The Positive And Negative Effects Of 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.

School uniforms are something that is very popular in other countries, but, when it comes to America, it just isn’t that simple. School uniforms have been a very controversial topic in public schools, many schools fight against them but some also are accepting them. A common argument against school uniforms is that it takes away the student's ability to express themselves and that it would be hard to enforce and cost a lot of money. While there are some potential problems with school uniforms they are still surprisingly beneficial. Public schools should require students to wear school uniforms to increase safety and decrease violence.

Uniforms violate our first amendment. It doesn’t let students be themselves in the way they want to dress. There are pros about having uniform, but there are more cons because clothes don’t break rules. Students should not be required to wear school uniform.

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

As a society we value the individual choices that we are able to decide upon in our everyday life. School uniforms have a negative effect on students, due to the lack of individuality and self-image that they are able to express. Therefore passing student policies requiring school uniforms is misleading as it creates more issues than it solves. Students should feel they are different from everyone else and have to freedom to act the way they want and wear what they want. Enforcing school uniforms does not affect academic situations in any way for uniforms to be mandatory. Schools need to re-think their decision on school uniform policies for the mental and physical well-being of their students.

Some people also argue that mandatory uniforms could be considered a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution, located in the Bill of Rights (Hudson). People argue this because they feel that uniforms limit self expression, which is a coveted right by most people outside of America. “I’ll tell you; we’re proposing that everyone can only get along if everyone conforms to the same standards. It’s not a healthy lesson. The message should be conflict resolution no matter the physical appearance. In the real world, people do not all look the same” (Hoofnagle). Uniforms will not prepare a child for the future. They will make a rougher future for most children because they will not understand that people have the right to be unique, diverse, and to express their individuality.

“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.

An idea discuss by the authors, Carroll W. Mitchell and John C. Knechtle, in this article Uniforms in Public Schools and the First Amendment: A Constitutional Analysis. Carroll W. Mitchell and John C. Knechtle debate whether not the children have constitutional rights under the First Amendment. It is also gives prudence according to the court case that children do not have the same rights as an adult. Therefore, they do not have the same rights under the first amendment. Their freedom of speech is limited according to the court case Dawson v. Hillsborough City, Fla. School Board 1971 governing school to protect the welling being of the adolescent education. According to this court case, children do not have rights as an adult but suggest that the child should be protected and guided according to school policy to provide a safe and productive educational environment. This case also suggest as interpreted by the Supreme Court that freedom of speech can be altered when the government is protecting the child's best interest as providing a safe environment and prolific and positive education to promote the youths well-being. A Uniform dress code has always been in schools, public and private. The debate with uniform in public schools really intensified with President Bill Clinton's presidential executive order in 1996. President Clinton would encourage the US Department of Education to make available a manual on how to implement uniforms in public

School uniforms are taking away students freedom of speech. First of all, school uniforms are restricting students right to express themselves. Experts believe, “American civil liberties union (ACLU), have argued that mandatory uniform policies violate student's right to free speech, which is protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” Students should have the right to free speech. According to the author, Tamar Lewin, he conveys that ”The Supreme Court's Tinker decision firmly established that students have a constitutional right to express when they are at school so long as the speech is not disruptive and does not interfere with the rights

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.

However many people believe that dress codes should be enforced and that schools should provide uniforms for students attending that district. It’s been said that by wearing uniforms students will be less concerned about how they look and that there not competition between the student of who looks better Also that when wearing uniforms no one will be able to judge one another on who has the best clothing. Its also been said that it helps prevent bullying But that’s not true although everyone is wearing the same things does not mean they won’t judge them you will get judged with or without uniforms it’s what humans do uniforms are not going to change that. Finally, it’s been stated that by having uniforms in school it can save parents a lot

School dress code and uniforms prevent us from being able to exercise our rights of freedom of speech and expression. Because of these rights given to us as U.S. citizens we don’t have to be subjected to conformity. It should be in the parent’s power to be able to deny or reject uniforms. These rights apply to all things and that includes clothing so the school district may not even be able to legally uphold these dress codes. In the court of law the school's rules and regulations may be denied for their reasoning behind the case is not always constitutional. The school and its board are not permitted to take away rights of american citizens, in fact no one is allowed to take citizen rights, so schools shouldn’t be treated any differently. If the choice made reaches the requirements of decency and doesn’t pose a threat then there should be no issue. If the attire meets the minimum requirements of appropriateness then it should be allowed. There is no reason for the student to get ‘dress coded’ because someone doesn't approve of what the t-shirt says, or if there is an insignia on the front right pocket. If that person chooses to wear that let them, constitutionally you have to and clothing is not something worth fighting over! We as citizens are able to exercise the right of freedom of expression and the right of freedom of speech, no one can take that away, nor can anyone limit or regulate it if it doesn't hurt anyone or break any other rules or laws in the

Uniforms may represent unity in a school, however we are told to be different and be ourselves. There are several supreme court cases that have proved that the First Amendment, freedom of expression, the Supreme Court stated in one case in particular “it can hardly be argued that either students and teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." With uniforms we are losing the main way we express ourselves.

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