Advantages Of School Uniforms

parents with low income wages to continue paying for them every year. If students did not have

Uniforms have been used for centuries for things like sports, military affairs, and to help identify someone that is affiliated with a group or an organization. One place they should not be used is in public schools. In this day in age uniforms are still being argued and could still appear is school around the country causing problems. When I was in middle school I had uniforms for about four years and it made me hate school even more. None of the benefits that administration said we would get from uniforms ever materialized. They said it would put an end to bullying and we would still have some kind of freedom when it came to picking accessories. The uniforms were costly for my parents and as a student it made it hard for me to express myself. With that being said middle school students should not be required to wear school uniforms.

An educational institution was not intended to be a platform for students to parade fashion, wealth or privilege. Too often, kids are preoccupied and obsessed about popularity, social standings, and how they can fit in. How children dress themselves often separates the haves from the have-nots. Households that are struggling to make ends meet are not financially able to keep up with fashion trends and can be targeted for bullying. When peers are dressed in uniforms, the social class distinction becomes much less obvious, prejudice and discrimination will lessen; which ultimately create a less hostile environment. As a result, school uniforms will compel students to spend their time expressing themselves through other channels; such as art, music, sports, and academic achievement.

Hi-Line Online speaks of how administrators and parents believe uniforms eliminates bullying, but in its place there is a concern that students cannot find their own sense of style. In this case this can hinder how a student feels outside of uniforms. They begin to be used to ‘fitting in’ with everyone else around them, so when they try to explore outside of uniforms, it can be very difficult. The society we live in today allows this freedom, wearing whatever

uniforms will not end all confrontation between the student, it will only change the reason for it.

Some people also argue that mandatory uniforms could be considered a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution, located in the Bill of Rights (Hudson). People argue this because they feel that uniforms limit self expression, which is a coveted right by most people outside of America. “I’ll tell you; we’re proposing that everyone can only get along if everyone conforms to the same standards. It’s not a healthy lesson. The message should be conflict resolution no matter the physical appearance. In the real world, people do not all look the same” (Hoofnagle). Uniforms will not prepare a child for the future. They will make a rougher future for most children because they will not understand that people have the right to be unique, diverse, and to express their individuality.

In 1994, the school district of Long Beach California was one of the first to enforce school uniforms in the grades Kindergarten through 8th, and crime rates in the district dropped 22% soon after. School attendance also improved after the uniforms were introduced. Although this one statistic shows there are positive outcomes from school uniforms, there is one question that remains: Do school uniforms help or harm the students and environment at school? The controversy among this topic is that some people believe that uniforms improve the way kids act in class, however, others believe that school uniforms make their behavior worse. Another thing that certain people don’t like about uniforms is that they are very costly. A woman in Indianapolis was interviewed and said that she has five kids that all need uniforms, and with all the costs combined she had to pay almost $700. She found it was an outrage because she has a son who was a senior at the time and she had to pay for his uniforms as well. Even though she believed that uniforms are not an advantage, other people have the belief that uniforms have a positive outcome. In fact, some people think that the students’ behavior becomes subsequently better in the classroom setting; this is proven in the Long Beach study. There is also proof that school uniforms save people lots of money. This is because parents in one

School uniforms and dress codes are becoming a popular trend among schools. Most Students and some parents don’t agree with the enforcement with school uniforms, saying that uniforms are taking away self-expression in schools. But, school uniforms are not a negative thing to have. Yes, uniforms and some very strict dress codes limit what the students have to choose to wear to school every day, but it doesn’t limit them from learning which is the main reason they are in school. Some students treat school as a fashion show, so eliminating the size of wardrobe shifts the attention toward their school work. Although requiring students to wear school uniforms may violate their self-expression in some ways, a uniform is supposed to be looked

School uniforms are designed and chosen to be similar throughout for each and every student thus promoting equality. The idea is rooted on a principle that every student should dress in a similar fashion as his or her schoolmates. It means that every student will have the same all-round look for the duration spent in school. A school is expected to comprise of diverse variety of students population variety. This means there are disparities in the social and economic history of each students. A school

Opponents think that when children select their own clothing, they can develop confidence and independence, vital characteristics through the personality development and adult success. Controlling extremely the socialization process of students will harm them as an adult, because they will not be prepared for the real world, indeed by their appearances. In addition, opponents argue that when students are limited about what they are going to wear, they will find other ways to offend the authority. Without a way out of expression in their clothes, they will turn out to other inappropriate alternatives of self-expression, such as nontraditional hair styles or make-up, or the worst revolting against school authorities and parents by the way they behave and act. It is obvious that children, especially those in middle and high school, are constantly concerned about their appearance that way, wearing a school uniform will minimize this concern. They also believe schools can help students avoid clothing that contains slogans, short or tight clothing; while giving them

Seeing students wear uniforms in school may seem either too strict or too traditional, but when one figures out, and understand, the reason why for this formality, more will see the advantage of wearing school uniforms. Some may feel that uniforms should not be required in schools because they think it’s a waste of money, students don’t want to be told what to wear, or because they don’t want to look the same like everyone else at school. However, uniforms are much less expensive than the clothing brands that students wear, so parents are saving more money. Students also need to understand that they can’t always get what they want, they need to realize that not everything is going to be their way. Students don’t want to wear the same clothing like others because they want to stand out, but this can create conflict at school because the students will begin to judge each other by what they wear, and if everyone wears uniforms we would be avoiding these types of conflicts.

It is a belief that school uniforms teach students to respect their learning environment and behave themselves, and, therefore improving discipline. However, that assumption isn’t entirely correct. Researchers have actually found that school uniforms don’t make students better behaved. According to a study of more than 4,500 students, those who wore a school uniform did not have fewer behavior problems or better attendance. Forcing students to wear uniforms lead to more problems and misbehavior instead of encouraging discipline. Students could get into trouble if they did not wear their uniforms correctly. Many kids in today’s society cannot stand the thought of someone telling them what to do, especially what to wear. Instead of encouraging respect, uniforms may cause rebellions. For example, in 2009, a group of students at John A. Ferguson Senior High School rebelled against their school uniforms. Instead of following their school uniform requirements, the students wore what they thought would be a better school uniform to school. Not only uniforms don’t earn schools the respect from its students, but it may also lead to more problems.

A. Thesis Statement- Wearing school uniforms in public schools has numberless amounts of positive benefits both at school and at home.

School uniforms help maintain a sense of equality amongst the students. They help rid any socioeconomic barriers that may be causing certain students, or groups of students, to be alienated from the rest of the student body (Wilde). In other words, the financial status of a student’s parents no longer matters. Parents “are no longer pressured to buy the latest fashions, and they spend less on their children's clothing” (Isaacson). They no longer feel obligated to keep their children up to date with the latest fashion trends. Due to this, students are less prone to form cliques, which only lead to the alienation of students ("School Uniforms.") At the same time, students no longer feel inferior or superior to other students. No longer do students respect each other on the basis of how stylish they look. Their clothes do not gauge how popular they are in the school. Instead, uniforms force people to look at each

School Uniforms are being pushed more and more in schools, but what is commonly thought of when the words “school uniform” is said? For most people the picture of children in the same colored uniforms gathered in front of a Catholic Church or a private school is displayed in their mind. This picture is one of the many problems with school uniforms. Instead of being seen as an individual, students are seen as just another kid in a uniform attending a fancy private school. The students cannot develop the self-expression that is crucial to their development at this age. Uniforms are thought to create a more protected campus and learning environment, however, if someone wants to bully someone else, clothes are not going to stop them. The cost, which is usually seen as a pro, can actually be more than people anticipate. As one can see, in the best interest of any student, school uniforms should not be made part of the dress code.