In the 1950s schools set very strict rules as to requirements that instilled institutional pride: they dictated uniforms, shoes, haircuts, books, and such. This was fine then because WWII had just ended and the world was rehabilitating its ego.

I observe that schools are still blindly doing the same thing today, in the 2000s, only because they'd become used to doing so and mostly for photo-ops and for show, without realizing that the money that parents uselessly spend on "uniformity" upsets their budget and knocks off, among others, the quality of the food that they eat, among other things they could financially enjoy. Schools have become so concerned with fulfilling their "mission-vision"--the greatest abstraction ever invented by education--without bothering to listen to the needs of their students and their parents--who are the very people who are paying their salaries in the first place.

Besides, that kind of "discipline" inflicted by schools doesn't work at all. After six decades, it seems that everyone graduates to become corrupt as a form of rebellion and vengeance against their school administrations.

Especially in this era, an era of increasing individuality.