Students Should Be Required to Wear Uniforms

With that being said, as more research about the benefits of uniforms develops, the more common dress code policies are becoming in the United States. With the appropriate research, school officials, parents, and students are becoming more aware of the importance of enforcing dress code policies. As research has shown, uniforms can create a sense of unity and develop self-confidence in students (Caruso). Uniforms can also improve academic performance and limit violence among students (King). While opponents will argue that there is not enough evidence to back up the value of a dress code, research proves that uniforms can be beneficial to school systems. Just as Japan and South Korea have implemented dress codes in their school systems, the time has come for the United States to recognize the value of school uniforms (Yeung). The question still remains, should all schools in the United States be required to enforce a dress code policy? In order to provide optimum learning in the classroom, uniforms are needed now more than

Chittom, Lynn-nore and Jill Ginsburg. "School Uniforms: An Overview." Points of View: School Uniforms, Jan. 2015, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

While in a perfect world many educators say that school uniforms are an asset but I have to say school uniforms are detrimental to the students. School uniforms are a financial hardship on low-income families, make students a target for bullying, infringe on a students’ freedom of expression rights and they teach students a negative lesson about conformity.

Lack of parents support is the most significant reason for schools failing to implement any sort of school uniform code. Parents, teachers, and students should support the need for school uniforms in public schools so that they may be able to achieve higher educational goals. This paper will discuss many of the pros to the debate on uniforms in public schools as well as touch on some of the cons on the subject. After weighing the two sides, it will demonstrate how the pros are a more sensible alternative and why schools should require mandatory uniforms for their students.

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.

One factor why schools implement uniforms is to subside gang violence inside the schools atmosphere, but why should the whole school have to be punished? According to (National Cener for Education Statistics, 2014) on average only 27% of students

Education in the United States from Kindergarten all the way to 12th grade is known for its free education system. That’s right, students all over the country are given the opportunity to retrieve a high school diploma for free. Education in this country is so important that schools around the country are pushing their board of education to propose the policy of school uniforms nationwide, as they believe school uniforms have a very beneficial and positive effect on a student’s learning abilities, behavior, and lifestyle. School uniforms are increasingly becoming more popular throughout the United States, therefore schools across the country are aware of how the uniforms help students make higher grades,

The next statement that really hits the ball out the park is that school uniforms will decrease crime. According to the article should Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms it states that school districts had a 34% decrease in assault and battery (1). The article “Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms” also adds a 15% decrease in any drug related incidents(2). Another point associated to crime decrease is a decrease in gang related activities. If schools do not have a uniforms there is a good chance students can be displaying gang signs and symbolism on he or she’s clothes. According to an article titled “Schools Fight Gang Colors by pushing Uniform Gray stated when student Chadwick Bethune a Chicago high school his fellow peers were jealous of his $130 basketball shoes(Scott1). After his teachers saw his shoes they were concerned due to that the shoes color combinations equals to a southside Chicago neighborhood gang(Scott1). According to the Us Department of Justice report showed that about 50% of the students say they are associated with again(Should Students Have to Wear School Uniform p3). Altogether schools with a standard dress code could experience an increase in student crime than a school with a uniform policy. If schools enforce uniform policies that means there will be a decrease of school gang activities and major crimes and

School uniforms would lift the burden of cost, for both parents and families. Students will naturally compete with each other, clothing is one area that could be eliminated. The wearing of fashionable clothing, while others feel the need to wear something extremely casual. For parents the burden of cost normally becomes theirs as children have to have, or wear certain types or brands of clothing. Thus competing with each other over clothes would end. How many parents have trouble with children picking out their clothes for school each morning? When uniforms are mandatory, parents and students do not need to spend time choosing appropriate outfits for the school day. According to a national 2013 survey, over 90% of US school leaders

School uniforms lower gang violence since students can’t group up and dress in some particular ways, and visitors can be distinguished from other students. They also help reduce bullying in public high schools. According to Kathleen C. and Carl A. Cohn’s “School Improvement Initiatives in Long Beach, California: The Quest for Higher Student Achievement, Behavior, and Dress Standards” in Education magazine, which was published on December 22, 1998, Long

For years, there have been hundreds of debates about whether students should wear uniforms or not. Many schools agreed with the idea and have already required school uniforms, while others are still considering it. Some say that school uniforms represent discipline and instill school pride, but others think that it is not creativity and comfortable. Despite that there are still arguments about it; school uniforms have increasingly demonstrated their importance and influence in many ways. Students should have to wear uniforms because it will help students to perform better at school, give students a sense of discipline, lower the cost for parents, and decrease the rate of crime.

In this paper you will find four main reasons why all public schools should adopt a school uniform policy, and there is a paragraph with a counter argument with school uniforms. There is a discussion on how the crime rate decreases amongst students, how uniforms save the families money, how gang related activities have decreased, and how there is less stress between students and parents. By the time you finish reading this paper, you too should agree that all public schools should adopt a school uniform policy.

It is a belief that school uniforms teach students to respect their learning environment and behave themselves, and, therefore improving discipline. However, that assumption isn’t entirely correct. Researchers have actually found that school uniforms don’t make students better behaved. According to a study of more than 4,500 students, those who wore a school uniform did not have fewer behavior problems or better attendance. Forcing students to wear uniforms lead to more problems and misbehavior instead of encouraging discipline. Students could get into trouble if they did not wear their uniforms correctly. Many kids in today’s society cannot stand the thought of someone telling them what to do, especially what to wear. Instead of encouraging respect, uniforms may cause rebellions. For example, in 2009, a group of students at John A. Ferguson Senior High School rebelled against their school uniforms. Instead of following their school uniform requirements, the students wore what they thought would be a better school uniform to school. Not only uniforms don’t earn schools the respect from its students, but it may also lead to more problems.

School systems have debated for years if they should make school uniforms mandatory for all students. Some parents do not want school systems to mandate uniforms due to pressure from their children to be able to maintain their individuality through clothing, while other parents prefer uniforms to reduce spending money on name brand school clothes and to minimize associations with gangs. More school systems across the United States of America are going to uniforms from grades one through twelve where students are still impressionable by their peers. I believe public schools should require students to wear school uniforms to help parents save money in these hard economic times, to limit the number of incidents of violence in the school systems due to gangs and gang associates such as colors, and to prepare students for the job force after school where some places make it mandatory to wear uniforms to work every day.