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Mandatory school uniforms
The negative effects of school uniforms
An essay debate on whether or not to mandate school uniform
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Uniforms in Public Schools have established a negative meaning in the American culture. Most other countries around the United States have adopted the school uniform policy; Americans like to value our freedom of expression and uniqueness. American children value these traits, especially middle and high school when they feel like expressing themselves by the way they dress, that’s why public school lacks uniform policy. Parents and children that do not agree with mandatory school uniforms, argues that uniform policy in public schools would contradict the student’s independence. Their child would not stand out in a crowed if something were to happen. Nevertheless, Parents and students are missing the main point of attending school in the first …show more content…
Having school uniforms will prevent gang colors in schools and the safety for students will increase. Many gang affiliated members are known for the color of their clothing. For instance, Crips they wear blue, Bloods they wear red, and Vatos Locos wear white. Having a uniform policy in public schools would lessen the amount of gang affiliation due to their appearance. According to “Long Beach Uniform Statistic”, California implemented uniforms in 1995 reported the overall rate for crime dropped 91% and school suspension dropped 90%. Students think by having a uniform policy in public schools, they will not be able to express their character through their clothing. The safety of the students is more important than expressing their character. Addition to their safety, the belief that students express themselves through their clothing is a metaphor. Most students shop at the same place, and most likely buy the same name brand clothing. Students tend to look alike and not an individual that stands out. True the odds of students looking alike is less likely without a uniform code, but when that does happen it could cause more tension than knowing, without a doubt that they will all be wearing a like uniform. Therefore, their personality shouldn’t be based on their clothing but attitude, scores, and academic …show more content…
After waking up and getting everything ready before the kids go to school, the last thing a parent would want to think about is what their child is going to wear to school. Name brand clothing students wear at public schools are costly for their parent’s budget. According to Martha White, the average a family will spend on school age kids clothing anticipated to be around $630.36 a year. As the years go by, name brand clothing is increasing in prices. Some would argue that school uniforms are more costly to their parent’s budget. School uniforms are also a better alternative financially. The cost seldom rises and parents would only need to buy at most a set of three per child. This allows for parents to better factor in the cost of their child's uniform into their budget rather than last minute variations caused by difference in price for brand name clothing. The average parent would spend on school uniforms is about $249 a year. Wearing uniforms in public schools would save your parents about
Did you know that Americans spend around one billion dollars per year on school uniforms? At the beginning of every school year, families shop for weeks and weeks to find specific clothes that fit into a school’s strict uniform dress code. School uniforms should not be required in schools because they take away from the student’s freedom of expression, do not lower disciplinary problems, and do not prevent bullying based on economic status. Dress codes often have more of a negative impact than a positive impact when it comes to students being able to learn. Many people say that being in free dress is a distraction, when in reality, uniforms are more of a distraction.
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.
"’School uniforms are one step that may help break the cycle of violence, truancy and disorder by helping young students understand what really counts is what kind of people they are,’ President Clinton said. It didn 't take much more than this presidential nod of approval to get the uniform ball rolling in many school districts across the country” (Bowen). Are school uniforms really the answer to the public schools’ problems? Although having a school uniform policy is mostly beneficial to schools, there are some drawbacks to having one. While uniforms provide less cost to the parent and less chance of bullying in schools, they also limit a student’s freedom of expression and can decrease the student’s comfort level.
One of the reasons schools should have uniforms is because families could save money. An average cost of a uniform in JC penny for one student a year is about three hundred dollars . A normal family spends over five hundred to thousand dollars for clothing for a student. If public schools have uniforms students wouldn’t feel different which would help them feel better and concentrate in their lessons. If families would be able to save money on clothing they could spend it on other school expenses students have. School uniforms could also last more than a year. Even if you grow out of your school uniform you could pass it down to a younger sibling or cousin. Uniforms help the need of not buying so many cloths a year.
To begin, school uniforms are economic. When schools have a uniform policy, it makes it easier on the children and parents. It is convenient because a child can just go to their closet and pick out a uniform and be ready for school. It is also very cost effective. Parents can outfit their children twice a year, warm and cold weather uniforms, rather than spending hundreds of dollars trying to keep up with expensive, name-brand clothing. In addition to being economically beneficial, school uniforms also help reduce distractions in the classroom.
All families already have other expenses to pay for such as bills, food, taxes, and they still have to buy regular clothes for their children to wear when they are out of school. Parents located in Anderson, Indiana, sued over a schools uniform policy because it broke the guarantee of a free public education. They said they were required to pay $641 for their children's uniforms in Aug. 2007 (Carol Motsinger, "Ironing out Policies on School Uniforms," usatoday.com, August 6, 2007) Most families probably cannot afford this expense on top of every other expense they have to pay at the same time. It should not have to be an expense for these families to worry about because it is technically imposing on the promise of free education.
...h the cost of a year's worth of school uniforms. The cost of a year's worth (Five tops and five bottoms) of school uniforms or standardized dress code clothing is $150. The savings add up plus students who don’t have to focus on what to wear to school are going to focus more on academics, which leads to improved grades.
Bill Clinton once said, “People will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require students to wear school uniforms.” Public schools across America are searching to improve safety, school belonging and also help parents save money & students save time getting ready. One way to improve these issues would be to implement a uniform policy. The adoption of school uniforms policies will reach what public schools across America are searching for.
It has been disputed that school uniforms would encourage protection in our education community. After all, if every student is trying the same style, it would be easier to pick out who on the school property is not a student or staff member. It is also disputed that school uniforms dampen thefts among pupils, since the contest would no longer be there. With identical outfits, no one is slaughtered over a pair of designer shoes or a designer jacket.
School uniforms are affecting the amount of money spent on clothing in a negative way. Many people think parents/guardians are saving money, but really, they are just spending more money. If one were to think about it, school uniforms can’t be worn outside of school. Why would someone want to spend $300 on school uniforms, and then have to spend $200 on clothes worn outside of school?
Parents are also impacted when schools require uniforms. Some argue that this policy is too expensive; uniforms are actually more affordable. For example, an average parent of a teen that attends a public school spends over $500.00 a year on clothes alone, while a parent of a teen with a uniform policy spends less then $200.00 a year. There are fewer clothes to purchase, therefore less money to spend.
Uniforms in our Public Schools. School Uniforms are a logical choice for the public school venue. Uniforms prevent students from a lower income background from being singled out for poorly made or cheap clothing, prevents use of gang colors, allows for certain safety measures, and allows teachers to form impressions of students based on actions and work rather than dress code choices. Since the 1990s schools have reported amazing results by mandating a school uniform policy. Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. L (2006): “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 clothing costs, promotion of group spirit, reduction in social stratification, and lower rates of violence and crime.
Parents have to locate the right pants, socks, and shirts. Parents have to work extra hard on getting stains out of the uniforms. Uniforms can be costlier than other clothing. Children have to find other ways to express themselves. For instance backpacks, accessories, and other aspects become more important. This can be a challenge if their children is already struggling to find away to express themselves. On the other hand uniforms can be a great opportunity to get your children involved in something new. Your children will not have to think about what they are going to wear when they get up in the mornings. Parents you will not have to tell your daughter that she is showing cleavage or her shorts are too shorts. Or even get that phone call to bring your son some extra jeans because the ones he wore today have holes in them. School uniforms can help your child feel like they are a part of a group because all of the students will be wearing them. I believe that there will be less bullying. I also strongly believe that school uniforms is a great idea and offer a lot of positives in comparison to the
Another disadvantage to having school uniforms is that if you have more than one school age child, uniforms may become costly (Occupy Theory). It also becomes costly because you would usually have to buy more than one outfit. You must buy more than one outfit or else you would have to be washing your outfit every day. A third disadvantage to having school uniforms is that children, mainly teens, will keep changing the look of the outfit itself. Many teens do not like the look of themsel...
Studies also show that the cities with the highest use of uniforms in public schools are New Orleans with 95%, Cleveland with 85%, Chicago with 80%, and Boston with 65%. Those studies were based off teachers and parents. 23% of all public and private schools are required to wear school uniforms and have a dress code. The annual cost of school uniforms sales runs about 1.3 billion around the world, and roughly 249 dollars per parent. With that being said, school uniforms could reduce the stress that comes along with school shopping.