My son is in third grade and the school just implemented mandatory uniforms. The uniforms cost a fortune, especially because kids grow fast and you have to keep buying them every season. Some parents in the WhatsApp group say it's unnecessary, that kids used to go without uniforms before and nothing bad happened. What do you guys think - does it really change anything in behavior or academic performance?
The impact on academic performance is minimal, what changes more is the social dynamic within the school because you reduce the visible economic differences between kids. The expense thing is valid, especially with rapid growth at that age, but check if some uniforms last more than one season if you don't ask for a new one every time he grows a size. What I'd look at is whether the school has some kind of used uniform sale policy among parents or if they allow alterations instead of buying a whole new one when the kid almost fits into the one he already has, that helps save quite a bit.
It's not as black and white as "it works or it doesn't" - uniforms probably won't transform your son's academic performance, but they're not pure pointless spending either. The real argument isn't so much about changing behavior (that's more of a myth), but that they reduce visible inequality in the classroom, simplify mornings without having to pick out clothes every day, and some parents value that more than the cost.
That said, your complaint about the money is legitimate. The prices schools charge for uniforms tend to be inflated, and with kids growing every semester it ends up being a pretty annoying recurring expense. If most parents in your group feel the same way, maybe it's worth putting in a collective complaint to the administration - there are places where they negotiate more reasonable prices or let you buy from other suppliers. What you shouldn't fall into is the idea that without uniforms everything falls apart; it's not magic either.
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