You have the freedom of expression, but what if someone took it away? School uniforms do that. School uniforms started way back in the 1200’s, when the Archbishop of Canterbury mandated that students wear a robe-like outfit called the "cappa clausa." More recently, almost one in five US public schools required students to wear uniforms during the 2011-2012 school year. School uniforms take away the student's right of expression, promotes conformity over individuality and takes away the free, in free schools. Some people may say that school uniforms prevent bullying, but that isn’t always true. Students should not have to wear school uniforms. 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. Second, school uniforms promote conformity over individuality. …show more content…
Anderson, IN parents Laura and Scott Bell, who sued over a school's uniform policy because it broke the guarantee of a free public education (and because it violated their children's right to freedom of expression) said they were required to pay $641 for their children's uniforms in Aug. 2007. This shows that even though taxpayers already pay for the school, the parents still have to pay for the uniforms. For people who are already struggling with money, they won’t be able to pay for their kids to go to school. The point of having free schools is that kids get an education and even families who struggle with money they can still send their kids to school, but if you have school uniforms you take the free part away and some children won’t be able to go to
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
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.
This claim is outweighed by the facts that freedom of speech does not apply to the use of school uniforms and that students' education are more essential than expressing themselves through their choice of clothing. Uniforms do not stop students from expressing themselves; they can do this by styling other ways they present themselves.
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
“Opponents say school uniforms infringe upon students’ right to express their individuality, have no positive effect on behavior and academic achievement, and emphasize the socio economic disparities they are intended to disguise.” (Procon.org 1). I think that Crestwood High School should not require school uniforms because parents spend about one billion dollars per year on school uniforms. While some believe that Crestwood High School should require uniforms because they may deter crime and increase students safety.(Procon.org 1). I strongly maintain that we should not require uniforms, so students could have a right to express their thoughts. School uniforms would not be good for Crestwood because it restricts students’ freedom of expression
Society is made up of different body types and uniforms are just that, uniform. Wearing something that does not fit right is extremely uncomfortable and distracting. If a student sitting in the classroom is trying to pay attention to a lesson, but has to constantly adjust their clothing in a worthless attempt to get comfortable, this can be extremely disruptive to the class as a whole because the teacher has to periodically remind the student to stop fidgeting and pay attention. The drawing of this attention to the student and their clothing can be detrimental to their self-confidence, and make them a target for other students to make fun of them. “The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes uniforms on the grounds that they violate students’ rights to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.” (“School Uniforms”). How a student dresses will not directly improve their grades, and making them wear a uniform will curb their expression of individuality. Having to alter a uniform to fit body type can get extremely expensive.
“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.
The main counterargument against this is how a uniform acts as the initiation of a passage of life. Bill O’Chee also argues that school uniforms are “An equally powerful statement of belonging.” They also argue that having a school uniform would cost parents less money because the parents wouldn’t
Schools should not have school uniforms. One reason why schools should not have uniforms is the uniforms will cost a lot of money. For example, “ Shirts plus pants plus shoes add up quickly. So I was not surprised to find that the average cost to school uniforms for parents is $248,”(Runge 1). This evidence proves that the uniforms cost a lot of money because each shirt, pair of pants, and shoes cost a different cost and when that is added all up it will cost a lot of money. For example, “One said:” My daughter, they sent her home and said she wasn’t allowed to come back until she had the right shoes. So then I had to
Schools uniforms takes away students freedom to express them self and individuality. In the article “Free to be me,” it stated that many people were concerned that wearing a uniform would take away students freedom to express them self. The reason is that many students wants to show that they are different than each other, so it doesn’t make them feel that they are just like everyone else. So many students and parents felt so strongly about that that they
People say you are what you wear. Well, uniforms are expensive and are a violation of human rights, even though it’s professional and sober clothing, they don’t allow students to express who they are, so how are they supposed to be what they wear? People say it prevents bullying, but bullying can happen without uniform. School uniform promotes conformity over individuality. They are difficult to enforce in public schools. It is more money to pay for uniforms and normal clothes outside of school. There really isn’t a uniform in real life like working if you work as a janitor at a school it doesn’t matter what you wear it matters that you get the job done.
Today, many schools around the world enforce uniforms, requiring students to wear specific clothing. School uniforms, which was first established in 16th century England, are a topic of much debate in the public school system of the United States. Many people feel that uniforms reduce competition among students and bring a sense of unity in school. People who are against school uniforms think that they prevent students from expressing themselves and inhibits creativity. Many students dislike school uniforms because uniforms can be viewed as a violation of their rights, while others benefit from uniforms because it relieves the stress of picking what to wear to school. Although school uniforms do have its benefits, they also limit
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 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.
The First Amendment of the US Constitution gives us the right as individuals to express ourselves freely. Clothing is the main way a teen can show his or her uniqueness in society. Some people may say that because students are all wearing the same, it makes less competition between students over clothing choices and the teasing of those who are dressed in less expensive or less fashionable outfits can be eliminated. Bullies are smart. They will just find some other way to show status. Who has the best iPod, who has the most games at home, who went on the biggest vacation. If kids want to pick on someone about how rich or how poor they are, clothes are one obvious symbol, but there are a lot of other obvious ways for them to do it. Public education is free and accessible to anyone. But with the uniforms added to schools, some parents cannot afford the added