Not a Magic Solution to School Problems
School uniform policies are often referred to as a Band-Aid solution. They help hide more serious problems at the school by giving the school a nice look. Surveys of students and teachers show that in general people believe a well-dressed person is more intelligent and better behaved. Politicians like the look of school uniforms; many of them support this cause until the schools ask for more money. Uniforms are often implemented in schools that are overcrowded and have lower test scores. Many administrators think uniform create school pride; some even say that school pride increases test scores. There is a large amount of propaganda available about school uniforms; however, few articles provide hard evidence or statistics. The ACLU has disagreed with many dress codes and policies. Because most evidence about school uniforms is anecdotal, schools should only adopt uniforms in co-operation with other programs.
During the 1996 presidential elections, incumbent William Jefferson Clinton introduced an intriguing scenario to the public’s eye. His plan was to offer school uniforms as a tool for the principals and parents to use to help stop crime in their schools. He offered his plan in a way to get an immediate and emotional response by talking of the “murder” of innocent children. He gave three examples of so called children getting wounded or killed for their expensive clothes. Ironically, in each of these examples older teen were the victims. One boy in Detroit was shot for his expensive shoes; another, from Fort Lauderdale “was robbed of his jewelry.” The third was from a suburb of Washington D.C.; he, an honor roll student, was “caught in the cross-fire” during the robbery of another student’s jacket (Transcript). Notice all of the examples are from larger cities.
Former president Clinton continued his speech by urging the parents to take action. He had the Secretary of Education send the “Manual on School Uniforms” to each school district in the nation. Clinton wanted school uniforms to be a way for parents and schools to improve school safety and discipline, but he knew that uniforms wouldn’t solve the problems by themselves. He said uniform policies should be implemented at the same time as other programs to reduce truancy, drug use, gangs, gangs, and weapons in schools (Text). The need for other ...
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... students in various ways, such as to learn how to ‘cooperate’ with their friends and work out the problem.” (Mr. Knight). Uniforms are not just for schools it's also for jobs or teams you play on, so you just have to sit down and think about how school uniforms can change and the rest of your priors for the good or better, uniforms can make your school a safe place, bully and gang violence free zone. Even the statistics show schools that have uniforms have a decrease bullying, gang violence and other crimes. Putnam City Schools should adopt school uniforms next year.
"’School uniforms are one step that may help break the cycle of violence, truancy and disorder by helping young students understand what really counts is what kind of people they are,’ President Clinton said. It didn 't take much more than this presidential nod of approval to get the uniform ball rolling in many school districts across the country” (Bowen). Are school uniforms really the answer to the public schools’ problems? Although having a school uniform policy is mostly beneficial to schools, there are some drawbacks to having one. While uniforms provide less cost to the parent and less chance of bullying in schools, they also limit a student’s freedom of expression and can decrease the student’s comfort level.
This paper could be targeted at a couple of audiences. Firstly this paper could appeal to the general public, or anyone interested in school uniforms in general. More specifically, the papers audience could be the Greeley-Evans School Districts employees and board members.
School uniforms have always been a topic of interest for me since fifth grade when my school merged with another and I had the possibility of adopting their uniform policies. Up until researching this topic I have always thought uniforms were a terrible idea because they were just ugly and looked uncomfortable. So with my argument paper of course I wrote about how uniforms are a bad idea. After reviewing all of my research I did in order to write this paper I came to the conclusion that uniforms actually make so much sense to me now. This could be because I am lazy and like that I wouldn’t have to make any decisions. I have also encountered many peers who do wear uniforms and after hearing their opinions and tolerance for them I began to wish I was exposed to that growing up. So I have done full research into both sides, while switching sides a few times as I created a solid outline. Currently I feel that uniforms offer a safe and united community that encourages the individual and self growth.
Many educators and even former President Bill Clinton, in his 1996 State of the Union address, have publicly supported the use of uniforms in schools. Larry Wilder Ed. D at Fresno Pacific University School of Education is one of those supporters.The reason he agrees with uniforms is because “They lead to a safer educational environment that increases Student's ability to learn, increases equality between the sexes and tolerance among ethnic and social groups.” There is much debate by educators on whether or not students in public schools should wear uniforms or have a dress code. There are many positive aspects and several negative aspects of uniforms in school. No matter what side you are on, there is a mixed bag of data when it comes to the ...
In society today, school-age children are under tremendous pressure to fit in with their peers and still perform well academically. I believe that school uniforms at pre-K through high school levels are an excellent way to help children succeed not only in school, but to prepare them for college and the “real world.” Three reasons why I believe school uniforms should be used in all schools is first, they are economic, next, they reduce distractions and finally, they help with social equality. To begin, school uniforms are economic. When schools have a uniform policy, it makes it easier on the children and parents.
"School Uniforms? Yes and No?" How We. TypePad, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.(School)
At the beginning of the 20th century almost no parent or faculty had any concerns with how students dressed to attend school. Nowadays, though, this is a giant concern among students, parents, and school board officials. Many arguments have been made over the matter saying uniforms should be required and enforced in schools. But, uniforms should not be required as they ultimately eliminate freedom of expression, promote conformity over individuality, may have a detrimental effect on students self image, emphasize the socioeconomic divisions they are supposed to eliminate, and lastly, school uniforms in public schools undermine the promise of a free education by adding an extra expense for families.
Boutelle, Marsha. “Uniforms: Are They A Good Fit?” The Education Digest Feb. 2008: 37. Print.
The most common argument against school uniforms is that they take away the students right to self-expression. Yes, school uniforms limit what the students have to wear, but students can still have their own ways of self-expression. Students can still express their style of choice with their hair and what accessories they wear. Their shoe choice is also a form of self-expression. Students can make the uniforms their own style without breaking the dress code. School is a place to learn. Outside of school, self- expression is limitless. Some parents also believe that it could interfere with students' natural behavior to experiment with different identities. Having uniforms in schools helps erase the defined line of the social classes. Typically, popular kids in the higher social classes wear the trendiest clothing...
Bill Clinton once said, “People will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require students to wear school uniforms.” Public schools across America are searching to improve safety, school belonging and also help parents save money & students save time getting ready. One way to improve these issues would be to implement a uniform policy. The adoption of school uniforms policies will reach what public schools across America are searching for.
School uniforms are a boiling conversation point these days. There are so many well-built points of view about what route parents, students, and superintendents wish to go in. It has been disputed that school uniforms have the potential to make a school safer, that uniforms reduce harassment or self-esteem issues, and that uniforms return the focus to the students' learning. I disagree. I, in fact think that school uniforms do not help make our schools a more secure place, I think that they do not revisit the center of attention to student's education - they just shifted where the attention was previous, and that they won’t help cut down on harassment or self- esteem issues in school.
Wharton, Claudene. “School Uniform Study.” UNR.edu. University of Nevada, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
“A district wide proposal emerged in 2009 but was never enacted, and protests led by the group Clifton Asserting Parental Rights managed to stop a second try in 2012. The group, headed by parents Ann and Kurt Schnakenberg, gained momentum in the anti-uniform movement six years ago. The group cites studies by a Virginia Tech sociologist, David Brunsma, whose research found that school uniforms fail to improve student behavior, self-esteem or academics, as proponents