Should Public Schools Require Student Uniform?

A school uniform is a specific design for clothing designated to be worn while attending academic classes at a school. The school context comprises grades one through twelve of public and private schools in the United States. Different schools and different grades within schools may have different uniforms, as determined by parents and school administration. In today’s society all public schools should require student uniform. These generations of school kids are more worried about how your hair looks, what name brand clothes you have on, and also what kind of shoes are on your feet.

These kids are worried about all the wrong things. Instead of worrying about their peer’s attire they should be into their books. Worrying about all the wrong things can be distracting. When ones focus is on something other than what’s important can cause sidetracking. "We are under no illusions that it's a silver bullet that is going to make kids smarter," school board President Pedro A. Ramos said last week. "We do think it will improve school climate. It removes a lot of anxiety and stress from lives of our students and parents," (Johnston).

To understand why this is an issue, let us look at the problem, why the problem is significant, whom the problem affects, why others’ attempts have failed, and how I propose to solve the problem. This is an everlasting debate that whether school uniforms should be worn or casual clothing is as good. And like most of the popular debate in the world it has no concrete answer, it totally depends on a person’s beliefs actually. For some it is a benefit for others a disadvantage. I believe public schools should require students to wear uniforms.

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First wearing school uniforms promotes good discipline. Second it reduces distractions. Thirdly it is a far less expensive to buy school uniforms than many other clothes. The problem is that public schools should require student uniform. Having all students wear uniform causes the students to focus more on school and not each other. In today’s generation, requiring uniforms would take a lot of the pettiness and bullying over fashions and brands out of the schools. Today in most schools kids spend most of their time judging others by their attire rather than personality.

Worrying about other things such as what everyone else is wearing takes attention off of learning and turns it onto attire. Is students paid less attention on what others were wearing and focus on school they would do much better in school. Most times when kids look down on other kids about their clothing it is a sign of bullying. Bullying starts when one person messes with another because they think they’re superior to the other person. It can also start by cliques forming and one clique talking about another clique’s apparel. Gang-related issues are pretty prevalent as a reason for using dress codes," which often prohibit caps, earrings for boys, beepers, baggy clothes, and other gang-linked paraphernalia, says Jay Butler of the NSBA. School districts generally have found the codes "effective," though not a cure-all, he said (Tyson). Students are affected by the schools wanting them to wear uniform. They are affected because what students wear is a sign of their own identity and individuality. Allowing students to wear what they want allows them to express how they feel not only through their character but the way they dress.

Many students feel as though taking away the ability for them to wear what they want will not stop violence, failed grades, and also bullying. Most teachers and parents believe that when students wear uniform they don’t have to worry about appropriate versus inappropriate clothing. Also, fighting in the morning about what they can and can’t wear to school. According to at Brunsma at "The Journal of Education Research" and Rockquemore of University of Notre Dame, such creative hindrance encourages a power dynamic among students and faculty: If students feel inferior to faculty, they may also feel unsupported.

This dynamic can impede their ability to focus in school, which can lead to behavioral issues (Foster). But in most schools that don't require uniforms, it is common for a teen or preteen student to feel pressure to wear trendy clothing lest she/he be viewed as economically disadvantaged or different. This is a big controversy between students and adults also between adults and adults. Having school uniforms in public schools is very important. Many people may ignore the signs that school uniform is a big issue in today’s schools, but others understand the need for these uniforms.

One big problem is that when you give kids the ability to wear what they want that gives them a chance for freedom of expression. School uniforms stifle self -expression, and the development of the self is as integral as the development of the mind. Experts believe that there is no stopping self -expression in the psychological development of children and teenagers, and that more inappropriate means of expression will arise if clothing is restricted (Directory of Schools). To eliminate the use of derogatory clothing between young public school kids uniform should be rewarded.

Having uniform will lower the parents having to fight with the child every morning with what they can and cannot wear to school. People that have attempted to try to get public schools to enforce school uniforms have failed in many different ways. They have failed because many people believe that just giving children uniforms will not stop them from bullying. Children bully others on the way they look such as the way other’s hair look, what type of sneakers they have on, and their classification.

If school codes are already hard to enforce why they should put another problem on the staff’s hands. Sharp decreases in school crime reported by some districts that switched to uniforms have encouraged others to "follow suit. " In one prominent example, after Long Beach, Calif. , became the nation's first district to require uniforms at elementary and middle schools in 1994, crime dropped 36 percent among the 60,000 students (Tyson). Many people have so many different beliefs when it comes to school uniform.

I propose to solve this problem by obtaining a survey. I will have two different surveys. I will survey 100 public school children and 100 parents. I will ask everyone the same question. I will ask public school students do they believe uniforms are the best thing for the students. Why? Before I give the survey I will collect information online about why public schools should enforce the use of uniforms. I will then give them the information I found about or why public schools take on the effort to have student uniforms.

After that I would tell them my position on the public school uniforms conflict and that I like the idea. Finally, when all the data is collected from the survey I will tally the votes up and give them to the School Board of Education. In conclusion, because of the bullying that goes on with non-school uniforms, public schools should have school uniforms. Public school uniforms are very important and critical because there will not be a differentiation between rich or poor. Like for girls whose shirts are cut lower, or if a boy wears those checkered shorts that they seem to love so much.

But with uniforms all of that is taken away because everyone will be wearing the same thing. I know your first questions will be: "But where's the individuality? " But it can still be there. Kids who roll their sleeves up or fold their collars differently, or who tuck their shirts in or leave them out. There are a LOT of factors to keep in mind. So just to talk about a child individuality and to not protect the other kids that can get emotionally, mentally, and physically damaged by just one word because of what regular clothes they have on is unacceptable.

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