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Importance on dress code in school
Positive effects of dress code in schools
Positive effects of dress code in schools
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Dress code is a set of rules established by a school regarding a student’s dressing behavior. It can range from a complete uniform, to banning only a few things. While some people believe that there should be no dress code, Washington High School should have a dress code in place because it helps with the student’s safety, “can possibly improve academic success” (Steffen), and prepares them for the future. Some may argue that a dress code might conflict with a student’s constitutional rights, “however, recent court rulings indicate that student dress policies withstand legal challenges as long as they adhere to some basic principles” (Daniels). To implement a dress code would not be for the purpose of interfering with the first amendment, but instead to provide a better general experience for the students. …show more content…
A dress code can provide protection for students by banning clothes that might incite physical violence.
An example being clothing relating to gangs that might bring up conflict between rival gangs. “Safety in schools today is essential, and creating an environment that reduces incidents of intimidation and violence is necessary for students to learn effectively” (Daniels). In the renowned 1969 Supreme Court case, Tinker V. Des Moines, several students were suspended for wearing black armbands to show their lack of support for the Vietnam War. They brought their case all the way to the Supreme Court and won on the fact that they were exercising their first amendment rights. While they won, however, the Court still dismissed the school under the premise that they sent the students home in fear of the school environment being disrupted or becoming unsafe (Tinker V. Des Moines). Thus showing that safety is a top priority in a learning environment, and that a student’s dressing behavior can complicate
that. A dress code can “(1) decreas[e] violence and theft; (2) [prevent] gang members from wearing gang clothing at school; (3) [instill] student discipline; (4) [help] to resist peer pressure; (5) [and help] students concentrate on academics…” (Daniels). Peer pressure is a big issue among the students in the population today. By removing clothing that relates to drug or gang activity, it can prevent kids from performing these activities and advertising it. In the more acute form of dress code, uniforms, it can also take the pressure out of conforming to society and having to wear name-brand clothes to fit in. Reducing peer pressure in schools will help improve the students’ concentration, and allow them to perform at a better rate in their schoolwork. It can even assist in boosting their self-esteem (Steffen). A dress code promotes a positive educational environment. A dress code can also help and prepare students for the future when they enter the business world. While some may argue that not all jobs require a certain way to dress or a uniform, a majority of businesses do. A dress code implies a business casual type of attire, and in the professional world it can either be business or business casual. Setting an example, and demonstrating to them early on will allow them to get used to and be comfortable with this form of dressing. It will also give them a firsthand experience on what they should expect for the future. Overall, a dress code would improve the quality and the general environment of a school. With a dress code, Washington High School would not only be a lot safer, but it would also become a more comfortable learning environment for both the students and the teachers.
Dress codes are essentials for all schools across America. Dress codes will set the tone for students to be safe because they will help reduce violence, increase student safety, and provide a positive learning environment.
However, laws that are of general applicability must too be scrutinized to determine whether they are least restrictive as possible and whether the state has a compelling interest. South Fork Consolidated School District has seen a spike in gang related crimes in their schools, so in order to curb this violence they implemented a dress code policy to stop gang affiliated students from flaunting their colors and harming “guilty” students who did nothing but wear clothing that led to attacks from gang members. While the state does have a compelling interest in preventing gang violence and insuring student safety, this law is not indeed narrowly tailored to this issue. An across the board dress code policy inadvertently hurts students who wear certain articles of clothing in compliance with their faith. South Fork Consolidated School District failed to recognize that allowing exemptions for religious purposes would not compromise the state’s interest in discouraging gang activity.
Jahn, Karon L. “School Dress Codes v. The First Amendment: Ganging up on Student Attire.”
The Dress Code is also to help from distractions like weird, strange clothes, it often distracts the students from learning. Not only that, but in High School there is large groups of gangs, and they can’t wear clothing that represents them and wear anything offensive, because then less violence will occur.
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).
Dress code is put into place to keep students from being bullied for how they dress and how some people may treat them different depending on what they wear. There is a lot of evidence that show students losing time in the class room because they are too worried about there personal apparel. David Brunsma, a sociologist who wrote Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate in 2005, says,
Many schools have dress codes or uniforms, but in some situations the dress codes are tossed to the side and not worried about. However, dress codes should be implemented in schools for more than just safety reasons. Dress
Students these days feel clothing are how they express themselves and we have to wonder if it is going to far. Kids don't even think of how stupid some clothing makes them look. One kid, who was charged with breaking and entering, went to court wearing a shirt with the grim reaper and a naked girl on it(Revisiting 1). Now how stupid is that? In another court case a girl was caught for driving under the influence. When she appeared for court she was wearing a Budweiser sh...
School dress code is controversial, sometimes being the cause of inner-school violence. The censorship of this raises issues when students complain that their personal rights to express themselves after schools limit what they can or cannot wear. School dress code are the guide lines that schools set that define what is acceptable to wear to school. An example of student dress code censorship was the case involving a thirteen year-old student in Williamstown displaying his political opinion about former President Bush (Nguyen). Because the shirt contained drug references and words calling the president a "crook", an "AWOL, draft dodger" and a "lying drunk driver," he was told to go home after refusing to take it off (Nguyen). This case went to two different courts, a US District Court, and the Second Circuit Court. The US District Court agreed with the school's opinion because they believed the images on Guille's shirt were not appropriate for a school atmosphere (Nguyen). Meanwhile, the Second Circuit Court ruled that the school should not have censored the shirt because even thou...
Dress codes have long been the subject of debate in our educational institutions for many years. Administrators have struggled to find effective ways to deal with discipline problems. The introduction of dress codes has been a common intervention in our educational system to help decrease the number of disciplinary issues that are dealt with on a daily basis. Topics such as gang activity, bullying, increasing violence and Freedom of Expression have been thrown into the discussion, causing controversy in our communities. The dress code policy is considered to be a "fix all" solution in our schools, but has failed to curb the big issues. Dress codes should not be instituted to fix a particular problem, but should be looked at to help overall school reform. A school uniform policy does not have a significant influence on producing a safe learning environment or helping students achieve their goals.
Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board states, “While maintenance or order and promotion of acceptable standards of classroom conduct are synonymous with ensuring an adequate education system, school officials are not given free reign to abridge students’ constitutional rights” (Johnson 2017). In modern society, many issues are brought to a new light using social media, one being dress codes in schools. However, this is not a new issue, nor is it unique to teenagers today. In fact, “Students have been bringing claims against public school dress and grooming codes since as early as 1923” (Johnson 2017). Jo Paoletti, a fashion historian at the University of Maryland stated, “As long as teenagers have been interested in fashion, there have been conflicts over school dress codes” (as cited in “Should Schools,” 2017). School dress codes, when not updated and enforced equally, are tools for discrimination, sexualization, and harassment.
The author does not make a very convincing case that school uniforms and dress codes violate students’ freedom of speech and undermine important values. She argues that students are the only ones with a dress code. She states that students should be able to express themselves using their own judgement. She believes that uniforms do not help maintain a respectable appearance for the school community. School uniforms are essential to students in order for them to learn discipline and respect.
Dress codes and uniforms have been deemed legal by the United States Supreme Court. As long as the dress code or uniform regulations pass a four-pronged test. Opposition for school uniforms holds fast to preserving the sanctity of freedom of speech. The supreme court ultimately has decided that dress codes and uniforms do not violate the freedom of speech. In Harold W. Mitchell and John C. Knechtle’s study of the first amendment rights and dress code, they note that in 1968 in Ginsberg v. New York the supreme court ruled that “[t]he state has power to control the conduct of children that reaches beyond its scope of authority over adults (491).” Mitchell and Knechtle go further into explaining the 4 pronged rule the supreme court uses to judge if a rule is against the freedom of
In recent years, a controversial debate has erupted in the public school front. The questions stand whether or not high students should be required to follow a dress code or wear uniforms. Many opinions on this subject include a student’s right to freedom of expression and if a dress code is another form of sexism against women. Through the controversy a single factor plays a huge part; teenage students are in school to gain an education and become successful adults. Every high school should implement a uniform dress code because it minimizes distractions, promotes group culture among students, and teaches students professionalism for a future workplace.
Students claim that requiring them to wear mandated uniforms deprives them of their ability to freely express themselves through their choice of dress. However, freedom of expression does consist of the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and to petition the government, but the first amendment does not grant people the right to act any way they want without actions taken. Numerous schools have a straightforward dress code policy enforced. If these policies are violated, then the students could face consequences for their