Why is change good?

This post is not about school uniforms, though it may initially appear to be so.

An ex-colleague, Chris Binge, has written that there is no inherent advantage in either having or not having a uniform. It just doesn’t make a difference to behaviour, work rate, standards, relationships etc.  And this is not surprising – we know there are superb and terrible schools with uniforms, and also superb and terrible schools without uniforms.  Binge goes on to examine a more subtle and interesting question – what about the process of dropping or the process of adopting a uniform?  He argues ­there is often a significant advantage in making a change. Schools without uniforms can often improve by adopting one. Schools with uniforms, similarly improve by getting rid of it. The argument is an intriguing one – that the reassessment of school life imposed by either [change] is positive…not changing prevents challenging accepted assumptions. Change means you have to rethink and so your thinking can move forward.

I very much agree the idea of re-examining our assumptions, and so in one sense this argument appeals to me very much.  Schools, with their very predictable annual cycles, can be in danger of doing things simply because they were done previously –  and never re-evaluating.  This can only lead to stagnation.

But it would be very easy to miss Binge’s real point – it’s not changing the (observable) uniform that really makes a difference; the difference will come from to using uniform as a vehicle to reconsider fundamental and unobservable aspects – the deep-seated views we have of institutions, students and of uniformity itself.  Does uniformity support equality, or does it stifle individuality?  Does it help students feel part of a community or encourage them to become just another cog in the machine?   And a moment’s consideration of these difficult matters raises a whole host of related ones – is it different for different ages? Cultures? Genders?  Do parents, students, teachers see the the same thing here? Do they value the same things?  Discussions around these topics – with all the disagreements and differences that are bound to arise – are what make a school a community with shared understandings, and are some of the most valuable things school leaders can promote.

So I agree with Binge that starting to ask these questions is an excellent habit.  I might disagree with him that you actually need to implement a change to start the discussion; it has to be an open possibility that your initial assumptions were correct, and the end of the process might be to affirm the status quo.  But he is right in the willingness to confront the usual routines in order to avoid complacency.