Dress Codes In Schools Essay

The debate over school uniforms and dress codes has been going on for years and is still widely debated and talked about in the education system. Each side of the argument has many supporters. There are many pros and cons to each side so it is hard to really know what the right choice is. In Three Cups of Tea written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin education is the main focus of the book. Although most of the book takes place half way across the world many topics are relevant to the school systems today in America. In the book the girls received, “crisp new school uniforms neatly folded inside its cellophane wrapper” and they are completely overjoyed to hold their first

Dress codes are not helping schools like they are meant to do; they are actually harming students in the school. Dress codes shame students and make them insecure about their bodies. They also disrupt precious class time that is vital to students. Buying clothes to fit the school dress code is costlier than some families can afford. Not only are dress codes stifling, but they are also unfair toward specific body types and different genders. Dress codes also decrease a student’s ability to be different from all of their peers in the way they dress. Schools should not have dress codes because they are sexist, unfair and disrupt class time.

To some, arguing over student dress code seems trivial and useless. To others, it goes deeper than that. Dress code might seem like the typical “first world problem”, but to the average high school student, gaining the freedom ‘no dress code’ grants is incredible. The fact of the matter is, the rigid enforcement of student dress code has gone too far in today 's society and dehumanizes us as citizens. Although school dress code attempts to promote modesty and protection, it also reinforces gender inequality, smothers individualism, is unconstitutional, and should not be enforced in public schools.

Young girls across the world are constantly being sexualized and told to cover up their bodies. Girls starting from middle school through high school are told to meet ridiculous standards that are required to be appropriate to attend public school. Girls who are forced to change or go home based on these absurd demands are being told that putting their education on pause, is more important that being comfortable in their clothes they are wearing. A boys wears a shirt to school with a bikini model on it, and nothing is said. A girl wears a tanktop on a 90 degree day, and she is pulled out of class. Standards like this are interrupting the education of many young women across the world, and they need to be stopped. Ruining self esteem for

High school is a vital time in a child’s life to discover who they are as an individual; expressing themselves through clothes is part of this process. If a student is required to wear a uniform everyday, that would create a lack of self expression. The First Amendment states that every human being in the United States is entitled to express themselves (Anderson). When students are forced to wear

In society we are able to express ourselves by what we wear, but that is not true for students who have school uniform policies. Students have freedom of expression, let them use it. Schools are too strict on kids, and are creating more problems for themselves than they can handle. In an article from greatschools.org, a student was suspended for violating a school uniform policy; however, he was protected from the courts. The student wore an “anti-Bush political statement shirt”, and suspended from school for violating the school dress code. However, the courts disagreed with the school acquisition. The student’s shirt depicted Bush surrounded by drugs and alcohol, causing the school to suspend him. The student should not have been suspended for freedom of expression. The shirt was

America, the “land of the free, and home of the brave.” Unfortunately, this doesn 't mean “land of the free to wear whatever one desires.” In fact, school dress codes are taking away American students’ self expression, infringing on their freedom of speech, and enforcing sexist discrimination all over the country. A recent case, that occurred at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York, blatantly displays the negative effects dress codes are having on students, especially females. In the first couple of days of the semester, this high school managed to give 200 detentions to students for violating the dress code. Ironically enough, 90 percent of these students were girls (Swafford). The discouraging part is that schools are easily able to get away with this kind of discrimination. This is made possible by state laws that give school boards the power to enforce whatever dress codes they think are necessary to promote a distraction free learning environment, maintain discipline, and to push students to dress similarly in order to create a uniformity in the schools (“School Dress Codes”). The purpose of dress codes may be to create a distraction free learning environment; in reality, however, they produce an environment where students feel discriminated against and aren 't free to express themselves.

In this day, children can often feel as though they are at a loss of ways to express themselves. With the heavy burden of societal standards, clothes are one of the only “acceptable” ways students have left to express themselves with. The biggest and most relevant example of this today is Transgender and LGBT students, or those who identify with a different gender than the one they were legally born into. As said in The Movement Against Sexist and Discriminatory School Dress Codes, “Meanwhile, gender nonconforming and transgender students have also clashed with such policies on the grounds that they rigidly dictate how kids express their identities. Transgender students have been sent home for wearing clothing different than what's expected of their legal sex.” This said, they way one dresses can extremely affect

The controversy about dress codes asks an important question: are dress codes targeting girls and transgender students? Several sites including:https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/table-talk/what's-fair-and-unfair-about-student-dress-codes, stated that when they spoke to girls they said they feel shamed and judged by dress codes. Are dress codes limiting students creativity. Should these girls really feel harassed men and boys at their school?

Ensuing President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in January of 1996, more and more public schools are implementing dress codes and uniform policies in their schools. As a result, there has been an increase in legal controversies dealing with the issue. The reason that dress codes are not conclusively enforced is due to the application of the First Amendment to juveniles in the public school setting. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Should children in public

Dress codes is a standard of clothing for school, office, club, or restaurant. Schools have dress codes to promote professionalism and a distraction-free learning environment. More standards of dressings are set in place for girls than males. This causes an unequal amount of bias towards women and sexism to occur in the dress code.

School dress codes send a loud and clear message, “Your individuality is inconvenient.” (Rowland 22). The constitution guarantees the right to free speech,which can be interpreted as the right to freedom of self expression, and students use clothing to express themselves. Another message that dress codes send is that “the self identity that you want to express does not belong here.” Self expression is not an inconvenience or a distraction, it is the lifeblood of our nation. (Rowland 22). Schools tell students that they should be confident in themselves, but how can they if they cannot express themselves? School dress codes now are more about shielding the boys then protecting the girls which implies that boys are immature. Calling a girl’s clothes distracting is implying that she is at fault for any disruptions. “That 's like saying that because a store has a cash register, it 's the store 's fault if it gets robbed!” (Menza 1). Students are going to be distracted anyways. Sexist dress codes are like saying that an article of clothing, or a body part showing on a female will distract male students from learning. Dress codes should be simple for both genders, everyone should wear clothing that covers up the same area. With dress codes, students are forced to dress the same as other students, taking the individuality out of school, but schools try to send the message, you are individual. Figure 1 shows a strict dress codes for both students and

School's rule some clothes as too distracting or inappropriate because they believe some clothing items are too short or goes too low for example. There are only dress codes because they want to "promote a safe, disciplined school environment, prevent interference with schoolwork and discipline, and to encourage uniformity of student dress "according to https:education.findlaw.com. What they don't realize is we don't need rules for that. Dress code at school is a violation of not only American rights but human rights. I believe that everyone has a right to dress how they wish unless if they are in a serious or business matter. There should not be dress codes at school because it violates rights. Dress codes are mainly sexist, and it put stress on teachers. "A dress code is a set of rules, usually written and posted, specifying the required manner of dress at a school, office, club,

In the constantly evolving 21st century and the age of new and modern ideals, the world is continuously reshaping and progressive movements are becoming increasingly more mainstream. One of the most immense ideas the nation is facing is equality for all. Whether male or female, gay or straight, black or white, individuals all deserve to be equal and to be able to profess their beliefs in a secure way. Unfortunately, from experience, a myriad of people know that society has not reached equality and that there is still a lengthy route to get there. One of the toughest challenges is that since childhood, kids have been taught and instilled in their minds that they are different and that it is okay to generalize girls in one category and boys in another. The biggest way this is put into children's minds is through the dress codes that are mandatory from age 5 until graduation day. And while dressing appropriately for school is vital to an effective education, it is also important that kids get to convey themselves through their clothing. Because of their need for expression, many kids are revolting against the education system until they are able to wear

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?