School Uniforms And Its Effect On Self Image

Schools uniforms takes away students freedom to express them self and individuality. In the article “Free to be me,” it stated that many people were concerned that wearing a uniform would take away students freedom to express them self. The reason is that many students wants to show that they are different than each other, so it doesn’t make them feel that they are just like everyone else. So many students and parents felt so strongly about that that they

Since the late 1990's many public schools across the nation have opted to implement a stronger dress code policy which have involved the addition to a specific mandated uniform policy. While some critics of mandatory uniform policies believe that there is no justification for change, school uniforms offer educational benefits, improve student behavior, social interaction, and are more cost effective and durable than traditional street clothes.

The debate about public school uniforms in America is an issue that has been around for a very long time. This issue was even mentioned by President Bill Clinton in a previous State of the Union address in 1996. In his 1996 State of the Union Address, President Clinton decreed,” I challenge all of our schools to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship and 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 school uniforms” (Clinton 1996). Public schools requiring mandatory uniforms for their students are a major topic as it deals with moral and economic concerns about how America’s public schools are operated.

The issue of mandatory school uniform policies has been a highly debated topic for many years. Many school administrators believe that school-issued uniforms play a positive role in the student’s academic career. Research shows that the positive impacts school uniforms have on students far outweigh the negatives. In order to improve the American school system, the United States should adopt British policy, making school uniforms mandatory in all public schools.

In the past 11 years, the percentage of schools wearing uniforms in the US has gone from 11.8% to 18.9%. Requiring students to wear school uniforms has many more benefits than disadvantages, because uniforms improve the safety of, not only students, but everyone on campus, reduce the likeliness of bullying through the form of equality brought with uniforms, and boost the student’s ability to nonviolently and reasonably solve social problems.

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.

“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.

The first recorded practice of a school uniform was in England around the year 1200. At first, school uniforms in the US adopted the concept of school uniforms that were originally established in England. In the fall of 1987, US public schools in Maryland and Washington DC were the first institutions known to establish policies regarding school wide standardized dress. Initially, these uniform policies were voluntary, although a report made by the New York Times in December of 1987 stated that the idea of school wide

Uniforms are traditionally favored in private schools, but they are being introduced into more and more United States public schools everyday. During the 2013-2014 school year, one in five public schools in the United States required students to wear uniforms to school everyday. This went up from one in eight schools requiring them in the 2003-2004 school year. ("Background of the Issue," n.d., para. 1). The percentage of schools that require them has increased from thirteen percent during the 2003-2004 school year, to nineteen percent in the 2011-2012 school year ("Background of the Issue," n.d., para. 18). The process of having to discipline a student because they violated the dress code is a process that nobody, student, teacher, or parent, likes to go through. Multiple students cannot drive; so when they disregard the school 's dress code, their parents have to pause whatever

“If it means that the schoolrooms will be more orderly, more disciplined,” President Clinton said, “and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.” President Clinton is referring to the outfits or sets of standardized clothes that are worn primarily for an educational institution, usually in primary and secondary schools in various countries. When used, they form the basis of a school’s dress code, which is a set of rules, usually written and posted specifying the required manner of dress at a school. It began when schools had issues with grades and behavioral problems, but they didn’t want uniforms because it infringed upon individuality. The commotion began when the uniform movement began nearly four years ago when Long Beach, California became the nation’s first public school district to require elementary and middle school students to wear uniforms. Since then, public schools from east to west have debated whether they’re beneficial or not, which has caused the controversy to heat up significantly. Even though requiring uniforms in public schools have been controversial throughout history, it continues to be an area of debate for school communities because research shows that uniform policies do provide benefits to schools, but there are also disadvantages that create unfavorable conditions

Without the school uniform policy, students are able to express their own style of clothes and personality. A student’s choice of clothes is a learning material in life because it shows students the reflection of themselves. Schools who enforce the uniform policy also prohibits a student’s right to practice religion. For example, a high school in the state of Pennsylvania banned religious clothing due to their school uniform policy (Newrorn 172). A research conducted by Brooke Newrorn who is a member of Pennsylvania Bars stated, “Jacobs v. Clark County School District that a high school's mandatory dress code did not infringe the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, even though a by-product of said dress code was the prohibition of students wearing religious garb” (Pennsylvania Bar Association quarterly 172). This means that the school uniform policy does not guarantee a student’s ability to express themselves, even in a religious matter.

Although the uniform requirement has just been recently imposed, uniforms have been in existence for several centuries now. The first documented usage of a ‘standard’ garment in education was in 1222, where students were required to wear a “cappa clausa” or a robe-like outfit. School uniforms make schools a less happier place. School uniforms restricts self expression. Having required uniforms in a school’s curriculum negatively affects a student’s being because it restricts self expression, violates the 1st amendment, and they are simply unliked by many, being uncomfortable and unappealing. (Erikson)

Despite of many people think mandatory uniforms will infringe upon students’ rights to express individuality. Students can accessorize their uniforms

Parents around the globe have emphasized the controversy over school uniforms. During the school year of 2011-2012, one in every five school required students to wear school uniforms. America 's first documented schools to inaugurate uniforms were in Maryland and Washington. Throughout the previous years in America, there have been numerous disputes whether school uniforms should be in public schools. In the last 30 years, public schools have often been hostilely compared to private schools. This being said some public schools decided to change their dress code policy.

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