Many people have different views on whether or not students should have to wear school uniforms. There are many different reasons why students should and shouldn’t have to wear them. Whether it be in favor them due to less bullying, less pressure on what to wear in the morning, lower cost, less violence, the ability to recycle the uniforms, or the ability to prepare students for the real world. The people against them feel that they take away from the ability to freely express yourself, uniforms cost more upfront, there will be bullies from other schools, it will lower comfort zones, and enforcing the rules will be difficult. But in my opinion school uniform will provide many different things like cost efficiency, safety for the students, increased mental focus, and the ability to prepare students for the real world. “Young students should feel safe, secure, and free from threats of violence to perform better academically. (King, 1998) The fact that some students feel scared while they are in school due to bullies makes the school not a safe environment for them. Making all students wear the same thing would then cut down on the reasons that a bully would have to pick on a student. Wearing school uniforms in high gang related areas also reduces the ability for students to wear gang related colors and insignias to school which in the end will reduce gang related violence in those areas and allow students to focus more on the learning. Wearing a school uniform
Should school uniforms be required in public schools? There are many reasons to get school uniforms. It is proven through statistics that school uniforms may decrease the amount of crime but also increase student safety. With uniforms fighting in schools dropped by 51%, sexual offenses depleted by 74% and drug possession went down by 69% (M. Sue Stanley). Student uniforms are all the same, which helps the students and teacher conserve precious class time by not having to re-enforce the standard dress code. Having the same clothes as everyone else can be upsetting but, TeenVogue stated “there are tons of ways to amp up your standard issue getup” (Teen Vogue).
School uniforms are a very diverse topic today. Many people people believe that they are very beneficial, but others may argue that they are irrelevant. Schools implementing strict dress codes, or uniforms, is a good decision because it prevents students from bullying each other based on appearance, and it may help some families financial situations.
Having school uniforms greatly decrease one’s way to get bullied. “Perhaps most importantly, a uniform means students don't have to worry about peer pressure when it comes to their clothes. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about what you look like isn't so important. There is no competition about being dressed in the latest trend, which would put a great deal of financial pressure on students and parents. Potential bullies have one less target for their insults; it's hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you're dressed exactly the same...” (Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?). With the same as gang violence, having uniforms does not get rid of bullying altogether. With my experiences in both non-uniform and uniform enforced schools, I saw far less bullying in schools with uniforms. Most of the bullying incidents I have seen are focused on the kid’s appearance due to clothing. Having the uniforms can help students look at each other in a more equal
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.
With gang activity, strict dress codes, and bullying becoming more relevant, the idea of school uniforms crosses the mind of many school districts across the country. Even though it may stop students from expressing themselves it would make it easier for staff members to enforce these strict dress codes, reduce the amount of bullying, and overall make schools easier. Which is why schools should have uniforms.
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.
One factor why schools implement uniforms is to subside gang violence inside the schools atmosphere, but why should the whole school have to be punished? According to (National Cener for Education Statistics, 2014) on average only 27% of students
In summary, schools should not have uniforms. They do not allow students to express themselves. Also, they teach conformity over individuality. In addition to being useless in schools, they do not improve attendance, academic preparedness, or test results. Really, they do not improve anything. If you were a principal, would you enforce a uniform
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?
School uniforms delay a student’s transition into becoming an adult, so uniforms should not be entailed. According to PublicSchoolReview.com, “Students that are forced to wear uniforms are ill-prepared to become an adult that has to choose things for themselves” (ProCon.org). Everyone knows that adulthood involves making your own choices. All throughout high-school, students that get to choose what they wear already know what clothing they like and what they feel they look best in. However, with a uniform policy, students would then have to experiment with new clothing and could potentially waste money right away.
The big talk of most schools now are uniforms. Some people think that they are a great idea. Some people don't like the fact that schools are applying a uniform policy. A lot of controversy has been rising in the school systems about uniform instead of education. I believe that schools have uniforms because students had a higher bullying rate when we were able to wear regular clothes and it helps people more worried about themselves, when everybody is wearing the same thing. It could really go either way.
School uniforms should definitely be used in school systems. Uniforms are both good for schools as well as for the students. Wearing uniforms will help build a sense of unity within the school. Instead of everyone as a separate team, everyone will be in the same team. Wearing uniforms will help free students of the stress of what to wear in the morning. Wearing school uniforms will help improve student individuality and improve their self-esteem.
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
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.
School systems have debated for years if they should make school uniforms mandatory for all students. Some parents do not want school systems to mandate uniforms due to pressure from their children to be able to maintain their individuality through clothing, while other parents prefer uniforms to reduce spending money on name brand school clothes and to minimize associations with gangs. More school systems across the United States of America are going to uniforms from grades one through twelve where students are still impressionable by their peers. I believe public schools should require students to wear school uniforms to help parents save money in these hard economic times, to limit the number of incidents of violence in the school systems due to gangs and gang associates such as colors, and to prepare students for the job force after school where some places make it mandatory to wear uniforms to work every day.