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Every person is a unique individual; from their appearance and personality right down to their very DNA, humans are naturally different from one another, yet there are several people who believe that a uniform solution of uniforms in school will work for everyone. The implementation of school uniforms is said to bring about positive changes such as decreases in gang activity, bullying, and costs to parents; however, the truth is that school uniforms are not more beneficial than free dress in schools.
The assertion by supporters of school uniforms that the introduction of school uniforms will significantly decrease criminal behavior and bullying amongst students is only partially true. Schools that experienced a decline in the criminal behavior or occurrence of bullying often overlook the effects of other environmental factors in their reports on the effectiveness of school uniforms. When examined closely, it was found that several schools actually implemented a series of additional policies in the time period shortly before or simultaneous to the adoption of school uniforms. A notorious example of the supposed benefits of school uniforms is the Long Beach Unified School District of California which greatly advocated the effect that the induction of school uniforms had on the schools in its district. However, after extensive examination, a study conducted by Drs. David L. Brunsma and Kerry A. Roquemore at the University of Notre Dame discovered that the conclusion reached by the district was faulty. Their results published in the The Journal of Educational Research revealed that the district had revised its content standards and received a $1 million dollar grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to make improvements in the...
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...lish his or her own originality.
Whether an individual chooses to wear blazers, skirts, ties, shorts, plain t-shirts, or sweats is not what is most important. The most important thing is that the choice is there to begin with.
Bibliography
Brunsma, David L., and Kerry A. Roquemore. "The Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance,
Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement." The Journal of Educational Research 92.1 (1998). Print.
Caruso, Peter. "Individuality vs. Conformity: The Issue Behind School Uniforms." NASSP
Bulletin Sept. (1996): n. pag. Sage Journals. Sage Publications, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. .
Svensen, Ann. "School Uniforms: Pros and Cons." Family Education. Pearson Education, n.d.
Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
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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.
The argument whether uniforms should be implemented in school has been debated over the last few decades. By implementing a uniform policy within schools would help reduce the rise of violent crimes. In today’s high schools, too many innocent youths become fatalities due to gang warfare that has spread into the school system. Many parents feel that if a uniform policy was implemented , the spread of gang warfare and the idea that children have to have name brand clothing would decrease drastically. However others are worried that this policy would infringe on students First Amendment Rights with expressing themselves. Many parents are worried that the uniforms will cost too much and they will only burden their economic status. Uniforms will either give the school strength or separate the students and parents from the administration.
Every year parents, students and teachers argue about the issue of applying school uniform, and if it is going to be put into effect or not. Each year, school dress code is being pushed away. Year after year, to help stop violent behavior and encourage order in schools, dress codes are applied. Does the fact of students having to wear a certain dress code reduce the violent behavior and encourage order in schools? (“The Controversial School Uniforms and School Dress Code Debate”, 2008). Research shows, that dress code policies may increase the chance of a child safety in school by a very low percentage, but that still affects the child in a positive way (“Do uniforms make schools better?”, 2004).
“The Manual on School Uniforms”, printed and issued by the United States Department of Education, noted that Long Beach, California, reported a decrease in crime, fights, sex offenses, weapons offenses, and vandalism after they adopted their uniform policy (4). Contrary to government findings, The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 discovered that school uniforms have had no real effects on behavior, drug abuse or attendance; furthermore they also came to find that uniforms actually have negative effects on the academic achievement of the students (Brunsma and Rockquemore 54). If school A is emphasizing that school uniforms are conducive to the learning environment, yet school B down the road has higher testing scores but no uniform policy, then their stand is no longer valid. This proves that uniforms have no effect on the learning process.
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.
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 at pre-K through high school levels are 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. To begin, school uniforms are economic. When schools have a uniform policy, it makes it easier on the children and parents.
A major reason that schools should have uniforms is because students will get along better. They wouldn’t compare each other based on whose wearing what. This is opposed to a school with no uniform some students will feel inferior to the one’s wearing brand name clothes. Also uniforms lower the chances of jealousy between the students. The students would feel more unified with each other. Further more school uniforms can alleviate school violence, because it will help kids with less money escape the teasing they would get if the school had no uniforms. Also uniforms will help differentiate students from gan...
Uniforms in public schools are becoming more and more accepted around the world. “Over the last two decades, the debate over the implementation of school uniform policies in public schools has been a consistent presence in schools and districts around the United States.” (Sanchez, 345). Teachers, parents and school administrators feel the need for school uniforms as a positive way to increase school safety and increase academic performance. Even though school uniforms are not the most popular choice among students and parents, the positive impact school uniforms make on students and the school outweigh the negative opinions.
“Wearing uniforms can also hurt one’s self image. Almost all uniforms aren’t made with all body types in mind, but they are chosen for all students
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.
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.
Uniforms in public schools are becoming accepted throughout the world. The public school systems would benefit significantly if this policy were to be accepted. Wearing uniforms in public schools result in positive effects.
Since the 1990 's schools have reported amazing results by mandating a school uniform policy. Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. L (2006) write: “ School uniforms, proponents have said, can lead to improved discipline and classroom behavior, increased school attendance, respect for teachers, better school performance, higher student self-esteem and confidence, lower
These studies were also answered by teachers and parents by marking either agree or strongly agree. When asked if school uniforms have promoted positive student behavior; 37% parents, and 95% of teachers agreed. When asked if school uniforms decreased the amount of peer pressure and bullying because students no longer had to fit in with the crowd; 47% of parents and 90% of teachers agreed. There was only one question that no teachers agreed upon but some parents agreed with. That question had to do with school uniforms taking away students personal liberty.
Some regard that school uniforms influence the way students analyze problems, understand work, and dedicate themselves to situations. However, a simple alteration in clothing does not determine or change the frame of mind, but rather it is the character of that individual that helps to produce the