Why I Support School Uniforms

I support school uniforms because they improve many features of student’s social and academic lives. Uniforms help reduce peer pressure and bullying, gang violence and theft, and they improve attendance rates and academic performance. A uniform policy should definitely be fused into nationwide school systems.

First of all, school uniforms reduce gang violence and theft among students. Uniforms reduce gang violence because gang members would be unable to show their colors while in school, which makes it harder for them to identify one another. Case studies of the effects of uniforms on gang violence have provided support for this claim. In the 1990’s a case study in Long Beach, California showed that instituting a uniform policy greatly reduced violence and crime, with the crime rate dropping by 91%. In addition, Chicago school officials found a drop in g¬¬¬ang violence after the integration of uniforms in their school systems. Uniforms would also lead to a drop in theft of valuable clothing items because students would have fewer opportunities to steal things such as designer clothing or expensive shoes and accessories. Both a reduction in gang violence and theft will help minimize disciplinary actions that teachers have to take and it would also help the students improve their behavior in school.

Peer pressure and bullying would decline as well. Bullies would be less likely to pick on other kids because of the clothes they wear or the way they dress. Also, students wouldn’t have to worry about peer pressure to wear clothes that are considered “in” or to have a different outfit every day. Furthermore, as quoted “disadvantaged students wouldn’t have to worry about being picked on because his or her parents can’t afford the name brand clothes that other kids are wearing.” These effects would help because bullying plays a big part in teenage self-harm, and uniforms would help address and minimize this issue.

The biggest reasons why uniforms should be integrated are the improvement in grades and attendance rates. Instead of mainly focusing on outfits and the way they’re dressed, students would be able to focus more on academic performance because they wouldn’t be comparing themselves to others. Moreover, attendance rates would go up because “many parents report that their children spend a great deal of time planning and choosing their outfits and that uniforms allow students this time to sleep and study.” So, uniforms would minimize the time spent choosing outfits and students would be more likely to attend school.