School Uniforms: Beneficial Or Detrimental?

In 1980 the Catholic schools were recognized for having their students in uniforms, and they believed it would improve the performance, along with it applying more applicable discipline for their students. Since the Catholic schools recognition for uniforms, some of the public schools since then has taken it upon themselves to apply the same policy with in their own schools. At looking at the schools today, it would be found that over half of them do have a uniform policy in place. Being able to look at the good and the bad with in the students wearing uniforms, it is seeming to most that it is a beneficial policy for them.

One of the biggest controversies in the United States is whether or not public school students

One of the biggest miseries of back-to-school is the return of the uniform. From tiny villages to the nation’s largest cities, school uniforms have grown so familiar in the last few years that in numerous districts of the world, they’re no longer the exception, but an order. You would think the great school uniform debate shouldn't be that controversial of a subject, after all, we’re only talking about clothes here. However, uniforms have led to many heated arguments among parents of many students, despite the debate, there are in fact many advantages and disadvantages to requiring students to wear those attire to school. Despite all opinions regulations that impose school uniforms could possibly be civil rights violations, such as the right to free speech, right to privacy and freedom of religion. In spite the fact that many parents and the majority of the students are against the obligation of uniforms, it's still an exceedingly popular tendency among schools. Most people are in disagreement with the idea for many reasons, for instance, they believe it abolishes the students right to express themselves freely, it harms the outcome of a student self-image and sabotages the assurance of a free education by imposing an extra expense on families.

In 1994, the school district of Long Beach California was one of the first to enforce school uniforms in the grades Kindergarten through 8th, and crime rates in the district dropped 22% soon after. School attendance also improved after the uniforms were introduced. Although this one statistic shows there are positive outcomes from school uniforms, there is one question that remains: Do school uniforms help or harm the students and environment at school? The controversy among this topic is that some people believe that uniforms improve the way kids act in class, however, others believe that school uniforms make their behavior worse. Another thing that certain people don’t like about uniforms is that they are very costly. A woman in Indianapolis was interviewed and said that she has five kids that all need uniforms, and with all the costs combined she had to pay almost $700. She found it was an outrage because she has a son who was a senior at the time and she had to pay for his uniforms as well. Even though she believed that uniforms are not an advantage, other people have the belief that uniforms have a positive outcome. In fact, some people think that the students’ behavior becomes subsequently better in the classroom setting; this is proven in the Long Beach study. There is also proof that school uniforms save people lots of money. This is because parents in one

Commonly favored by private schools and institutions, US public schools are starting to adopt the idea of school wide uniforms by increasing numbers. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released figures in 2014 stating the overall amount of public schools nationwide which are now requiring school uniforms has increased from 13% during the 2003-2004 school year to 19% during the 2011-2012 school year. (https://school-uniforms.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=006507)

David L. Brunsma, PhD, professor of sociology at Virginia Tech co-authored research that studied 10th graders. He found "no effects of uniforms on absenteeism, behavioral problems, or substance use on campus." and "no effects" on "pro-school attitudes, academic preparedness, and peer attitudes towards school. Brunsma also found a "negative effect of uniforms on academic achievement," and later found the same for elementary students and eighth graders, all according to procon.org. In truth, this is my strongest belief on why we should not have uniforms. If it does not improve students grade, why have them? In conclusion, uniforms do not make students academically better.

It is not certain that dress codes reduce school violence or strengthen statistical numbers for academic achievement. Research has stated that the theories of increasing good behavior and increasing test scores is inconclusive. The authorities do not take students personal feelings into consideration regarding strict policies Kade A., a sixth grade student, when asked about school uniforms said, “No, I don’t like them, because they are uncomfortable, and make you feel like you are in your church clothes all the time.” Daycen J., another student said, “I don’t like school uniforms because they take away student’s individuality.” (Kade). A study performed by David L. Brunsma , University of Alabama and Kerry A. Rockquemore of Notre Dame, entitled Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Abuse, and Academic Achievement, showed that uniforms did not lead to an improvement in these areas. (Hinckley 1). The results only go to show that uniforms can not completely responsible for making a permanent change. Although implementing uniforms may help decrease risk of danger, it's not like putting a band aid over a gash a uniform is not going to make all issues disappear. Dress codes can cause discrimination, school officials may pay more attention ultimately this is biased. “Moreover, dress codes may contain an

uniforms may violate their self-expression in some ways, a uniform is supposed to be looked upon as a positive thing, because they eliminate bullying, combine social classes and gives the school a professional look.

Many pros of wearing student uniforms may include things such as they make the schools way more safer, they can be a great time saver in the morning, and lastly they can save a lot of money. Some ways uniforms can make a school more safer is by you wearing your uniform, the school will know who goes and doesn’t go to the school. Another way uniforms can be safer to schools is by, sense everyone is wearing the same thing no one can really make fun of each other, by people not making fun of each other that itself can stop school fighting and the amount of stuff that gets stolen because some things might be a lot of money, that's stuff another kid might want for themselves. Some ways uniforms can be a Time saver is by, you know what to wear the next day. According to a Twelve year old she says “i don't have to worry about what to wear in the in the morning.” You just have the clothes ready and out for the next day. Another way they are faster is by you are

Most importantly, wearing a uniforms has been proven to host little to no academic advantages. I came from a failing school district which enforced a mandatory uniform policy. It was embarrassing and depressing to know that some of my friends in other school districts were receiving a better education in addition to being able to wear what they want. “A 1999 Texas Southern University study found that school discipline incidents rose by about 12% after the introduction of uniforms.” It appears the same thing that school officials claim benefits students has a negative impact on them.

Wearing uniform can add problems into a student’s life. Students would be more often picked on and bullied. A study conducted by experts from Texas Southern University showed that bullying incidents increased by as much as 12%, after the implementation of mandatory uniform wearing. Bullying mostly occurs because of what you wear, but now bullies find out other ways to show that they are better. Schools would think that if they implement uniforms, bullying would stop, but instead, it doesn’t stop, and it increases bullying. Uniforms could make the student have negative thoughts about themselves. Professor Dave Anderson stated “Students have different weights, body types, and heights. Whenever one looks at himself in the mirror, he depreciates his self-image because he feels like he doesn’t look his best” If the student doesn’t like their appearance, their attitude could reflect off it, for example if they are overweight, they might not like their appearance, so then, that causes them to think negatively about themselves, which wouldn’t be good for their health. These problems could disrupt the students learning process, and it could also have negative impacts on the student.

As aforementioned, uniforms are very beneficial for a multitude of reasons. The first being how dress code issues are completely eliminated through uniforms. I mean, even here uniforms and dress code issues have been brought up a ton! I was in honors civics last trimester and we had to do an issue project about problems at this school, and how we could fix it. We had to present these things in front of Mr.Farley and a couple school administrators. Something that was majorly brought up was dress code, and how unfair it is between the genders. Think about that! Even here dress code is a big problem, and if it’s an issue here, then imagine how bad it must be at some other schools.

In schools with uniforms, statistics show that there is significantly less crime, and bullying. Some of the logic behind uniforms is fairly simple, yet it has a good point. If everyone is wearing the same clothes, then bullying about clothes is practically nonexistent. While in schools without uniforms,

Today in the US, only 19% of schools are reported to have school uniforms. A decade before that, it was 12%. The amount is increasing, but the problem is the popularity of the move is decreasing. School uniforms hinder students and parent more than they actually help.

When someone mentions school uniforms, the first image that comes to mind is students from a private religious school but that image will soon change. Many public school have been adopting school uniforms over the years because of all the benefits that come with them. Schools should require students to wear school uniforms because they increase students safety, reduce bullying and peer pressure, save parents money, and most importantly they keep students focused on their education and improve performance in the classroom.