High school is typically a time when kids begin to distinguish themselves from one another. Students begin to develop their own sense of personal style, desperately trying to both fit in and stand out simultaneously. Being self-conscious and often lacking the confidence needed to assert themselves, teens are forced to use clothing and outward appearance as the means to manifest this individuality. Thus, students should not be forced to wear uniforms to school. Standard uniforms are unproven deterrents to student violence; are a "Band-Aid" to cover up the real problems faced by children and teens; and they violate students' right of self-expression, depriving them of their search for identity.
There is something comforting about school children and teenagers dressed in pleats and plaid. Maybe it is a reminder of past times, or conjures up thoughts of order and safety. Whatever the reason, school uniforms are getting a lot of ?wear? these days, yet remain an unproven deterrent to school violence. No long-term, formal studies have been done with regards to the effectiveness of school uniforms, but many schools have kept their own informal statistics, such as the Long Beach School District. These statistics offered by Long Beach are often most cited as a proven deterrent to school violence, after adopting a mandatory uniform policy in 1994. According to Richard Van Der Laan, school crime has dropped over seventy-five percent, while attendance has reached an all-time high. One question we must ask ourselves is this, ?Is it the uniforms, or the induction of them that is solving the problem?? Maybe it is the school and parents showing some ?back-bone? which is affecting the students, not the clothing.
If you are a skeptic, get in line. There is no concrete evidence proving uniforms alone cause such dramatic reductions in crime, but rather, these policies appear to act as nothing more that a ?Band-Aid? that fails to address the real causes of youth violence. Although this violence, including sexual assault, can be linked to ?free-dress?, it is not dependent upon it, and points to deeper, more significant problems within the youth community. Violence is not learned by clothing, but rather through unfit home situations, negative friendships, and even popular culture (including emulation of television, media, music, and movies). A simple change in dress will not abolish these problems, but merely hide them for a time.
Students are being bullied, bringing weapons and drugs to school, and fighting every day for numerous reasons. Uniforms would decrease bullying and make each student feel equal and not because they can’t afford the name brand items that other students wear. All students should be required to wear the same uniform, which would make each student feel more comfortable attending school. The uniforms could be a plain solid colored polo with khaki pants or blue jeans. Having a dress code would prevent the display of gang activity within the school and increase the safety of students in our community. Peer pressure pulls many students to react in ways they should not. For example, students wear clothing with multiple pockets and could easily carry weapons or items that are not permitted at school. Uniforms would increase the safety of students and allow them to learn in the best environment possible. In 2013, in Virginia, classroom discipline improved with a high of 85 percent and the student’s safety 79
Every year parents, students and teachers argue about the issue of applying school uniform, and if it is going to be put into effect or not. Each year, school dress code is being pushed away. Year after year, to help stop violent behavior and encourage order in schools, dress codes are applied. Does the fact of students having to wear a certain dress code reduce the violent behavior and encourage order in schools? (“The Controversial School Uniforms and School Dress Code Debate”, 2008). Research shows, that dress code policies may increase the chance of a child safety in school by a very low percentage, but that still affects the child in a positive way (“Do uniforms make schools better?”, 2004).
In Long Beach California, they were the first to prove that school uniforms actually do reduce the amount of violence. With a 51 percent drop of physical fights, 34 percent drop in assaults, 50 percent drop in weapon offences, and 32 percent drop with suspensions. They introduced school uniforms in 1996 and ever since have been reducing the amount of violence in school. School uniforms should be used to stop the violence because nobody should have to get beat up because their outfit looks bad, or because it is easier to start gangs, students should not have to protect themselves by bringing a gun to school, students should be able to come to school safe, and without violence. A total of 85 students died violently in U.S schools, 75 percent incidents involving firearms. A couple of students at schools have had the option of deciding whether or not they wanted to wear uniforms, and less than 1 percent of students chose not to. Students would rather wear sometimes hideous uniforms than to risk their life. Wearing a school uniform is obviously a no brainer compared to being fire armed, but in some cases, some students, such as the 1 percent who chose not to, would rather risk their life. Wearing school uniforms could save students’ lives, and make schools a less violent place and make it a safe place
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.
With many of the schools that do not use school uniforms, they are having trouble with their students, and the school environment is collapsing. Two very educated people that work on keeping schools safe; Linda Lumsden and Gabriel Miller’s, in their article “School Uniforms and Dress Codes”, they have informed people the biggest reasons school crime exists. Some kids come in dressed promoting drugs and alcohol, others come in dressed in “swag in gang related clothes”, and other students come to school with sexually provocative clothing (Lumsden, Miller). This is getting out of hand because so many students are wearing cloths, which is provocative, and no one is taking serious control to stop them from being a distraction to other students. Also one of the biggest issues with schools these days, are the school shootings. Sherry Bowen, a professional in the education system has informed people about how easy it is to sneak in weapons to school. By using schools uniforms it will be hard to sneak in a gun, or other harmful weapon (Bowen). With schoo...
It has been observed that the adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school uniforms include decreasing violence and theft. Some instances involving designer clothing and expensive sneakers have even led to life-threatening situations among students. Uniforms would also prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school. Uniforms would also teach students discipline and help them resist peer pressure. Uniforms would also help students concentrate on their schoolwork and would help school officials detect intruders who come unwelcome into the school.
Jessica Portner, a writer for Education Week, agreed with President Clinton in her February 14, 1996 article entitled “Uniforms Get Credit for Decrease in Discipline Problems.” Using statistical evidence from the aforementioned Long Beach school system grades K-8, Portner creates a compelling argument pro school uniforms. In a study of the 83,000 K-8 students, the rates of assault and battery decreased 34%, fights 51% and there were 32% fewer suspensions.
"Will School Uniforms Crube Student Violence." Inspire. Johnson Publishing, 1 Apr. 1996. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. (Will school)
The potential benefits of school uniforms include decreasing violence and threat. Some instances involving designer clothing and expensive shoes have led to life-threating situations among students. Hannah Boyd says, “Now that kids are getting mugged for their designer clothes and expensive sneakers, school uniforms seem a safer alternative to many.” "It's tragic when young people without a balanced upbringing, without grounded values, without a secure education, wind up believing that it's all right to kill somebody for a pair of sneakers or jewelry or a designer jacket," Mr. Clinton said, citing recent incidents of violence by teen-agers. With school uniforms students won’t be getting mugged for their designer clothes and expensive sneakers because everyone’s wearing the same thing and won’t get jealous of what others have. Uniforms help rid of the bullies that want to beat someone up because they dress a certain way or because they don’t have what other people have. With uniform policies kids can’t get beat up or made fun of because of what they wear and the uniforms help build that confidence that kids who get beat up lack. ...
School uniforms should be part of the school systems, because statistics had shown that students who wear uniforms are doing better than dress codes. More students also feel a sense of equality among each other and there are fewer judgments of others. It allows teacher quickly to identify people who do not belong in the building and limit the ways that gangs can identify themselves. School outfit provides students identity, individual spirit, and pride. Uniforms are increasing throughout different schools. School uniforms make students look more formal, and progressively affects student’s self-esteem, discipline, and safety, and develops students be more confident of what they can achieve in life.
Do you remember what your wardrobe was like during high school? Maybe you wore the latest in brand name clothing, anything that wasn’t associated with gang signs, or whatever hand me downs you could get. The reality is physical violence is common between children because of the name brand on a jacket or a pair of jeans. Children are being ridiculed because their families simply can't afford to provide them with the latest in fashion. In our larger cities where gang involvement is prevalent, children are killed because they choose to wear the wrong color to school. This concern is not about civil liberties or freedom of expression, it's about improving the educational environment within our public school systems nationwide. If this is a possible solution to the issues faced in public schools, is expressing one’s self with brand name clothing not worth giving up? and I went to private school where I was required to wear uniforms. I saw a strong correlation between wearing uniforms and prevention of school violence. I’m here today to talk about why uniforms prevent school violence. I will speak about how it prevents students from ridicule, theft and gang violence.
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.
There is an unending discussion in schools across the country about school uniforms and whether or not they make for a better experience in school for the students or just the teachers. Those who are pro-uniforms insist that uniforms will allow families to save money and time on clothing. This is so because these days children often get ready by themselves, because their parents are usually off to work before they wake up for school (Linder-Altman). Uniforms give the parents of these children confidence that their child is going to school looking halfway decent. There are also claims that uniforms will decrease the amount of bullying in school because all of the students will look alike. On the other hand, those protesting uniforms believe although everyone is pretty much dressed the same, cliques will still form and bullying will still exist (Dress code and Uniforms). I wore uniforms throughout primary school and I didn’t like them because I always felt uncomfortable in them. In hindsight, it could have been because I felt my personality was bottled up every time I put on my school uniform. There are claims that uniforms are not inclusive and won’t allow children to accept each other because of their differences (Linder-Altman). When everyone in the school is dressed alike, students may feel as if they aren’t able to express his/herself. Those unfamiliar with this topic may be interested to know the
First, one of the chief benefits of school uniforms is their ability to make schools safer. Studies have shown that they help to reduce gang influences. (Isaacson, 1998)
Schools requiring uniforms will experience reduction in violence. Without the pressure of competing with different styles, students are more relaxed in school. They will feel equal and at peace, leading to disappearing thoughts of violence. Obligated uniforms will reduce the weapon dilemma considerably. They will be harder to conceal with all students dressed the identically, therefore fewer will be brought to school.