Persistence in Public Schools Stacie Dunn, mother of Stephanie, dropped her student off at Woodford High School and was called later that day by the principal during her job to address her daughter’s dress code violation, showing of the collar bones, and be told that her daughter, Stephanie, needed a new top. Stacie brought in a scarf for her daughter, which completely covered her chest, but that wasn’t the end to Stacie Dunn’s interruptions from her job. Stacie Dunn was called once again and told that Stephanie’s outfit was still violating dress code and that she was being sent home for “giving the principal attitude.” Dunn since has started a petition that has over four thousand signatures fighting to change the dress code (Bologna). School uniforms could have prevented this incident and the petition. School uniforms would prevent the many calls the office has to make throughout the day to parents and many of the guidelines for the dress code would be abolished; therefore, students would have much less distraction of their productive learning time. Doris Jo Murphy, EdD, former Director of Field Experiences at the University of North Texas College of Education stated that dealing with dress code violations took up a lot of his time and school uniforms would wipe out the amount of time students were in the office for not meeting …show more content…
Uniforms will help prevent students from bullying each other for the apparel they wear and their personal opinion of what is trendy. Finally, uniforms will help parents with financial problems not have to buy so many outfit’s for their child at the beginning of the school year. Public school uniforms are all around better for parents and
In 1987, a public school in Baltimore, Maryland became the first to instill a school uniform policy in the United States. This idea of all students dressing alike spread throughout the country, and by 1994 a school district in Long Beach, CA became the first to require a whole school district to wear school uniforms (Background of the Issue - School Uniforms - ProCon.org). Today, an average of 23% of public and private schools enforce a school uniform system (School Uniform Statistics). But this change in dress code policy did not come about without controversy. Although some will argue uniforms promote safety, focus, and an even playing field in schools, school uniform policies oppress student’s freedom of expression, advocate for conformity, and cause more problems than they fix.
School uniforms are also a financial burden for the families who earn very little money. School violence may still happen if they had school uniforms or not, students may be discouraged to, but if they have strong enough feelings they will not adhere to the rules anyway. Students do not all feel like they belong just because of the school uniforms, they feel like they belong because of the people and community around them, not the things they wear. If you had a uniform, you would be missing out on a valuable life skill, dressing. You need the ability to dress because you will use it a lot when you are finally out of
First, school uniforms would enhance school pride, unity, and community spirit by making everyone feel like they belong and fit in with their school. Throughout the school, teachers would increase their level of caring, respect, and trust of students. Additionally students would feel important and as if they are a part of a team by wearing a uniform.
Picture being able to wake up in morning, roll out of bed, put on your black polo along with your plaid skirt or khaki pants and head off to school. Not only would you be able to do this but all your classmates would be too. This is the simplicity that can be found with the ever growing trend of uniforms at school. Uniforms are seen everywhere from schools to policemen. In professional work settings and careers they are a requirement. On this basis why wouldn’t they be used in school as well? School uniforms should be a requirement for all public schools in Texas, because they improve education, lower violence, and save families both money and time.
School uniforms would decrease violence in many public schools because they would reduce the amount of theft that may occur, the amount of bullying that occurs on a daily basis, and the amount of attempted or successful murders that occur. Uniforms would reduce the amount of theft that occurs because every student would be wearing the same clothing. If every student is wearing the same article of clothing, students would not be tempted to steal clothing, shoes, or jewelry from one another. Uniforms would also make every student feel a sense of equality.
Furthermore, school uniforms have the potential to make schools a whole lot safer. Think of it like this – if you were to see a student walk in wearing an ugly polo shirt and sweat pants, (s)he would probably be picked on just because of what (s)he is wearing. We as humans naturally judge on what we see first, and it’s usually their face / clothing. If school uniforms were implemented in many places, then it would eradicate school violence and students wouldn’t be indignant with each other based on what they wear. Also, since everyone on school grounds is wearing their uniform, it would be easy to pinpoint unwanted visitors and be one step ahead. Not to mention it would help kids with less money evade the bullying and teasing that they would usually receive, which brings me to my next point.
Along with easy purchase, uniforms also help cut down bullying. Implementing uniforms gives kids a better sense of school pride, in which they care more about the school and each other. For example when Long Beach introduced uniforms in 1995 they received data that showed the in school fights decreased by 38%, suspension rates dropped by 90% and furthermore the overall crime rates dropped by 91%. School uniforms would work in the same way an athletic team uniform would; it would give them a sense of pride and belonging. Like athletic teams, when a team member or student would wear their jersey, or in this case uniform, they would cloak themselves in their school color they would feel obligated to make sure they represent the best for their school to show that they care and they are going to prove how exceptional their school is. A uniform can improve the overall school and also move beyond the school halls and out to the community. Most bullies make fun of a kid by how he or she looks, so by schools implementing uniforms they “level the playing fields”
The idea of uniforms being required for public school students has been a widely controversial topic in the recent past. In the 2003-2004 school year, only one in eight public schools required students to wear uniforms (ProConorg Headlines). In the 2013-2014 school year, one in five public schools required students to wear uniforms (ProConorg Headlines). This essay will discuss the reasons that uniforms restrict the individuality of students, burdens families that cannot afford two sets of clothes for each of their children (Farrell), and serve little to none purpose in benefitting the education of students. Uniforms are meant for the workforce, not school children.
Requiring school uniforms eliminates the chances of bullying. Bullies usually pick on kids based on what they wear. With the use of uniforms, everyone will be wearing the same clothes, not allowing the bullies to pick people out by their choice of clothing. Even those making fun of others would be wearing the same clothes as
In addition to the apparent bullying over style trends and choices, another issue that could be eliminated through the incorporation of uniforms is the lessening of disciplinary action directed towards students for dress code violations. Almost daily, students are sent to the office for dress code checks which are most often handled by the Vice Principal. Students are commonly sent for checks based on the following items that are considered questionable: midriff revealing tops, ripped and low-rise jeans, short skirts and shorts, exposed shoulders and necklines and spandex for the girls. Then there are ill-fitting jeans and inappropriate slogans on t-shirts and sweatshirts for the boys. A uniform policy would eliminate the need for dress code checks, which would enable the vice principal to concentrate on more important issues within the high school. Not only would uniforms eliminate this disciplinary issue of student dress, but the incorporation of a uniform policy would better prepare students
According to Marian Wilde, who writes for GreatSchools¸ uniforms prevent gangs from forming on campus and encourage discipline (Wilde). Even Virginia Ann Bendel Draa, who wrote School Uniforms in Urban Public High Schools, said that school uniforms reduced the amount of suspensions in the school she did the study with (Draa). School Uniforms will create a safer school environment for kids because the students are less likely to get into trouble when at school while wearing school uniforms. Safer schools equals safer children. While having security guards at schools help prevent violence, they do not get rid of violence completely. Schools uniforms also decrease the amount of bullying because bullying can be triggered by many things like not having fashionable clothes (Armerding). School uniforms take away the
Although uniforms cause countless problems, there are some benefits to them. Uniforms discourage crime and increase student safety. Uniforms also keep students focused on their school work. They provide less drama and distraction, and more focus on education. Uniforms save valuable class time because they are easier to enforce than a regular dress code. Therefore, there are some pros to uniforms.
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.
Another big benefit to having a school uniform is the increase of student safety in multiple things. The first, is the reduction of bullying. This happens at schools with mandatory uniforms because it gives bullies less ammunition. Bullies have less ammunition because social status and wealth are not visible to other students because everyone is wearing the same thing. Another thing more broad than bullying is physical student safety. For example, at a K-8 school system in Long Beach,CA enforced a two year mandatory uniform policy and the results were staggering. Assault reports dropped by 34%. Sex offences got cut by a whopping 74%! Fighting incidents decreased by 51%, and vandalism dropped by 18%. It is crazy to me how much things can improve in just two short years by having kids wear uniforms. One more thing, is that it makes it a lot easier to identify trespassers. I mean think of all the school shootings that have
Ever wonder what it would look like to have all students wearing the same white polo shirt, black pants, and a district sweater walking in the hallway? Nowadays, public school and many districts are discussing the possibilities of enforcing the uniform policy. In most places, many private schools already require students to have their mandatory uniforms; however, there are only a few public schools adopting this mandatory school-uniform polices as one of their enrollment requirements. The reason why not all public schools participated was because people believe that they are violating the freedom of choice when enforcing this mandatory uniform policy; yet problems