Clothes at School Essay

Society is made up of different body types and uniforms are just that, uniform. Wearing something that does not fit right is extremely uncomfortable and distracting. If a student sitting in the classroom is trying to pay attention to a lesson, but has to constantly adjust their clothing in a worthless attempt to get comfortable, this can be extremely disruptive to the class as a whole because the teacher has to periodically remind the student to stop fidgeting and pay attention. The drawing of this attention to the student and their clothing can be detrimental to their self-confidence, and make them a target for other students to make fun of them. “The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes uniforms on the grounds that they violate students’ rights to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.” (“School Uniforms”). How a student dresses will not directly improve their grades, and making them wear a uniform will curb their expression of individuality. Having to alter a uniform to fit body type can get extremely expensive.

Ever since,Tinker vs. Des Moines in 1969 there has been a debate about students can and cannot wear to school. This Tinker vs. Des Moines Supreme Court Case also along the way within the debate brought in the school uniforms. Three young students wore black armbands to school to protest the fighting in Vietnam. Teachers told the students to take the armbands off the students refused to take off the armbands. As a result, the students were suspended. The parents held a meeting at one of the student’s who were suspended. The parents decided to take this case to the District Court. However, the District Court dismissed the complaint that it was constitutionally wrong ,but the Supreme Court disagreed with a ruling of Seven to two. From then on

Facts of the Case: In 1965, three Des Moines, Iowa students decided to wear black armbands on their arms in protest of the United States government involvement in the Vietnam War. The students wore their armbands until the New Year. The school found out about the protest and stated that any student who wore the armbands would be suspended from school until they came back to school without the armbands. The three students were then suspended until January 1, 1966 (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969).

Tinker v. Des Moines Schools took place in 1969. The historical significance of the Supreme Court’s decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Schools is that the case detailed the rights of students attending public schools. The case originated when five children, four of which were Tinker children and one a friend of the children, wanted to wear black armband to protest the Vietnam War at their school. The administrators on the Des Moines School Board created a policy that required the students to remove the armbands or they would be punished. Three of the five children were suspended from school. In District Court, the court ruled that the Des Moines School Board were justified in their actions.

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, a group of high school students in Des Moines, Iowa wanted to show their opposition to the deployment of U.S. troops in Vietnam, and decided to wear black armbands during the holiday season. The school system found out about the student’s plan to wear black armbands, so the principals of the Des Moines schools adopted a policy that required students to remove the armbands or be suspended until the student would return to school without the band. Several students, including John Tinker, wore armbands and were suspended from school. As told by the United States Courts, the parents of the suspended students sued the school district because they believed the school district violated the students rights to free speech. The parents lost in the Court of Appeals, and went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the students on February 24, 1969, because, “Students don’t shed their constitutional rights at the school gates.” (United States Courts)

In the Tinker V. Des Moines Independent community school district case students were involved in a silent protest against the Vietnam war. The school tried to prevent the students from protesting by telling them that if they wore their black armbands they would be suspended until they agreed to take them off. The U.S. District Court sided with the school saying that the bands could disrupt the children from their work. The students appealed the case to the Court of Appeals but lost. They then took their case to the Supreme Court (Tinker V. Des Moines Independent School District).

People say you are what you wear. Well, uniforms are expensive and are a violation of human rights, even though it’s professional and sober clothing, they don’t allow students to express who they are, so how are they supposed to be what they wear? People say it prevents bullying, but bullying can happen without uniform. School uniform promotes conformity over individuality. They are difficult to enforce in public schools. It is more money to pay for uniforms and normal clothes outside of school. There really isn’t a uniform in real life like working if you work as a janitor at a school it doesn’t matter what you wear it matters that you get the job done.

School uniforms do not allow students to express themselves through their clothes. They take away the freedom of expression (the first amendment). The 1970 case Richards vs. Thurston was about a boy

Uniforms have been around for centuries, from back in the day when women had to wear dresses or skirts and men had to wear pants. To now where students and employees have to wear certain pieces of clothing. People dress to express themselves, schools tell their students to be who they are and to be proud; however, when the student tries to do so they are sent home or held in the office which not only takes away their rights to express themselves, but takes them out of class. According to Friedrichs, “A shocking number of students are actually sent home or suspended for breaking dress code, which means even more time out of class.” A school's job is to prepare children for their futures, that can be quite hard when the student is not there to learn. Dress codes can be overwhelming to maintain. A student's wardrobe isn’t going to be full of polos and khakis because they most likely do not wear polos and khakis outside of school. Dress code should not be as strict, hoodies should be allowed, tank tops should be

First, school uniforms take away the students freedom of expression. The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees that all individuals have the right to express themselves freely. This points out, that by making everyone wear the same clothes, it takes away expressing who they are. Your clothes say a lot about who you are as a person and what personality you have and when you take that away, you take away the chance to express yourself.

The ringing of the alarm clock that is placed conveniently beside your bed wakes you. The sound startles your brain into getting out of your warm, cozy bed. It is time to go to school. You must wake up now in order to make it on time. If you are late again, your teacher will probably give you that nasty look of dismissal. What are you going to wear?

Today, many schools around the world enforce uniforms, requiring students to wear specific clothing. School uniforms, which was first established in 16th century England, are a topic of much debate in the public school system of the United States. Many people feel that uniforms reduce competition among students and bring a sense of unity in school. People who are against school uniforms think that they prevent students from expressing themselves and inhibits creativity. Many students dislike school uniforms because uniforms can be viewed as a violation of their rights, while others benefit from uniforms because it relieves the stress of picking what to wear to school. Although school uniforms do have its benefits, they also limit

It makes students a target for bullies from other schools. Generally, dress codes are much less restrictive than uniform policies. School uniforms restrict students’

The first major reason for not wearing school uniforms is, it forces a student to conceal his or her individuality. To many people, it appears that the school system is trying to strip away this individuality on purpose, but now is the time that the school should be embracing it and helping the student become the person they are meant to become. “According to opponents of uniforms, even preschoolers should have input into their wardrobe, and the need to encourage personality, confidence, and independence grows more important as the student becomes older” (Chen). Because of this lack of self-expression, students feel their first amendment is being violated and most people would agree, which causes the school to look bad. Another way of looking at it is they are forcing students to become on mold, or one certain way of being. However, the problem with making them one is, no matter how they look they will still have their own individual personality traits that will come out in the end. If forced to wear the uniforms, many students would express these traits by adding things to their uniform such as brightly colored gems for girls and different

Jahn’s best source comes in the form of legal support of freedom of speech in past cases. However, the Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of school uniforms. Instead, it lets the states decide if there is a need for uniforms or not. Jahn points