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School uniforms debate
School uniforms affect school learning
School uniforms debate
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Studies have been done on how school uniforms create a better and safe environment for students and teachers. However there is contradictory about this issue because of the lack of information and other changes that might have happened at the same time as the uniform policy was being integrated. This may be difficult to single out one change that was added to the school system. Schools are believed to take away opportunities for the students to realize diversity and socioeconomic gap between students as stated by (Fossey and DeMitchell). Authors with both sides of the argument for and against school uniforms who were key components to the forming of this article are Keith A King in “Should School Uniforms be Mandated In Elementary Schools?”, …show more content…
One thing that was practiced in the school was religion was practiced in the school. The trend of school uniforms moved to the United States in the 1800’s when Native Americans began attending boarding schools and dressed in military style uniform. Most of the schools who enforced the uniform policy were private or parochial schools. Maryland was one of the states that was mostly recognized because the prior school year a confrontation over a pair of $95 glasses which lead to a shooting that wounded a student from a public school. In the fall of 1988, 39 public elementary and 2 junior high schools in Washington D.C., had required students to wear school uniforms and soon spread to other states where mainly students were from low income households and large minority population …show more content…
As families begin to send their students to schools with uniforms sometimes the family does not have the money to pay for uniforms. American students spend near $1 billion dollars per year on school uniforms (ProCon). A set of three uniforms per year comes to around one hundred dollars, the ability for some families to pay for new uniforms every year is something that families struggle with. The usage of school uniforms does not allow students to see the diversity/ cultural differences in schools. Students are unable to see that there are different people then them and believe that their peers come from a similar background as they did. In the beginning of history is where this may have been true but now since uniforms have spread into metro inner city schools this becomes an issue (Fossey and DeMitchell). Another issue that hold back students are the delay of transition to adulthood because the students are used to being told what they could wear and what they could not
Ever wonder what it would look like to have all students wearing the same white polo shirt, black pants, and a district sweater walking in the hallway? Nowadays, public school and many districts are discussing the possibilities of enforcing the uniform policy. In most places, many private schools already require students to have their mandatory uniforms; however, there are only a few public schools adopting this mandatory school-uniform polices as one of their enrollment requirements. The reason why not all public schools participated was because people believe that they are violating the freedom of choice when enforcing this mandatory uniform policy; yet problems such as bullying and segregation, emerged in these schools. Some people still think uniforms have no benefits at all. However, all public school students should be required to wear uniforms because it would improve the academic performance, reduce the violent behaviors based on appearance judgment, and provide less stress for both parents and students.
This is another real world problem that has been around since the earliest of civilizations and will need more than just school uniforms to change that. “If students are to be prepared for the outside world, they need to be prepared for a world riddled with inequalities, injustices, and inflexible social divisions.”(Wilkins p.5-6) says Julia Wilkins in her article “School Uniforms: The Answer to Violence in American Schools or a Cheap Educational Reform?” which she supports school uniforms, but disagrees with the fact that this will eliminate economic classes between the students. Further explaining, it would be a disservice to students throwing them into a world of differences if they grew up with equality in schools. Even if the schools went through with the idea of this, many problems would arise that they cannot control. As said by Dennis Evans in his article “would uniforms propose to ban high school students from driving cars to school, from wearing jewelry, or from carrying money?” (Evans par.4), which dead on means this is more of a societal problem. Moreover, Dennis Evans explains that the schools then would have to eliminate or make free some of the activities that are held. Not only will the tax payers pay for the school uniforms, but also they will have to pay for the extracurricular activities that schools have such as sporting clubs. To summarize, school uniforms will have little to no effect of changing financial barriers between students and won’t help them in life after school, which also would include what they will get from this
“The Manual on School Uniforms”, printed and issued by the United States Department of Education, noted that Long Beach, California, reported a decrease in crime, fights, sex offenses, weapons offenses, and vandalism after they adopted their uniform policy (4). Contrary to government findings, The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 discovered that school uniforms have had no real effects on behavior, drug abuse or attendance; furthermore they also came to find that uniforms actually have negative effects on the academic achievement of the students (Brunsma and Rockquemore 54). If school A is emphasizing that school uniforms are conducive to the learning environment, yet school B down the road has higher testing scores but no uniform policy, then their stand is no longer valid. This proves that uniforms have no effect on the learning process.
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.
In the fall of 1987, uniforms first appeared in a public school at Cherry Hill Elementary after a child was badly beaten of a pair of glasses that cost 95 dollars. Uniforms and dress codes were put in place to reassure that this did not occur again. By fall of 1989 mandated uniforms had spread to 39 other schools in urban schools with manly low incomes and minority students. Uniforms were never created to harm any student if anything they were created to help them to have a sense of belonging and protecting them. To be protected is to be covered or shielded from exposure.
People believe that these dress codes restrict the freedom of students causing them to conform over to individualize who they are. Uniforms are intended to improve a student’s performance by limiting their freedom of choosing what to wear. In addition, students have reported to despise uniforms stating they do not cooperate with how they perform at school. It is quite controversial when approached by the idea of promised free education from public schools when they are forced to abide by mandatory dress codes. Some believe that the government is pushing for commercial interests because Americans now spend around $1 billion on school uniforms yearly.
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.
...h the cost of a year's worth of school uniforms. The cost of a year's worth (Five tops and five bottoms) of school uniforms or standardized dress code clothing is $150. The savings add up plus students who don’t have to focus on what to wear to school are going to focus more on academics, which leads to improved grades.
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.
Parents are also impacted when schools require uniforms. Some argue that this policy is too expensive; uniforms are actually more affordable. For example, an average parent of a teen that attends a public school spends over $500.00 a year on clothes alone, while a parent of a teen with a uniform policy spends less then $200.00 a year. There are fewer clothes to purchase, therefore less money to spend.
What is the reason that school require to put on the extra cost on parents to pay for school uniforms. One reason that schools don’t take into account is that “for families who struggle financially, the requirement to purchase school uniforms for their children could prove significantly
Uniforms in our Public Schools. School Uniforms are a logical choice for the public school venue. Uniforms prevent students from a lower income background from being singled out for poorly made or cheap clothing, prevents use of gang colors, allows for certain safety measures, and allows teachers to form impressions of students based on actions and work rather than dress code choices. Since the 1990s schools have reported amazing results by mandating a school uniform policy. Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. L (2006): “School uniforms, proponents have said, can lead to improved discipline and classroom behavior, increased school attendance, respect for teachers, better school performance, higher student self-esteem and confidence, lower clothing costs, promotion of group spirit, reduction in social stratification, and lower rates of violence and crime.
Should school uniforms be required? Some say that uniforms help students focus on academics instead of fashion. Others believe that students should have the freedom to choose what they wear to school in order to express their differences and their uniqueness. After considering both sides of the issue, I strongly believe that uniforms should be introduced in primary public and private schools. Wearing school uniforms does not promote unfair comparisons between student’s incomes in terms of clothing; they aid students in developing their inner qualities instead of focusing on the outer aspects of themselves in the crucial earlier years of their lives, and provides a platform for practicing discipline.
In fact, one in five public schools throughout the US are required to wear them. It has been said that on average, high-poverty areas with public schools are more common to have school uniforms mandatory. The first school district in the US to acquire the school uniforms was in Long Beach, California roughly a decade and a half ago. As of 2008, 22 states have enforced the utilization of school uniforms. Studies show that US schools with a minority student population of 50% are four times as likely to require uniforms than schools with a minority population of 20-49%, and 24 times more likely than schools with minority populations of 5%-19%. Studies also show that the cities with the highest use of uniforms in public schools are New Orleans with 95%, Cleveland with 85%, Chicago with 80%, and Boston with 65%. Those studies were based off teachers and parents. 23% of all public and private schools are required to wear school uniforms and have a dress code. The annual cost of school uniforms sales runs about 1.3 billion around the world, and roughly 249 dollars per parent. With that being said, school uniforms could reduce the stress that comes along with school shopping. That is one less item that parents have to worry about. Just having to buy school uniforms instead of a whole new wardrobe after every new yea could help several families save money. It is said that having uniforms could potentially help families concentrate on where it matters most, which is the quality of the education that their child
Introduction: The motion brought before the house today is “All schools should enforce the wearing of school uniforms from primary 1 to secondary 4.” This is a topic that is hot on the lips of educators, students and parents. School uniforms are a specific set or group of school-standardised clothing. If we look at America, only private and non-government run schools that institute the wearing of school uniforms. In Hong Kong, most schools require their students to wear school uniforms. My team is definitely in favour of schools having their students wear school uniforms. My teammates and I will demonstrate to you that the benefits brought by the wearing of school uniforms far outweigh any perceived disadvantages. Our first main argument, which will be explained by Brian, is that enforcing school uniforms in all schools will lift school spirit greatly. Justine will discuss our second argument, being that school uniforms reduce the amount of bullying. The fourth speaker, Ray, will debate about casual clothing distracting students. Finally, Joyce will summarise our arguments, convincing you,without a doubt, that school uniforms MUST be enforced in all schools.