For and Against School Uniform Essay Example

decreasing challenge of keeping their kids in the newest fashions. The money issue will become less burdensome for them, “Three outfits can run about $130,” said Jan Underwood, owner of the U. T. W. Uniforms store in Fort Worth (Teeters, 1997). School uniforms are a bargain. They are becoming far less expensive than many other clothes. The National Association of Elementary School Principals points out that “Uniforms are usually considered cost-savers for parents because they require fewer, more basic items in the child's wardrobe”.

Officials in the Long Beach School District point out that typically, a set of three school uniforms for the year costs between $70 and $90, an amount far less than many students spend for one item of designer clothing. According to the US NDP School uniform report, published in 1999, American households where the children wear school uniforms spend in average almost $85 less on children's clothes per year than those families where the children do not wear uniforms. Schools argue that school uniforms are economical, especially compared to designer clothing, and parents agree given school uniform durability.

They say school uniforms last longer because they are made for repeated wash and wear. Many schools capitalize on this by starting used school uniform stores or swap meets. Parents can get used school uniforms at discount prices, or just use them as hand-me-downs between siblings. In addition to saving money, the Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management reported that parents have found a predetermined dress code means added peace to a household; if children's clothes are predetermined, there is one less battle to have in the morning while getting ready

for school.

People who oppose uniforms point to "unnecessary reutilization, violations of students' First Amendment rights, authoritarian regimentation, extraordinary expenditures on special clothing, an environmental tone that is harmful to education and learning, and a cosmetic solution to deeper societal problems" (Brown, 1998). Students' First Amendment right to freedom of expression, and whether it is being unduly abridged, is one of the fundamental issues raised. Several legal challenges have asserted that students' freedom to select what to wear to school is a form of self-expression that schools are not entitled to interfere with.

As stated previously, the main goal of studying in school is to get as much of a deep knowledge as possible, but not to waste time by choosing or discussing fashion clothes. The lack of conclusive evidence concerning whether uniforms or restrictive dress policies really have a positive impact is also cited by opponents. Loren Siegel, director of the Public Education Department for the American Civil Liberties Union, points out that whereas the Long Beach School District claims uniforms resulted in a reduction in certain forms of student misconduct and improved student achievement, a causal relationship may not exist (http://www. clu. org/congress/uniform. html). It is difficult to determine which variables were actually responsible for the subsequent drop in misbehavior. On the other hand, well-conceived and coupled with other appropriate interventions, uniforms or strict dress-code policies may have a positive impact on school climate, student behavior, and academic success. Siegel also points out that "virtually every uniform policy in the country applies only to elementary and/or middle school students, not to high school students, despite the fact that uniforms are portrayed

as a way to control teen violence. Attempts have rarely been made to implement uniforms at the high school level, where noncompliance would almost certainly become a more significant issue. However, in the 2007-2008 academic school years, about eighteen percent of public high schools had a mandatory school uniform requirement and approximately fifty-five percent of public high schools enforced a strict dress code, according to the U. S. Department of Education and National Center for Education Statistics. Summing up, school uniforms keep the learning environment, promote school safety and save parents’ money.

As kids spend most of their youth going to school, it becomes a very important period in their lives. For instance, after a child is born, his parents dream of seeing him grow and go through various important stages of life. One of the initial and most vital steps towards growing and understanding the world is going to school. School is the center of learning and temple of knowledge, which the child attends to decipher the various mysteries and puzzles of existence. It helps in his development and makes him a completely independent identity.

School uniforms keep the kids in the discipline of being well-educated pupils and through that discipline they can get priceless knowledge and become successful people. We believe that school uniform plays an important role in educational process: it helps one to focus on learning process, decrease fighting and violence and save families’ budget for good amount of money. Also, schools must educate students in a safe environment. Over time, education has often slipped away as the main focus of schools.

As we have unfortunately seen, school

safety is such an enormous issue that it is hard to come up with policies that truly work without turning a school into a prison camp. After the events at Columbine where students were singled out partially for what they wore and after numerous thefts and murders over designer shoes, it is obvious why many school districts want to institute uniforms. We must realize that learning cannot take place without some sense of decorum and discipline. Possibly instituting school uniforms might help bring back that sense of decorum and allow teachers to do what they are hired to do - teach.

Maybe, it is a little bit naive to think of uniforms or restrictive dress codes as a stand-alone solution to the safety concerns and discipline problems that plague many schools today. As Forest (1997) notes, instituting uniforms to stop violence is like putting "a bandage on an enormous wound, instead of attempting to find ways of truly dealing with the bleeding. " On the other hand, when well-conceived and coupled with other appropriate interventions, uniforms or strict dress-code policies may have a positive impact on school climate, student behavior, and academic success.