Some people feels that mandatory school uniforms may teach students a negative lesson about community while some believe that students should base life choices on their own internal values such as their life choices. Such an argument touches directly upon the rights of freedom of expression for all U.S citizens especially the parents and the students involved. While some parents and teachers seek to ensure the safety and security of their school children, some believe adopting a mandatory school uniform is not appropriate method for ensuring such safety, two groups opposing mandatory school uniform are civil libertarians and older students.
Uniforms are becoming a fast moving trend that started in Long Beach, California in 1994. The schools there have seen a change in the way students act, and for the better. The Long Beach California Unified School District- comprising 56 elementary schools, 14 Middle schools and nearly 60,000 students was the first large urban school district in the United States to require school uniforms for all students, according to Keith King in his article, He notes that the district officials have found that violence and discipline problems to be dramatically decreased: In the first year, overall school crime decreased by a huge percentage.
In addition, King mentioned that the style of clothing popular among children today arose from the clothing of inner-city gangs, who have worn baggy pants and oversized shirts that could hide weapons and drugs from law enforcement officials.
He states that such clothing can become a means of transporting weapons or drugs into school and thus indirectly increase school violence. However, King also argues that while some believe that stu...
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...blazers and slacks don't necessarily make a student ready or able to learn.
Historically, in United States school uniforms has been limited to private parochial schools. Uniforms were made mandatory for all students in the belief that they would create an environment conducive to learning and religious involvement and produce an atmosphere of pride, academic achievement, loyalty, unity, and equality among the student population. In contrast, public schools in the United States did not traditionally require uniforms. With public schools being open to all students, some parents and administrators argued against uniforms on the grounds that they stifle individuality and are prohibitively expensive for many families, the argument is still going on until whenever there will a decision made on whether school uniform should be compulsory or not.
School uniforms are a topic that comes up quite often in the Henderson County School District. The benefits of school uniforms that I find to be the most important are that it will decrease the crime rate and bad behavior, improve attendance, and increase school pride and unity within the school. Uniforms are a great way to change how our students learn and put them in the best atmosphere possible to improve their chances of success through education. Enforcing school uniforms can seem to be an expense problem and a way that the students can’t express their self-expression, but do uniforms actually take the place of that? Education is important and students should be taught in the best way possible to succeed in their future, uniforms will bring out their individuality through other aspects.
Uniforms are worn for many different reasons such as being in jail or going to work, and you can see them today almost anywhere in the world. Now uniforms are becoming a popular trend amongst schools. The question is should students be forced to wear them? Some parents and teachers say that uniforms keep the students focused on academics and not fashion. Opposers believe that kids should have the freedom to choose what they wear to school. Although, uniforms do limit the student’s choice to wear whatever they please, which is the con to having the enforcement, uniforms are supposed to be looked upon as a positive thing. They eliminate bullying, help students focus only on academics, combine social classes and gives the school campus a professional
or formal dress code stipulating what students can and cannot wear to school, a required school uniform is not as common. Customarily only seen in private and parochial schools, a growing numbers of US public schools are now adopting strict school uniform policies. One in five US public schools required students to wear uniforms during the 2013-2014 school year, up from one in eight in 2003-2004 ("School Uniforms," n.d, p. 1). In today’s world, it is not uncommon to see media stories about crime in schools and our educators are constantly looking for ways to improve safety within this school. Some of these educators feel that school uniforms are one way to protect the safety and welfare of students and school personnel. Many kids find
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.
Public schools need to be brought back under control by changing the learning system in some of the simplest ways. Today’s schools’ system is not doing as well as before. The crime rate has risen, a significant amount of girls are being sexually harassed, and bulling in schools has gone to a whole other level. With “gangsters” roaming the halls; kids don’t feel safe because they are being harassed. The worst part of the many students is that their discipline is rotten and has got to be rebuilt. There is a solution to all these problems. Public schools, K-12, must implement school uniforms across the nation to bring the benefits of a decent education system.
"’School uniforms are one step that may help break the cycle of violence, truancy and disorder by helping young students understand what really counts is what kind of people they are,’ President Clinton said. It didn 't take much more than this presidential nod of approval to get the uniform ball rolling in many school districts across the country” (Bowen). Are school uniforms really the answer to the public schools’ problems? Although having a school uniform policy is mostly beneficial to schools, there are some drawbacks to having one. While uniforms provide less cost to the parent and less chance of bullying in schools, they also limit a student’s freedom of expression and can decrease the student’s comfort level.
Until President Clinton called attention to the issue in his State of the Union address, mandatory public school uniform policies were sporadic local occurences. A few school districts had been quietly experimenting with uniforms for years, but the issue caught President Clinton's eye after the Long Beach, California school district released some numbers suggesting that after only one year, its mandatory uniform policy had not only brought about significant decreases in vandalism and fighting, but had also led to higher test scores. Now that the President's endorsement has elevated school uniforms into the realm of federal education policy, a question needs to be answered: Are uniforms a good idea?
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.
Society has taught people that they should be themselves and express their individuality. There are many people out there who think everyone should act and be the same because people get judged if they act or dress differently. Everyone is their own person and no one should have to conform to everyone else in society. The debate over whether or not uniforms should be required has been going on for years. Many schools have decided it is best to have uniforms when, in all honesty, uniforms make no difference in academic success or behavior of students. Just because someone wears a uniform does not make them any smarter of behave in a better manner. School uniforms should not be required, not only because they do not let students express themselves, but also they cost families more money and do not affect what goes on at school.
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.
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 in public schools are becoming increasingly popular across the nation. The public school system would benefit greatly if this policy were to be adopted. Opposition is always a factor when trying to make changes. Taking all things into consideration, the positive effects would be far greater than the negative effects. School uniforms should be required in public schools because their use would lead to higher education, less violence, and lower cost to parents.
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.
A uniform is a standard set of clothes that is worn by a group of people. These people may be members of an organization or a group of people having the same ideas. There are thousands of kinds of uniforms in the world worn by people, such as police officers, firefighters, doctors, lawyers, security guards, and even fast-food restaurant workers. School uniforms are a controversial issue in schools today. Many schools have already adopted a policy mandating school uniforms, while many more are still considering the change. School uniforms create an atmosphere of equality in which the students are able to achieve to their best, while attaining the most out of their education. School uniforms should be mandatory to unite the school community as one, to instil discipline among the student body, and to eliminate distractions that will help students focus more, which in turn will help our society.
The most common argument against school uniforms is that they take away the students right to self-expression. Yes, school uniforms limit what the students have to wear, but students can still have their own ways of self-expression. Students can still express their style of choice with their hair and what accessories they wear. Their shoe choice is also a form of self-expression. Students can make the uniforms their own style without breaking the dress code. School is a place to learn. Outside of school, self- expression is limitless. Some parents also believe that it could interfere with students' natural behavior to experiment with different identities. Having uniforms in schools helps erase the defined line of the social classes. Typically, popular kids in the higher social classes wear the trendiest clothing...