Ensuing President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in January of 1996, more and more public schools are implementing dress codes and uniform policies in their schools. As a result, there has been an increase in legal controversies dealing with the issue. The reason that dress codes are not conclusively enforced is due to the application of the First Amendment to juveniles in the public school setting. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Should children in public schools be able to wear whatever they want because of the freedoms classified in the First Amendment? I feel that the answer is no. Institutionalizing dress codes in public schools would do a great good for students and the entire academic community. I base my opinion on the fact that the pros of imposing dress codes outweigh the cons of the argument. By imposing dress codes or uniforms for students, it would eliminate opportunities for the ridicule of less popular or less fortunate students based on their attire, help prevent gang violence and gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia in schools, and generate an overall better academic concentration and discipline in the educational community.
In society today, the clothing that someone wears is basically a billboard for his or her personal, or family's financial situation. For children in public schools, fitting in with the popular, or most fashionable people is probably the most important thing to them. When children are preoccupied wi...
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...h in turn, gave students an opportunity to have greater focus on their education.
It is extremely apparent to me, and should be apparent to others, on how much of a significant difference there is in the academic environment when dress codes and uniforms are enforced in public schools. By enforcing these policies, it neither makes students feel physically, mentally, or socially uncomfortable, nor takes away any freedoms that are stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Besides eliminating opportunities for the ridicule of less fortunate students based on their attire, helping prevent gang violence and in schools, and generating overall academic excellence and discipline in the educational community, there are numerous other reasons to support the principles of having dress codes or uniform policies established in every public school across the nation.
Many think that a stronger dress code will help students focus in school, but the way a student dresses does not determine a student’s willingness to learn or the teacher’s ability to capture the student’s attention. Also, adults argue that high school is a teenager’s job; therefore, they should dress professionally. However, Elizabeth Forward does not have a policy against sweatpants, sweatshirts, or athletic attire, which are much more unprofessional than tank tops or destroyed denim. I think that the dress code policies should be relaxed to a more lenient state given the temperature of the building throughout the school year, the change in long-term trends among teenagers, and the level of hypocrisy illustrated between the relationship of school’s administration and the dress code policy.
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.
One main reason public schools have uniforms / dress code is because in 1996, President Clinton allowed the school uniform movement and said, “If it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.” This gave schools the power to control the students with dress code. A few pros about having dress code in public schools are prevention from formation of gangs, identify intruders, resist peer pressure, and take away social barriers. But the cons give more reasons on why not to have dress code. Some are violation of freedom of expression, “Band-Aid” on school violence, bully targets, financial issue for certain families, and difficult to enforce. Dress code can vary from a button down solid polo with a tie, to solid colors, navy / khaki pants, to any polo shirt without offensive print / sayings and unholy jeans. Dress code also can exclude tattoos, baggy clothes, holes, scarves, leggings, strapless garments, and visible piercings (except in ear).
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.
America’s school systems seem to have many issues concerning students receiving a quality education without distraction. A current debate argues weather a dress code policy is efficient or takes away from student’s expression. Administrators at schools should regulate a dress code policy because the system improves discipline and student’s attention, reduces social conflict and peer pressure related to appearance, and dress code provides a more serious learning environment.
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.
Children use clothing as a form of identity, and when their families cannot afford the latest trends, it can lend itself to feelings of low self-worth and can even make children targets of bullying. Children are inundated every single day with advertising and marketing, and these kids are connected to media a good portion of their day. This allows advertisers to creep into our children’s lives and target them multiple times every day. Corporations are guilty of putting financial gain ahead of children’s health and well-being, and the fashion industry has been identified as one of these industries (L...
Pickerington School District should require students to have a uniform dress code. The current dress code policy is very minimal and is not adhered to by the students. Faculty overlook the students who don’t abide by the current dress code as it would take away from their teaching time. One of the main concerns that is brought up when the topic of school uniforms is discussed is freedom of expression. Many people worry that not allowing children to wear certain clothing will “stifle their creativity” (p. ) or restrict their First Amendment rights (Nevada, 2008). There are many reasons for having uniforms in public schools. School uniforms have been shown to improve test scores, raise school pride, increase attendance, reduce violence, and teaches students to dress professionally. School uniforms can also avert the wearing of gang colors (Wilson, 1998).
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.
When I was a child attending elementary school all of my friends loved the way I dressed, but there was also other children that attended school with me that seemed inferior to me simply because of how I dressed. Usually the children that praised the way I dress always wore nice clothes themselves, while the others who didn’t dress ad nice would try to pick fights or make fun of children that did dress nice. Later on in my life as I approached high school the tables turned; the teenagers who dressed nice became the ones who picked on other students in school because of the low quality clothes certain students wore in school, this would result in student violence. My stance on student uniforms is that I believe every public school in the U.S should utilize school uniform policy because it reduces school violence, provides better security, increases performance, and also reduces stress on families.
... show off one’s wealth, such as through expensive hair highlights, jewelry, or manicures. Students will also inevitably talk about their families, vacations, and hobbies. Finally, students will be wearing normal clothing at social events outside of school, which can establish social hierarchies based on clothing, if these hierarchies exist.
By requiring school uniforms in public schools, education will be improved. A dress code will enforce discipline toward learning. Uniforms improve a person’s outlook toward success. Students generally act the way they are dressed. With fewer distractions, students see the school as a workplace for teaching and learning. Students also have less stress in their lives because they are not in a fashion competition. Dress codes also lead to a change in grades. Mainly this happens because the student’s attendance comes up. There is also a change in grades because it is easier to focus when everyone looks alike.
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.
When you think about the word uniform, what’s the first thing that comes to you? You might think of a police officer, nurse, doctor or maybe even someone in the military, but what about uniforms for school? Today, there are more schools that are now considering switching to uniforms to keep things professional and equal to all students, but, is it really fair to make restrictions to students on wanting to be able to express themselves personally? Students might feel that they are being restricted on the freedom to be able to express who they are but schools believe that the safety and security of the student’s body should be more important than just expressing their own styles. Now, the school systems are struggling more each day to try to