Pros And Cons Of School Uniforms In Schools

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School Uniforms in Public Schools Should public schools require students to wear uniforms? Interestingly enough, many people say no. The first school district in the United States to require all K through eight, students to wear uniforms was Long Beach, CA, in Jan. 1994 (Angerame 1). In their first year, the district recorded a fifty percent decline in fights and the number of cases of students bringing weapons to school (Angerame 1). As of 2008, twenty-two US states specifically authorized schools to institute dress codes or uniform policies. Public school students should be required to wear uniforms (Angerame 2).
First, public school students should be required to wear uniforms because not everyone has the money to go out and buy their …show more content…

Too often kids of all ages are bullied because of what they are wearing or what they can not afford to wear, requiring uniforms reduces this issue, tremendously. Dr. Reginald Wilson, senior scholar at the American Council of Education in Washington, D.C., told Jet that, “Uniforms would help discourage violence because students will not have a need to fight over who looks better or want to cause harm in an attempt to take another student 's trendy clothes” (1). No matter how much money a student has or how little money one has, everyone would be wearing the same thing. If everyone wore uniforms and no one was put to a higher standard, then no child would get jealous of the other and want to fight/steal something from another. School uniforms keep kids focused on what the teacher is saying or, more importantly, what the have to do to graduate rather than what cute shirt Susie has on today. Although uniforms reduce crime and bullying in school it does not eliminate it all together. An opponent of the Philadelphia Plan said, “The social and economic factors that contribute to gang activity need to be addressed directly, and that failing students need extra tutoring--not a change of clothes” (Kizis 2). Changing a student’s appearance is not going to change their habits. Bullying, crime, and failure rates may go down, but they are not going to go away just …show more content…

Having all students wearing the same thing makes it quicker and easier for teachers to do dress code checks. They know exactly what they should see and what they are looking for wrong. Gail Connelly, NAESP’s executive director, said, “We know that a school uniform policy can help reduce instances of classroom discipline and bullying, as well as improve student safety and attendance. The use of school uniforms, whether in public or private schools, has a powerful influence on school culture in ways that contribute to greater levels of student achievement” (naesp.org). Many say that school uniforms are just a waste of time and money, but a recent study shows that after switching to uniforms surveyed schools’ leaders believe that it has made a positive impact. The study shows that peer pressure has gone down by eighty-six percent and bullying has gone down by sixty-four percent. School uniforms also show school pride and make kids want to attend their school’s activities. Studies show that after transitioning from regular clothes to school uniforms students’ school pride has increased by seventy-seven percent! Some schools have even found that if they let the students take a poll on what color they want their school uniforms to be, the kids feel more apart of the decision and transition to uniforms and begin to love the idea of

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