The Importance Of School Uniforms In Schools

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.

One main reason public schools have uniforms / dress code is because in 1996, President Clinton allowed the school uniform movement and 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.” This gave schools the power to control the

As the years pass, many students have been bullied, a bully, or they just hate school and this was affecting their lives academically. School boards tried to find a way to improve the way students feel about themselves and about school, and they came up with the idea of school uniforms. School uniforms have been associated with just the Catholic school, but are now showing up in public schools across the country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics: Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2011, twenty-one states require students to wear uniforms in the public school system (Pros and Cons of School Uniforms Statistics). This has seemed to work tremendously in the school system. In education, school uniforms assist with student success, academically, socially, and personally.

Society is made up of different body types and uniforms are just that, uniform. Wearing something that does not fit right is extremely uncomfortable and distracting. If a student sitting in the classroom is trying to pay attention to a lesson, but has to constantly adjust their clothing in a worthless attempt to get comfortable, this can be extremely disruptive to the class as a whole because the teacher has to periodically remind the student to stop fidgeting and pay attention. The drawing of this attention to the student and their clothing can be detrimental to their self-confidence, and make them a target for other students to make fun of them. “The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes uniforms on the grounds that they violate students’ rights to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.” (“School Uniforms”). How a student dresses will not directly improve their grades, and making them wear a uniform will curb their expression of individuality. Having to alter a uniform to fit body type can get extremely expensive.

Uniforms have been used for centuries for things like sports, military affairs, and to help identify someone that is affiliated with a group or an organization. One place they should not be used is in public schools. In this day in age uniforms are still being argued and could still appear is school around the country causing problems. When I was in middle school I had uniforms for about four years and it made me hate school even more. None of the benefits that administration said we would get from uniforms ever materialized. They said it would put an end to bullying and we would still have some kind of freedom when it came to picking accessories. The uniforms were costly for my parents and as a student it made it hard for me to express myself. With that being said middle school students should not be required to wear school uniforms.

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.

School uniforms also serve little to no purpose in benefiting the education of children around America. A uniform does not help a student learn things that they need to know. A uniform does not help a student study, take notes, or make flash cards. They bring no educational value to the table of learning. According to many educators and experts, “Uniforms do not improve academics, behavioral and social outcomes, or reduce discrimination or crime” (Farrell). So if a uniform cannot help a student increase their knowledge or grow as a person, why make students wear them?

Rocky Mountain Middle School’s rules for dress code is no clothing that shows excessive exposure of skin, clothing that shows gang, drug, violence, etc. are not allowed and no head wear. Also no tight clothing. So many students break the dress code and get away with it or if they do get in trouble they just do it again. If the school were to wear uniforms there wouldn’t be as many dress code violations. There also wouldn’t be as much gang violence or bullying.

Uniforms have been around for centuries, from back in the day when women had to wear dresses or skirts and men had to wear pants. To now where students and employees have to wear certain pieces of clothing. People dress to express themselves, schools tell their students to be who they are and to be proud; however, when the student tries to do so they are sent home or held in the office which not only takes away their rights to express themselves, but takes them out of class. According to Friedrichs, “A shocking number of students are actually sent home or suspended for breaking dress code, which means even more time out of class.” A school's job is to prepare children for their futures, that can be quite hard when the student is not there to learn. Dress codes can be overwhelming to maintain. A student's wardrobe isn’t going to be full of polos and khakis because they most likely do not wear polos and khakis outside of school. Dress code should not be as strict, hoodies should be allowed, tank tops should be

First, school uniforms take away the students freedom of expression. The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees that all individuals have the right to express themselves freely. This points out, that by making everyone wear the same clothes, it takes away expressing who they are. Your clothes say a lot about who you are as a person and what personality you have and when you take that away, you take away the chance to express yourself.

Uniforms in schools are a big debate around the world. Should we have uniforms in schools? The answer is yes because uniform help the schools. They bring to table a great deal of help because students are getting bullied, killed, and some may not have as much as other when shopping for clothes. Having uniforms bring safety to schools and what goes on after school.

The main reason for implanting a school uniform policy would be that it increases the safety for the children at school. Gang violence in schools is at an all time high. In 1989, a high school student from Baltimore was shot and wounded in a fight over a pair of sunglasses that cost $95.00. Since this incident educators started restricting what students could wear. (Brunsma, 2006) By doing this, the violence in the school has decreased. According to Holly Charlonne with Life Script, she states that gangs have a need to wear a certain color to distinguish them from other neighborhood gangs. If our children are required to wear a uniform, this will lessen the chance of any possibility of violence out break at school associated with gangs. (Charlonne, 2007) Since everyone will have on the same colors, the uniforms may be viewed as a way to bring the children closer together by having the same effect as would sport uniforms. The decrease

Waking up for another dreadful day of school. Quickly get ready in the new trend, without worrying about the Cedarwood uniform. Without the uniform, students would feel freer. Uniforms can also make more problems for students to deal with, they also don’t improve/help 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

Will Galloway, Chairman of the South Carolina Teenage Republicans, in a Jan. 5, 2017 article, "Will Galloway: Just Say No to School Uniforms," available at fitsnews.com, stated:"Rather than promote an orderly and disciplined student environment, mandatory uniforms would cause massive student disobedience and take away valuable instruction time. If one or two students wear something inappropriate, administration will handle it. The student in question will change, be disciplined, and return to class without disrupting the school day. [South Carolina] Rep. McKnight's [mandatory