A short polemic against school uniforms.

You might think it an odd topic - and possibly a marginal one - but I have several things to say on the subject of secondary education. Every year, hundreds of thousands of primary school children are shipped off to their new state indoctrination centres to learn single, national accounts of history - in other words, they're taught to be able to justify things Britain has done in its past.

In primary school, the uniforms are usually incredibly twee and cute - crisp cotton shirts with large collars, woollen or cotton jumpers with the school emblem emblazonded on the breast, and, invariably, neat black trousers and clunky leather shoes (my trousers invariably had holes in them around where my knees would sit).

In secondary school, the uniforms are often more casual - I never wore a school jumper or a blazer; I'd usually trade it for a jumper, a plain hoody or a rain coat. Also, black trainers (or white ones for the next generation of thugs) are usually the choice footwear of today's children.

I haven't got to my point yet and I don't intend to labour it, but my point is this: why should school children have to wear uniforms? In my view, they shouldn't. School uniforms encourage children to look and act the same - they're already encouraged to think the same.

Certain subjects are essential: English grammar should be taught in English classes, maths should be taught proficiently, and so should science. English literature is also important - as is History - but I think it's second to the former subjects. The most important faculty any child should possess, though, is the ability to think critically; it's not enough to be able to read words on a page and understand, roughly, a given point or argument - children should be able to scrutinise rigorously what they read.

So, should children wear uniforms? No. Uniforms encourage uniformity - go figure! - and homogenisation. Individuality should be the only message inculcated into children. We need a next generation of adolescents capable of critical thinking who can detect and scrutinise the mistakes of their elders. It seems our educational system is failing. Perhaps it's time parents took the initiative. Is this or is this not a democracy?