Do School Uniforms Keep Students Safe?

Abby Kessler Mr. Haun English 10 CP 27 January 2015 Pros and Cons of School Uniforms 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

District 230 should not mandate a school uniform policy because of the following: school uniforms go against our rights, raise questions of equality, and they rely on anti-democratic principles. (MP1)To start, school uniforms go against rights in the first amendment like: freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. (EV)Robson states

Composition 101 16 September 2012 Should Students Have to Wear Uniforms We are living in the 21st century which technology and fashion are designed for the young people, especially students. They want to use and wear something new, modern and style. Most of the students need to wear whatever they want to school to show other people. The school should have a policy for students to wear a uniform. School is an education center; it is not a fashion show place. All students should wear uniform at school. When students wear uniform the school develops a disciplined climate, the students feel equal in spite of the fact that some people say that student should not wear uniforms because lose important freedoms.

With gang activity, strict dress codes, and bullying becoming more relevant, the idea of school uniforms crosses the mind of many school districts across the country. Even though it may stop students from expressing themselves it would make it easier for staff members to enforce these strict dress codes, reduce the amount of bullying, and overall make schools easier. Which is why schools should have uniforms.

“If it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms” This statement from Bill Clinton was what started a movement toward using uniforms in-state school in the United States in 1996. Since then school uniforms have become a common thing in the school system in the United States. There is no doubt that school uniforms can lead to loss of students’ rights to express themselves and that school uniforms will not generally stop bullying even though they might increase student’s safety.

Reports from The Journal of Educational Research reflect the belief that school uniforms have no direct effect on substance use, behavioral problems or attendance issues after analyzing data from the National Educational Longitudinal study of 1988. (Brunsma & Rockquemore, 2001, p 92) The authors of the article go on to make a bold claim that contrary to current discourse there may be a negative effect of school uniforms on student academic achievement. This research revelation was considered breaking news in its day of discovery.

rms”). This shows that school uniforms have gotten more widespread over the years. School uniforms are taking away students freedom of speech. First of all, school uniforms are restricting students right to express themselves. Experts believe, “American civil liberties union (ACLU), have argued that mandatory uniform policies violate student's right to free speech, which is protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” Students should have the right to free speech. According to the author, Tamar Lewin, he conveys that ”The Supreme Court's Tinker decision firmly established that students have a constitutional right to express when they are at school so long as the speech is not disruptive and does not interfere with the rights

One of the touchiest subjects of public schools would be about if they should enforce school uniforms, or should they just enforce a dress code? This subject has many different views, and plenty of good pros and cons on the matter. In our personal belief, we think that schools should only enforce dress codes, and stay away from assigning specific uniforms. Obviously everyone has their own view on this, we are going to give you some insight on how dress codes could do more harm on public schools than good.

Another benefit of uniforms is that they make the school is safer. In recent events there has been school shootings. Keeping weapons out of school is a huge safety concern. One positive effect of school uniforms is that it can prevent school shootings. To increase school safety, school uniforms identify who belongs on campus and who doesn’t as well as preventing gang “colors” from corrupting schools. Some people might think it focuses on the idea that requiring a uniform violates children's individual rights. Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have voiced concerns about the cost of uniforms, specifically that some disadvantaged parents are unable to afford them. It’s better to have an enhanced learning environment, without bullying and

Uniform Debate: Why Uniforms Should Not Be Allowed Should uniforms be allowed in schools? This is the heated debate that has no sign of stopping. There is a lot of evidence for each side with different points of views from the teachers to the kids to a developmental psychologist, but I’m going to talk about my side of this debate. This is my report on why uniforms should not be allowed in public schools. Uniforms should not be allowed in public schools because the cost of uniforms can cause serious financial problems, kids can’t express themselves, and it doesn’t affect their learning ability, growth, or their motivation toward school.

According to today.com, in the 2009 to 2010 school year, 19% of public school principals reported requiring uniforms. That was 5% more than a decade earlier. But are school uniforms really doing what they are intended for? Some people say that school uniforms are helping students, but a lot of people also say that uniforms either don’t help students or are harming their education. This essay will follow the latter opinion in trying to convince you that school uniforms should not be required by public schools.

School uniforms are a way to promote conformity over individuality. “Compelled conformity to the conventional standards of appearance does not seem a justifiable part of the education process.” - Richards vs. Thurston

School uniforms should definitely be used in school systems. Uniforms are both good for schools as well as for the students. Wearing uniforms will help build a sense of unity within the school. Instead of everyone as a separate team, everyone will be in the same team. Wearing uniforms will help free students of the stress of what to wear in the morning. Wearing school uniforms will help improve student individuality and improve their self-esteem.

It has been observed that the adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school uniforms include decreasing violence and theft.

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