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School uniform debate introduction, positive, negative and closing
Positive effects of wearing school uniforms
School uniform debate introduction, positive, negative and closing
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Dress Codes: Do They Help or Hurt? No shirts that show your shoulders. Skirts are required to go past your knees. Refrain from wearing leggings or tight pants without a skirt. These are examples of the obnoxious dress codes that certain children (mostly girls) have to live with on a daily basis, to avoid “causing distractions” in the classroom. Not surprisingly, female dress codes are much more strict, opting them out from wearing clothes they are comfortable in, like skirts, shorts, and tank tops. Dress codes teach children that conformity is more important than adaptability, teach children to dress appropriately rather than teaching them work ethics, and they aren’t even equal between genders. Dress codes do not help a child’s future, rather it damages it by taking away a kid’s right to be unique. Dress codes do not allow children to adapt, but rather they conform. Schools are constantly creating new and stricter dress codes to “protect children”, but what is this really teaching them? Young teens are especially being given these outlandish clothing policies that are teaching adolescents to conform to rules and guidelines that may not be needed for future job choices, like working from home or volunteer work (Scott Key). …show more content…
Most of the time when a child is being sent new clothes from home, it’s a girl. If there is a set dress code, shouldn’t it be the same for all genders? Females are not the only ones taking a stand against sexist dress codes, because according to Gabrielle Sorto, specialist at CNN.com, “High school boys wearing dresses strike a pose with big smiles on their faces. They know they're breaking school rules, but they hope their gender-defying outfits will spark change.” Males are fighting against these unequal dress codes as well. This obviously shows us that dress codes are known to be unequal, and whether you are effected or not, everyone is standing against
Although dress codes promote safety there are some negative affects of it. Dress codes don’t prepare kids for the jobs in the future. “Some employers—some dotcom companies, for example—care less about how their employees dress and more about their work.” (Wilder 4) Even though a lot of jobs don’t require dress
It was official in 2005; the Lima City Schools board of education adopted a new dress code policy. This policy would be used to crack down on the unruly students who refused to follow the already lenient rules. “With a stricter dress code, students will focus more on school than looking at other students, said Suzanne Helm, a Victoria resident.” (Cavazos, 1). Lima City School District, like the Victoria school district located in Texas, spent many hours designing the new dress code policy. This new policy will test if the way students dress effects their behavior and the way that they learn.
Young women around the U.S are being made to feel insecure in who they are as almost anything they wear is attacked. My own high school, Granby Memorial High School, just recently rescinded a new rule requiring that girl’s shorts and skirts are six inches from the knee or longer. The rule was rescinded after student protest when “The students were told the clothing was inappropriate for school and distracting to the male students and staff.” This misogynistic idea that a young woman’s education is not as important as a young man’s is disrespectful to young men by claiming they are unable to control themselves, and containing a concealed message that women are under men. As a young woman, seeing all the civil rights movements both in the U.S and in other countries, and being told that I am not as worthy or wanted as a man fills me with a passionate rage. We, as a country, fight for basic rights in other countries even though there are stigmas in the U.S that show women in the workplace as either secretary-like positions or women who have had to take on a “man-like” mindset in order to succeed in business. While some of these rules may be acceptable, short-shorts being banned, for example, the educational system needs to realize that with so many restrictions to dress code it would almost be better to have a uniform of nice pants and a shirt. An extremist might even say that these strict dress codes are leading towards victimization as men are not taught to control themselves so it is up to women to make sure that they are not in the position to be sexually assaulted or raped. Even if you are not an extremist, you can understand that these dress codes must change to be all inclusive. Some of the rules in states like California only allow skirts and dresses for girls when the U.S has stated that schools should be inclusive of all
According to greatschools.org, “Enforcing a strict dress code can place the focus of school on clothing and rules, rather than on education.” Most schools have specific uniforms that a child must wear in order to attend. Many children that go to school, have single parents and / or more than one ...
Many think that a stronger dress code will help students focus in school, but the way a student dresses does not determine a student’s willingness to learn or the teacher’s ability to capture the student’s attention. Also, adults argue that high school is a teenager’s job; therefore, they should dress professionally. However, Elizabeth Forward does not have a policy against sweatpants, sweatshirts, or athletic attire, which are much more unprofessional than tank tops or destroyed denim. I think that the dress code policies should be relaxed to a more lenient state given the temperature of the building throughout the school year, the change in long-term trends among teenagers, and the level of hypocrisy illustrated between the relationship of school’s administration and the dress code policy.
Web. 18 Feb. 2016. In this article, Bates argues that today’s school dress codes are sexist and leave a lasting impression on young girls. Bates explains that there are several cases where girls are being punished for their adolescent bodies being distractions to boys. Also, it can teach a young girl that her body is dangerous and that a young boy automatically has the right to sexually diminish and harass adolescent girls in schools.
In the 2015 article on The Atlantic on The Sexism of School Dress Codes, stating that "Many of these protests have criticized the dress codes as sexist in that they unfairly target girls by body-shaming and blaming them for promoting sexual harassment. Documented cases show female students being chastised by school officials, sent home, or barred from attending events like prom." (Zhou, l.) There are more dress code policies for the females compared to the males. For example, girls should not use backless shirts, no spaghetti tops, no crop-tops that exposes the stomach, no short shorts, no miniskirts, etc. Boys on the other hand have no specific dress code policies. Dress codes may come off as sexist for women and they get insulted by it. An article on the problem with dress code from The Daily Princetonian stating "- women are policed so that they are no longer distracting to men, while men, if policed at all, are never told to change for the benefit of the opposite sex. The most prominent example that comes to mind when thinking of male-specific supplements to dress codes relates to sagging pants, an urban trend where pants are worn low to expose many inches worth of boxers. Efforts to ban these practices have never once mentioned how visible boxers would tortuously distract nearby females. Rather, they focus on visible underwear being inappropriate for a learning or work environment.", based on that article, dress codes seem to be a little too specific on what girls should or should not be allowed to wear, while boys only have a few dress code policies to worry
Dress codes can be deceiving as Laura Bates claims her view on school dress codes, “ While the principle of asking students to attend school smartly dressed sounds reasonable, the problem comes when wider sexist attitudes towards women and their bodies are projected on to young women by schools in their attempt to define what constitutes smartness”(Bates, 2015) Within this she is supporting school dress codes, but only to an extent. As soon as the dress code is later seen as sexualizing woman, and what they define as ‘intellectual looking’ she adds certain standards to her claim of supporting dress codes. Now laura bates seems to receive the short end, but other parents seem enlightened when it comes to school uniforms and dress codes. “With uniforms parents and students feel that students are seen for who they are and not by what they do or don’t wear”(McEntire, n.d.). Those who find dress codes beneficial, see the satisfactory within a school uniform, by how the true characteristics of students are seen through actions rather than appearance. Some teachers, and school faculty also see the positive side to school
Dress code enforces the modest dress of students, preventing bullying and distractions.Numerous people believe clothing is a distraction and when eliminated the school environment is more professional and gives a better education to a student. Authority figures consider the school apparel enforcements are constitutionally sound, not affecting the child’s right to freely express, and providing a professional and working setting causing a better learning environment and decreased amount of bullying due to clear differences in appearance. However, opposers disagree with the restrictive code because of its limitations on individuality
America’s school systems seem to have many issues concerning students receiving a quality education without distraction. A current debate argues weather a dress code policy is efficient or takes away from student’s expression. Administrators at schools should regulate a dress code policy because the system improves discipline and student’s attention, reduces social conflict and peer pressure related to appearance, and dress code provides a more serious learning environment.
The common arguments for the dress code includes telling girls that they are “distractions”. This only pushes the idea that their comfortability is nothing compared to the possibility of a guy drooling over an exposed shoulder. This also gives the idea that girls have to be the ones to stop boys from making bad choices and within itself promotes victim blaming and rape culture. (Rape culture and victim blaming is what makes it the girl’s fault if she is harassed in any way.) We should not be treating teenaged girls as sexual objects or teaching them that their bodies are supposed to be ashamed of.
We see stories Social media has more stories of girls being sent home because of dress code violations. Maybe the problem isn’t the students, but dress codes in general. Dress codes ultimately disrupt the pursuit of knowledge for the students, encourage gender bias, and can be dangerous. If we want the younger generations to succeed in the education system, we should utilize school uniforms. Uniforms in schools from elementary to high schools, will promote gender equality and facilitate student safety.
Students have the right to express their individual identity and one of the ways they do this is through dressing. Children who do not accept their birth gender need a school environment that supports them. With many schools requiring males to wear pants and a shirt and females to wear a dress or skirt and blouse, these can negatively impact on a child’s gender identity creating problems in their school years. If students are forced to wear a gender specific uniform it restricts them from the activities and opportunities that they can do, especially for females. According to Tait (2013, p. 46) girls’ uniforms are generally more aesthetic and much less amenable to any physical activity and the fact that many are required to wear a skirt, which is the natural enemy of all things athletic. Therefore, wearing a dress or a skirt restricts certain activities for females. This includes playing sports at lunch, hanging upside down on the monkey bars as well as not having much expression of freedom compared to males in pants, and always needing to sit in a ladylike way. According to Carson (as cited in Gilmore, 2015, para. 9) the female uniform tangles or hampers leg movement and can be revealing, leading to sexual harassment and modesty policing. Thus, dresses or skirts hamper physical play and create difficulty for children to do physically active games, for example, cart wheels and
Choosing what to wear for the day. This is what most students are thinking about when they wake up. Students need the latest fashion in order to fit in, but some clothing may not be acceptable to wear in school. School dress codes are denying students their right to dress how they want, but the dress code is important for the students and their learning. Students are beginning to stand up and want to be heard. Some students are taking action and want the dress code to become less strict but some schools are doing the opposite for safety issues and for the students healthy learning environment. Dress codes are important for a strong and healthy learning environment and is also reducing violence in many schools around the country.
A dress code enforces discipline toward learning by changing a person’s attitude toward success. Students generally act the way they are dressed. With fewer fashion distractions, school will be seen as a priority for teaching and learning rather than trend competitions. This alteration leads to modification in grades because it’s much easier to focus when everyone is dressed alike. Furthermore, a student’s attendance also improves; with the relief of picking out a new outfit every morning.