The Debate over School Uniforms

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.

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.

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

uniforms will not end all confrontation between the student, it will only change the reason for it.

In the article “Do uniforms make schools better”, Marian Wilde states that in the past decade, school, parents and students had clashed over the issue of regulating student attire. In the 1980s, public schools were often compared to Catholic schools for no reason. So some of the public school decided to adopt the school uniform policy. In 1996, President Clinton provided momentum to the school uniform movement in his 1996 State of the Union Speech. President Clinton said “ If it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.” There is some pros and cons for having school uniforms. Some pros for school uniforms would be to help identify intruders easily, prevent gangs from forming on campus, and increase a sense of belonging and school pride. Some cons for school uniforms would be violating a student’s right to freedom of expression, making a student a target for bullies from other school, and it’s an unfair additional expense for parents. School uniforms shouldn’t be required at schools, especially at Kailua High School.

“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.

School uniforms and dress codes are becoming a popular trend among schools. Most Students and some parents don’t agree with the enforcement with school uniforms, saying that uniforms are taking away self-expression in schools. But, school uniforms are not a negative thing to have. Yes, uniforms and some very strict dress codes limit what the students have to choose to wear to school every day, but it doesn’t limit them from learning which is the main reason they are in school. Some students treat school as a fashion show, so eliminating the size of wardrobe shifts the attention toward their school work. Although requiring students to wear school uniforms may violate their self-expression in some ways, a uniform is supposed to be looked

Do you want equality among students in your child's school? Do you want less violence within your child's school? Would you like your daughter to concentrate more on her schoolwork and less on what name brand jeans she is wearing? All this is possible with mandatory uniform policies in public school districts. School uniforms may seem outdated for some people, but in many cases they can improve school spirit, attendance and student behavior. According to The Humanist magazine, former President Bill Clinton's 1996 State of the Union Address called for all 16,000 school districts in the country to adopt a uniform policy. The President stated, "If it means that teenagers will stop killing each

Violence in schools is a big problem. Former President Bill Clinton thinks so during his recent state of the Union address he said: “public schools should be allowed to require uniforms if it would mean teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets” (“Will School…” 1). They believe that wearing the uniform makes quite a bit of a difference in how students will behave (“Will School…”2). If the student wears a uniform to school other than their “gang clothes” it will protect the other students from getting hurt. Violence has gone down in the schools with dress code and people have been impressed by the difference (“Will School…” 2). Schools that do not require the dress code for school uniforms should look at the difference of violence and see that it has decreased with them. “Reports have placed pressure on schools and politicians to act quickly before the situation gets out of control” (Wilkins 1). In 1994 CA Long Beach Unified School District voted 81% (4,079 votes) said yes that school uniforms help prevent gang violence (Hamilton 32). While the rest of the school district said no and that students should be allowed to express themselves through their clothing (Hamilton 32) People say the only down fall with having the uniform are the students can not express themselves with their own clothes they want to wear. Unfortunately many children today wear baggy clothes to

The big talk of most schools now are uniforms. Some people think that they are a great idea. Some people don't like the fact that schools are applying a uniform policy. A lot of controversy has been rising in the school systems about uniform instead of education. I believe that schools have uniforms because students had a higher bullying rate when we were able to wear regular clothes and it helps people more worried about themselves, when everybody is wearing the same thing. It could really go either way.

Opponents think that when children select their own clothing, they can develop confidence and independence, vital characteristics through the personality development and adult success. Controlling extremely the socialization process of students will harm them as an adult, because they will not be prepared for the real world, indeed by their appearances. In addition, opponents argue that when students are limited about what they are going to wear, they will find other ways to offend the authority. Without a way out of expression in their clothes, they will turn out to other inappropriate alternatives of self-expression, such as nontraditional hair styles or make-up, or the worst revolting against school authorities and parents by the way they behave and act. It is obvious that children, especially those in middle and high school, are constantly concerned about their appearance that way, wearing a school uniform will minimize this concern. They also believe schools can help students avoid clothing that contains slogans, short or tight clothing; while giving them

The Debate Over School Uniforms Context In some countries, e.g. Britain and many Caribbean states, it is common for school pupils to have to wear distinctive uniforms identifying them with a particular institution, especially to the end of compulsory education at 16. In others, e.g. France, the USA, it is rare for uniforms to be worn, although some private schools may retain them. In both situations the desirability of school uniforms remains controversial among students, parents and educationalists. As a result of this some schools have abandoned uniform at the same time as others have adopted it.

When students wear uniforms, students do not improve in any way. Student’s academic scores do not go higher when they wear a uniform. Researcher Virginia Draa found that “implementing a uniform policy in schools did not have any impact on academic performance”. If schools are hoping for their student’s academic scores to go higher by implementing uniforms, they would be better off without uniforms. Wearing uniforms don’t help a student’s attitude. A 2010 study in a large urban school district in the Southwest found that asking students to wear uniforms did not result in any change in the number of suspensions for elementary school students. Student’s behavior won’t change, if schools wanted to implement uniform. Uniforms don’t have any positive impact on students,

The first major reason for not wearing school uniforms is, it forces a student to conceal his or her individuality. To many people, it appears that the school system is trying to strip away this individuality on purpose, but now is the time that the school should be embracing it and helping the student become the person they are meant to become. “According to opponents of uniforms, even preschoolers should have input into their wardrobe, and the need to encourage personality, confidence, and independence grows more important as the student becomes older” (Chen). Because of this lack of self-expression, students feel their first amendment is being violated and most people would agree, which causes the school to look bad. Another way of looking at it is they are forcing students to become on mold, or one certain way of being. However, the problem with making them one is, no matter how they look they will still have their own individual personality traits that will come out in the end. If forced to wear the uniforms, many students would express these traits by adding things to their uniform such as brightly colored gems for girls and different

The issue of whether or not school uniforms are a necessity in today’s society has been a long standing debate. However, it did not come onto the national scene until 1996 when then President Bill Clinton spoke of the matter in his annual State of the Union Address. Citing the Long Beach city school district in California, Clinton spoke of the positive effects of uniform implementation, including: decreased drug cases, sex offenses, violent crimes and fights.