket—a waistcoat without the tails—used for the original purposes of identity, deportment, and uniformity, that was named by the headmasters at Eton College all those years ago. 

Debra Hindlemann Webster is owner of Custom Uniform Company, a manufacturer of high-quality, American-made custom uniforms.  The company has been serving individuals, groups, theme parks, corporations, offices, military, hospitality, entertainment centers, and many other businesses with unique custom apparel for more than 70 years.  Visit WWW.CUSTOMUNIFORMCOMPANY.COM  or email them at DEB@CUSTOMUNIFORMCOMPANY.NET  to learn more. 

Paved With Good Intentions: Article for Intermountain Jewish News

I just read your article about the funding challenge for special education in Jewish day schools: $162,000 needed for 11 disabled children; that's almost $15,000 per year, per child. What I want to know: What is the expenditure per child for regular education Jewish day school students, and how many regular education children are there proportionate to these 11 special needs children?

The February 16th article states that this money is specifically for an "inclusive" special education population (children who are included in regular education classrooms with assistance--wherever, whenever, however, with whomever is necessary to bring their individualized learning experiences in line with regular education students).

While inclusion is beneficial for many students, several become overwhelmed and/or frustrated: Some children don't have the cognitive or sensory abilities to participate in the inclusive environment, no matter how many devices or teaching aids are provided; others are not emotionally or behaviorally equipped to handle the rigors and/or pressures of a regular education classroom.

Regular education students and teachers may become negatively impacted in inclusive classrooms because their own teaching and learning capabilities are not patterned for complex special education needs; time that could be spent forging ahead with mainstream academic concepts is traded for accommodation to adaptive learning by the included population. Development of social skills, acceptance, understanding individual differences, are of utmost importance: However, to what extent must academic excellence be sacrificed for their sakes?

Certain state and federal civil rights/special education laws do not bind private schools: They are not enforceable in these classrooms. Hence, while the spirit of Jewish day schools may be to provide "equal opportunity and access under the law," its legal teeth are missing. The good news for special education funding is that not every legality or expenditure has to be met; the bad news for students who are disabled is that not every legality or expenditure has to be met.

The Bush Administration wants to allow federal funding to be funneled towards religiously sponsored benevolent programs. This might be ideal for financing special education in Jewish day schools. However, federal funding mandates federal law enforcement. This necessarily means that along with additional moneys in the Jewish day school coffers, all children must be granted the same rights, privileges, and denials as public school students: To the letter of the law. The very best of intentions and positive educational goals for the disabled may become slippery academic, legal, financial slopes, as private schools have to comply with public education guidelines.

Given there is a genuine desire to allow disabled Jewish children access to an "equal and appropriate [private] education," no matter individual learning requirements or disabilities, these schools would have to carefully evaluate and provide for the specific needs of each child, no matter the cost, no matter the placement in regular, inclusive, mainstream, or self-contained classrooms. Bound by the same rules, private schools would have to provide at an enormous cost, all of the same services that public schools already offer for free.

There must be licensed, accredited special education programs, teachers, para-professionals for every diagnosed disability; evaluative testing, access to medical therapies and learning specialists; psychological evaluations, special education coordinators, augmentative learning curricula, assistive technology; legal staffs for possibilities of mediation, due-process, lawsuits for violation of student and/or parental rights.

Special education is not for the feint of heart. It is not simply a matter of doing a good deed, or writing a check. It is an enormous political, legal, medical, and professionally trained academic undertaking. If the Jewish day schools wish to dedicate themselves to this task in addition to their other priorities, so much the better. But if they do so on the sole basis of good will and the best of intentions, funding will be the least of their difficulties, and all students and teachers alike will be the worse for the endeavor.

School Uniforms = A+ or C-: Interview with Made to Measure Magazine

MTM looks at the booming industry of school uniforms—its pros & cons. We interviewed several manufacturers, among them: Barbara Black—AA Uniforms; Lester Reif—Rifle; Steve Royal—Royal Park; Beth Silver—French Toast. This is what we discovered:

Purposes of School Uniforms

In recent years, the market has mushroomed.  Once a small specialty area, school uniforms have become a national trend, encompassing every child of school age.  Why—a movement in our country believes that sameness among our children will: Decrease peer pressure; control appearance by establishing dress-codes, which would eliminate inappropriate styles (some potentially cult-like); encourage monetary savings; put education before socialization.

Market Diversity

For decades, the market has been catering to more affluent private and parochial schools.  Now, middle class charter schools and public schools have gotten involved.  These are 2 economically diverse philosophies, which split the industry down the middle.   Those who, for years, have been involved in the tightly supervised, quality-controlled, contracted arena, are wary of mass marketing—a less expensive more diversified direct sales approach.  Similarly, those who manufacture more cost effective, less specialized items, have turned away from customized pricey-ness of the past.

Marketing to the Masses

Beth Silver, brand manager of French Toast Uniforms, supports her company’s integrity and focus: “We sell to the big chains—Target, Sears, K-Mart—and to uniform specialty stores, wherever people buy clothing.  We’re accessible, we’re visible.  We’re involved with a $30 million inventory in a micro-market.  We manufacture over 150 items, with 5000 SKU’s (Stock Keeping Units).  We offer high quality garments at affordable prices.

“We mass merchandise direct to parents and to retailers.  We have our website, we are visible to the people we serve, but we do not sell direct.  We learn our market areas, we stock local stores accordingly.  We give the people what they want, just like any other clothing manufacturer.  We started out with only 4 items 10 years ago, and we’ve grown as people have asked for greater diversity.  We speak directly with educators—we poll them—we find out what they want.

“People in the private sector are amazed that we can make reasonably priced garments for less money.  The public school clientele is relieved that there are no custom measurements, no special arrangements to be made 5-7 months before the next school year.  We sell all year round, and our uniforms are continually available.  We’re no longer a seasonal item.

“We have a Partners in Education program where we go into the schools and educate our customers.  Now, they’re saying, ‘Wow!  Purchasing uniforms is exciting and fun,’ instead of the hassle it used to be.  When you empower people to handle their own programs, it becomes easy for them.”

Mass Customization/Selective Merchandising

Steve Royal, head of Royal Park Uniforms, is equally as involved as Beth, but in a different market.  “We cater primarily to the private and parochial schools,” he says.  “The public schools don’t have a uniform code; they have a dress code.  There’s no real continuity there, and for our business, no money to be made.  The difference between the 2 is that a dress code is about colors, items.

“Public schools cannot demand standardized garments because of Constitutional law.  All they can say is, ‘Go buy a white shirt and a pair of tan pants.’  Do you know how many styles and fabrics and colors there are of tan pants?  Then, there’s the label.  A designer-labeled pair of tan pants still out-sparkles a discount-labeled pair of tan pants.  The main point of uniforms is to make everybody equal.  In a private school, everything is the same, everything is specified.  Everything is equal.  There are no labels.”

Lester Reif of Rifle Uniforms agrees. “There’s a tremendous difference between the public and private sectors.  In private, the market is our trading partner.  We plan our business based upon school compliance and standardized garments.  We know what to expect, and how many styles and fabrics to anticipate for the coming year.  In the public sector, there is no compliance, no specific market.  Everything is generic and last minute.”

Steve Royal continues, “We sell to 14,000 –15,000 private institutions a year.  We are able to do this by going through uniform specialty dealers.  Every school has a different color scheme, plaid, and/or style.  We frequently cut just 3 garments per size per color per style at a time.  Rather than issuing mass uniform styles and colors in stock sizes, we only supply a store with particular school items for that designated target area.  We respect the individuality of our customers.

“10-11 years ago, we solely made plaids, but we found people weren’t using our merchandise because we couldn’t provide a complete package to the schools.  So, we added everything, from barrettes and headbands to sweats, shorts, and sox.  We do yarn-dyed vs. less expensive printed plaids; our fabrics are more costly but they wash and wear longer.  People have to decide what’s cheaper in the long run: Our uniforms last for at least 3 years; the lower end garments begin to fade after 10-12 washings.

“Ironically, we owe our increase of business to the public school sector.  When it got involved, dress codes relaxed, and the private sector wanted that for its children, too.  Now, instead of uniforms just a few months a year, sold in the fall, we’re doing business all year round, transitioning and continually providing different accessories to our dealers.”

Room for Both

Barbara Black, president of AA Uniforms, acknowledges both points of view.

“The school uniform business is going Kaboom!  Private schools are quality driven; public schools are price driven. What’s unfortunate is that most consumers don’t recognize that higher price means higher quality.    

“The question is which market different uniform manufacturers want to target, because that’s how they will stay in business.  If a company wants to mass market, it needs to work with the principals of the schools, it needs to find out what it is people want, it needs to figure out how to keep manufacturing garments all year round that are primarily shopped for during August and September.  It needs to figure out what to do with inventory that is only saleable during back-to-school time.

“Department stores and big-box stores will have to figure this out, too.  Once school is in session, very few families go shopping for uniforms the rest of the year, unless it’s for a special situation.  Once the uniforms are purchased, they’re often handed down from sibling to sibling.  School uniforms are very different from seasonal items and fashion trends.

“Customized manufacturers, on the other hand, have to continue to sell in small stores but mass market so that they reach their clientele.  They have to be able to provide all those uniform items the mass marketed manufacturers do, and be able to convince their dealers that the extra cost is worth it.  Manufacturers for the private sector must continue to have contracts with the schools, guaranteeing production and purchasing of garments.  They have to go the extra distance in service through their partnerships with dealers and schools.”

Bottom Line 

Beth, Steve, Lester, Barbara, are all successful school uniform manufacturers.  They’ve done their homework regarding the marketplace and what it takes to stay in business.  What is true is that the lure of the lucrative school uniform business is also involving a lot of folks who don’t understand the pitfalls of the industry: The result is that many businesses, which either specialize in school uniforms or add them as a major part of their lines, fail.

Many of the companies, in order to succeed, are forced to buy goods and manufacture some if not all of their merchandise offshore.  Even Steve Royal, who prides himself in labor compliance outside of the U.S., says that there is no way labor compliance within the ‘States can be competitive.  The cost of living is simply too high.

If dealers and manufacturers aren’t prepared for enormous inventory outlays, (replenished by consumer purchases only a few months during the year), their businesses are lost.  If dealers don’t understand the challenges of properly measuring, fitting, planning for potential growth spurts, expectations for store inventory will be incorrect, customers will be ultimately unhappy, overheads will soar. 

Planning begins in December of the previous school year.  Projections are made on previous years’ sales.  Contracts with the schools need to be in place.  Orders begin in early February.  Measuring takes place in April and May.  June-July is high anxiety delivery; August is purchasing. 

During August, a manufacturer has to have at least half again as much inventory in stock for unexpected orders and/or, mis-calculated sizing.  For the most part, once September has passed, the industry is dormant.  So is income.

Few dealers are experienced with today’s “soccer moms.”  These are the tough, independent, demanding, educated, consumer-savvy women who are strong advocates for their kids, have answers for everything.  Once they’re alienated, a shop can go out of business; without the art, know-how, and finesse of handling this particular group, an entire school contract can be lost.

There is only so much business to go around.  Even with an ever-expanding marketplace, the more savvy manufacturers and dealers will survive, the majority of them won’t.  It will be interesting to observe how the bigger department stores handle uniforms as they become increasingly aware of all of the above.  It will be equally as interesting to observe how the private and public school markets will benefit and learn from one another.  At present, each is giving the other a run for the money. 

  

Legal Mandate for School Uniforms: Made to Measure Magazine

Passing a federal law to enforce a national wearing of school uniforms is a violation of the First Amendment.  While it would be an economic landslide for the uniform business, it would also deny all students freedom of choice and practical learning experience in matters of clothing.  Parents who are ineffective in earning respect from their children, seek to command them by law.

George Orwell, in his classic satire 1984; Sinclair Lewis in his novel Babbitt; Ayn  Rand in her opus, Atlas Shrugged; addressed such conformity (in those days, it was called Communism), and during the Cold War, our uniquely free American society repulsed at such symbolic acts of eliminating one’s individual identity.  Mandating, rather than choosing to be in uniform is a hideous repugnance to anyone who values his/her individuality; who values pride in his/her own presence and sense of personal taste.

Our clothing helps us to define who we are, for better or worse.  To legally deny usour physical and visual presence, is to deny us part of our unique selves.  To think that such a law might be conceived, might pass, is a commentary on how low our >once intellectually spirited framework of education has sunk; how fearful we as a society have become.  Imagine the mediocre minds, which would think that a Band-Aid for our ailing set of cultural priorities and ethics--school uniforms--would actually eliminate our society’s ills.  Rather, it would merely further hide and deny them.

Our country has survived and upheld its freedoms for over 200 years without such constraints and meltdowns of the masses.  We as a nation have always prided ourselves, albeit sometimes hypocritically, in our diversities and our courage in the face of challenge.  What a pity, as we end this century, that we have become so fearful of controlling our own free-spirited images that we seek to hide ourselves away, instead.

Deaf Capitalizing on Cultural Pride: Editorial for National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Broadcaster

catwalker/shutterstock.com

America's Deaf community adopted a capital "D" to promote self-respect.  Tired of the old image that deaf people are disabled, the silent culture has come up with its own powerful identity, insisting that "Deaf" begin with a capital "D."

"A basic rule of English grammar is that all proper nouns are capitalized.  That's any specific person, place, thing, or idea--including Deaf life," said Mary Elstad, former teacher at the Colorado School for Deaf & Blind.

Tom Willard, editor for "Silent News," a national Deaf newspaper wrote, "When 'deaf' is not capitalized, it generally refers to...a physical disability. When it is capitalized, it denotes deafness as a cultural trait...as Hispanic or Russian is capitalized."

A person can be one, the other, or both.  The first is circumstance; the second is commitment.

It has become evident that Deaf people have pride in their own way of life. Popularity of the National Theater of the Deaf; Gallaudet University students choosing their own Deaf president; increased demand for use of American Sign Language; closed captioning of films and television programs; these are strong indicators of a thriving culture.

Mourene Tesler, executive director of Denver's Center on Deafness and activist for the Deaf said, "We think of Jews and Japanese--not jews and japanese--as peoples with their own languages, TV programs, theaters, newspapers, and schools.  They have their own styles, senses of humor, behaviors.  They are separate cultures existing within the mainstream.  The Deaf world is no different, and expects the same recognition."