Thesis Statement About 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.

Uniforms are argued to positively affect student safety by: lowering student victimization, decreasing gang activity and fights and differentiating strangers from students in school building. Dress codes in public schools would be good, in order to cut down the violence, which would eliminate the problems of

School uniforms can benefit low income areas, places where crimes are high, and even to help the image of the school. I?m not saying with school uniforms that there will be no bullying or no crimes what I am saying is that school uniforms eliminate some of the issues. You can believe me because I have done a lot of research and checked myself with multiple different websites. I will first tell you the need for these uniforms. Then I will propose a solution, and last I will tell this affects you and maybe your future kids.

School uniforms would decrease violence in many public schools because they would reduce the amount of theft that may occur, the amount of bullying that occurs on a daily basis, and the amount of attempted or successful murders that occur. Uniforms would reduce the amount of theft that occurs because every student would be wearing the same clothing. If every student is wearing the same article of clothing, students would not be tempted to steal clothing, shoes, or jewelry from one another. Uniforms would also make every student feel a sense of equality.

Furthermore, school uniforms have the potential to make schools a whole lot safer. Think of it like this – if you were to see a student walk in wearing an ugly polo shirt and sweat pants, (s)he would probably be picked on just because of what (s)he is wearing. We as humans naturally judge on what we see first, and it’s usually their face / clothing. If school uniforms were implemented in many places, then it would eradicate school violence and students wouldn’t be indignant with each other based on what they wear. Also, since everyone on school grounds is wearing their uniform, it would be easy to pinpoint unwanted visitors and be one step ahead. Not to mention it would help kids with less money evade the bullying and teasing that they would usually receive, which brings me to my next point.

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?

According to Marian Wilde, who writes for GreatSchools¸ uniforms prevent gangs from forming on campus and encourage discipline (Wilde). Even Virginia Ann Bendel Draa, who wrote School Uniforms in Urban Public High Schools, said that school uniforms reduced the amount of suspensions in the school she did the study with (Draa). School Uniforms will create a safer school environment for kids because the students are less likely to get into trouble when at school while wearing school uniforms. Safer schools equals safer children. While having security guards at schools help prevent violence, they do not get rid of violence completely. Schools uniforms also decrease the amount of bullying because bullying can be triggered by many things like not having fashionable clothes (Armerding). School uniforms take away the

Wearing school uniforms improves unity of spirit and school pride that could benefit the school and community. School uniforms can also keep students safe and it is easier to identify intruders on school grounds. Long Beach Unified School District stated that with the help of school uniforms and dress codes the number of disciplinary problems in their students has decreased. Some schools may not have school uniforms but have mandatory dress codes that prohibit certain clothing to be worn. This could include attire that reveals too much of the body, hats, printing that advertises or promotes alcohol, drugs or inappropriate

School uniforms do not allow students to express themselves through their clothes. They take away the freedom of expression (the first amendment). The 1970 case Richards vs. Thurston was about a boy

Another big benefit to having a school uniform is the increase of student safety in multiple things. The first, is the reduction of bullying. This happens at schools with mandatory uniforms because it gives bullies less ammunition. Bullies have less ammunition because social status and wealth are not visible to other students because everyone is wearing the same thing. Another thing more broad than bullying is physical student safety. For example, at a K-8 school system in Long Beach,CA enforced a two year mandatory uniform policy and the results were staggering. Assault reports dropped by 34%. Sex offences got cut by a whopping 74%! Fighting incidents decreased by 51%, and vandalism dropped by 18%. It is crazy to me how much things can improve in just two short years by having kids wear uniforms. One more thing, is that it makes it a lot easier to identify trespassers. I mean think of all the school shootings that have

The supporting evidence indicates there may be a direct impact on students wearing uniforms and

1. King also points out,” More specifically, many have argued that school uniforms assist in reducing school violence and theft; preventing gang activity, such as students wearing gang colors and gang insignia; providing discipline in students; helping students concentrate on their school work; helping students to resist peer pressure; and helping school officials easily recognize school intruders. (P.32, P.33)

Ever wonder what it would look like to have all students wearing the same white polo shirt, black pants, and a district sweater walking in the hallway? Nowadays, public school and many districts are discussing the possibilities of enforcing the uniform policy. In most places, many private schools already require students to have their mandatory uniforms; however, there are only a few public schools adopting this mandatory school-uniform polices as one of their enrollment requirements. The reason why not all public schools participated was because people believe that they are violating the freedom of choice when enforcing this mandatory uniform policy; yet problems

A study has been done by two Notre Dame University professors, they looked at how uniforms affected “attendance, disciplinary behavior problems, substance abuse, and academic achievement.” From the study the teachers’ outlook of their students with uniforms on changed immensely, they saw them as acting more responsibly, intelligent, and more prosperous. This opinion is false, the students had the same intelligence level as before and based on the results of the study the uniforms did not show a decline in absence, drug use, attitudes toward school, or achievement in the classroom. The study found that tenth graders’ success levels were adversely affected by being compelled to wear uniforms. This shows that there are negative effects of wearing school uniforms.

Jahn’s best source comes in the form of legal support of freedom of speech in past cases. However, the Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of school uniforms. Instead, it lets the states decide if there is a need for uniforms or not. Jahn points