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The Pros And Cons Of School Uniforms

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I had never thoroughly taken into consideration the benefits and disadvantages that school uniforms presented until my family and I vacationed in England in early spring of 2015. While traveling we met up with a woman that my mother had known in High school. The woman had moved to the UK, and since had gotten married and had three children. One of the many conversations we had was about the British school environment and how it differed from American school standards. The mother had explained that the school her children attended required a school uniform, as most schools do in the UK. Those conversations sparked a curiosity in me that I had to quench. What are the benefits and disadvantages of school uniforms, and should we implement them more so in American schools? Although the questions I had were fairly straight forward, the answers proved to be more in-depth. Through my research I discovered several new ideas and values. As I read various different articles on the subject I began to develop an opinion of my own. Combined with my own personal experience, all though it be brief, and with the documented experiences and statistics, I can only pronounce that all the evidence leads to the idea that uniforms indeed are a treasured asset to our schools. Although the evidence is in favor of school uniforms, there are some who disagree. In my search I observed both sides of the argument, and realized that the number one complaint about school uniforms was that they take away students freedoms to express themselves. The main argument is that school uniforms limit students’ individuality, and enforce a strict learning environment. As stated in the article, “The Pros and Cons of School Uniforms,” “The No. 1 objection we hear is that school uniforms take away opportunities for students to express their individuality, said Joanne Hewat, vice-president of a business that supplies uniforms to schools across the country” (Johne). Some argue that taking the freedom of expression away from the students hinders the learning process, as shown in the article “Should We Get Ride of School Uniforms?” “A recent Harvard study reported that ‘relaxed, liberal schools that shun uniforms and encourage pupils to call teachers by

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