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The negative effects of school uniforms
Arguments against uniforms in schools
The negative effects of school uniforms
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Physical and emotional abuse, early sexual initiation, and violence lead to poor academic achievement among public school students (CDC, 2011). Public schools are liberal in their uniform policy. Thirty-seven United States legislatures created laws allowing school districts to put into practice school uniform policies (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006, p. 26); only fourteen percent of public schools required students to wear a uniform in 2005-2006 (Redmond, 2012). According to the National Educational Longitudinal Study, “uniformed students have significantly higher test scores than do non-uniformed students (Bodine, 2003).” This proposal makes the case that schools need to require students within public schools to wear uniforms over the next year, to improve academic achievement amongst students, with respect to the opponent’s arguments.
The Long Beach, California School District in 1994 was the first public school district to require nearly 60,000 of their students to wear uniforms. Opponents argue uniforms limit personal freedom by restricting student’s choice of clothing. The American Civil Liberties Union supports this argument, noting a violation of student’s First Amendment rights of freedom of speech (creative expression) (Yeung, 2009, p. 849). Proponents argue students are able to choose their clothing during off school hours, and for events like dress down days. The United States courts (AZ, TX, LA, and CA) discarded the argument of the American Civil Liberties Union that school uniforms are unconstitutional, and upheld school uniform policies (Young, 2009, p. 849). The United States Department of Education addressed this conflict recommends school districts, deal with these issues in a manner that allows the student’s right t...
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...erest of our students and society to put into practice a mandatory uniform policy in our public school system.
Works Cited
Adolescent and School Health. (2011). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/health_and_academics/index.htm
Bodine, A. (2003). School Uniforms, Academic Achievement, and Uses of Research. Journal Of Educational Research, 97(2), 67-71.
Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. L. (2006). A Uniform Look. American School Board Journal, 193(8), 25-27.
Redmond, J. (2012). Statistics on School Uniforms. In LoveToKnow Corp. Retrieved from http://kids.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Statistics_on_School_Uniforms
Will school uniforms help curb student violence?. (1996). Jet, 89(20), 12.
Yeung, R. (2009). Are School Uniforms a Good Fit? Results from the ECLS-K and the NELS. Educational Policy, 23(6), 847-874.
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.
Dress codes and uniforms go against the Frist Amendment and take away students constitutional rights. During the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District case the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the school house gates.” (Kelly). By the Court saying this means that students do have their constitutional rights at school; dress codes and uniforms take that away for them. The U.S Supreme Court also made it clear that schools cannot just ban a student’s expression because they do not like, or see it as a possible threat. The school must have evidence to support their theories of the students expression would harm others around them or cause conflict among the students (Kelly). Some schools do this all the time, because they do not like what a shirt says; they will say it is against the rules and ban it. This clearly says schools are not allowed to do this.
One of the greatest controversies that is spreading throughout high schools in the United States is parents and their children against the enforcement of their school’s uniform policy. More schools have been adopting uniform policies within the past decade. Rules contained in the policy that are implemented range from wearing certain types of tops (shirts) in specified colors to students being required to tuck in their shirts. In the past, uniforms were exclusively for students who attended private schools because they were “well-off”, but now uniforms are being seen more frequently in public schools on students of all economic levels. Having gone through a school system that considered adopting a uniform policy, I would have to press against the issue of mandated uniforms, because it is simply un-American and unjust.
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 in pre-K through high school levels is 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.
"Will School Uniforms Crube Student Violence." Inspire. Johnson Publishing, 1 Apr. 1996. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. (Will 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.
The first argument of the critics against school uniforms is that they believe these infringe on the liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment. An editorial in the Northwest Florida Daily News argues how school uniforms can’t ensure better behavior as well as how anti-individualistic they can be. If uniforms can guarantee better behaviors, how can there still be soldiers who go AWOL and prisoners getting into fights? The anonymous editor speculates that uniforms take away students’ identities which only the “a...
The first idea of having students wear uniforms in public schools was thought of in the early 1980s by then mayor, Marion Barry. Marion believe that enforcing the use of uniforms would, “help public school students as though (they were in) in catholic schools.” The issues surrounding the mandatory use of uniforms in public schools has been a very controversial subject from school to school for numerous years. Allowing uniforms in public schools would have many pros and cons, it would have to be evaluated by many government decision makers. and would have an impact on every community that allows them. Depending on the issue from each school, uniforms could either benefit the school immensely or do nothing to help the school with its problems.
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.
School uniforms lack effectiveness. They don’t help fix any problems. Many believe that school uniforms take away the students distraction towards clothes and appearance and enhance academic performance. However, it does not take a genius to realize that wearing a uniform does not automatically make a student more attentive or hard-working. There may be several other reasons as to why a student lacks focus or is distracted. Those reasons may include problems at home, with other students or even with teachers. Schools should do everything they can to help students with those proble...
Having a mandated uniform policy in place assists in easing the burden of school clothing costs by allowing parents to shop for more reasonable prices, because the clothes will look the same regardless of the brand. School bullying can be reduced by not easily being able to determine the more expensive garments versus the less expensive, eliminating the ease with which individuals profile based on income status. Students who regularly bully other students based on clothing choices will be eliminated, improving student behavior. This policy also allows students to concentrate more on their studies than on the next new clothing fad, resulting in more academic progress. Reducing distractions stemmed from students clothing choices enables students to concentrate on what they are in school to do, which is learn. (“The Pros and cons of kids wearing uniforms in schools”, 2013). Giving our lesser advantaged students the opportunity to wear administrator mandated uniforms allows these children to feel more included and less segregated from those that are from a more advantageous background. Allowing these students to get to know each other based on actions rather than background and status could result in friendships that are more diverse and sophisticated. This could promote more tolerance in our society resulting in more a peaceful
Students claim that requiring them to wear mandated uniforms deprives them of their ability to freely express themselves through their choice of dress. However, freedom of expression does consist of the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and to petition the government, but the first amendment does not grant people the right to act any way they want without actions taken. Numerous schools have a straightforward dress code policy enforced. If these policies are violated, then the students could face consequences for their
Wharton, Claudene. “School Uniform Study.” UNR.edu. University of Nevada, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
students to wear uniforms or not. I have weighed the pros-and-cons, and although I can see a few drawbacks, ultimately, I support the idea. While I’ve considered the notion that uniforms may restrict our student’s individuality, undermine the whole “free education” idea, and might also be viewed as a band-aid solution to a few of the larger concerns our public schools face, however I strongly maintain that there are far more advantages than disadvantages. The U.S. Departments of Education’s Manual on School Uniforms states “Uniforms by themselves cannot solve all of the problems of school discipline, but they can be one positive contributing factor