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Against School Dress Codes and Uniforms Essay

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The Debate Between School Dress Codes and Uniforms

The debate over school uniforms and dress codes has been going on for years and is still widely debated and talked about in the education system. Each side of the argument has many supporters. There are many pros and cons to each side so it is hard to really know what the right choice is. In Three Cups of Tea written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin education is the main focus of the book. Although most of the book takes place half way across the world many topics are relevant to the school systems today in America. In the book the girls received, “crisp new school uniforms neatly folded inside its cellophane wrapper” and they are completely overjoyed to hold their first …show more content…

With the gang activity growing throughout the 80’s school officials realized that implementing uniforms or strict dress codes may help combat the problem with gang apparel in schools. Previously dress codes have been seen in the form of uniforms or strict rules in parochial, private and public school systems across the country. In private schools, uniforms were first implemented to mark a student’s social status (Motsinger par 8). Many people, according to Alfie Kohn, author of What to Look for in a Classroom…and Other Essays most people associate uniforms with, “the good ole days [when uniforms] symbolized [. . .] obedience.” Uniforms were a sign of respect, children respected their elders and presented themselves well while wearing them. As stated by Anderson in “School Dress Codes and Uniform Policies,” “[t]he first public school known to have adopted uniforms was Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987. In 1994, Long Beach (CA) Unified School District (LBUSD) was the first school district to adopt a districtwide uniform dress code policy” (par 11). During the Clinton administration the talk of school dress codes and uniforms in public schools first surfaced after his State of the Union Address in 1996. Since Clinton’s speech, schools all around the country have revised and implemented new dress code policies.
The choice whether to amend current policies or make new ones is still usuall,y in most states, up to the

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