Media has influenced a lot of today’s trends and ideologies. Adolescents, being on the psychological level of self-identification, bring this deceptive notion of fashion and social classes to school. The problem comes when this trend affects the performance of students and their personal lives. We all remember our days back when the talk was “Who are the jocks, the cheerleaders, the rick kids, the geeks, the losers, etcetera?” Believe it or not, the status quo in schools is always composed of them. These cliques have identities exclusive for each. Students who do not look, act, or dress the same as one group are, more often than not, left out. They could be hurt physically and or psychologically with cruel teasing and rumors. Bullying and social discrimination are both so evident in children especially in the secondary-education (“School Uniforms” 2). These are not the media’s wrongdoing. These are done by the students themselves, and administrators are not helping enough to relieve it. Counselors may help with the students’ emotional stress, but there is no other tangible solution in removing the segregation like school uniforms.
Boring, plain, vapid - These are how students opposing school uniforms perceive the matter.
The first argument of the critics against school uniforms is that they believe these infringe on the liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment. An editorial in the Northwest Florida Daily News argues how school uniforms can’t ensure better behavior as well as how anti-individualistic they can be. If uniforms can guarantee better behaviors, how can there still be soldiers who go AWOL and prisoners getting into fights? The anonymous editor speculates that uniforms take away students’ identities which only the “a...
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...e essence of individuality.
Works Cited
Boutelle, Marsha. “Uniforms: Are They A Good Fit?” The Education Digest Feb. 2008: 37. Print.
Brog, Linda. “Students, Parents Finding School Uniforms A Good Fit.” Rhode Island News, 31 August 2007. Web. 11 January 2011.
Motsinger, Carol. “Ironing Out Policies In School Uniforms.” USA Today, 7 August 2007. Web. 11 January 2011.
“School Uniforms.” Current Issues: Macmilian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 9 January 2011.
"School Uniforms Stifle Freedom of Expression." School Policies. Ed. Jamuna Carroll.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In
Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
Stockton, C., & Gullatt, D.E. “School Uniforms: Policies and Procedures.” Research in Middle Level Education Online, 25.1 (2002)11 January 2011.
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.
Students that are in public schools whom do not require the use of uniforms wear what they please while looking up to fashion icons; such as Michael Jordan, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, P. Diddy etc. Everyday either before or after school many students utilize electronics like TV, computers etc. Students then may feel like they need to idolize their fashion icons and the best way to become them is to dress similar in any way affordable. However, they’re plenty others that are not as interested or worried about who’s the next fashion mogul. Therefore leaving these individuals vulnerable to being bullied. With that said public schools are known to be divided into diverse segregated congregations. For instance normally there are your math geeks, cheerleaders, Football jocks, the band, and gang affiliated. However within these groups they’re considered popular with similarities in judgment ...
Anderson, Dylan. "School Uniforms Undermine Freedom." Gainesville Sun. 03 Mar. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
The debate over the use of school uniforms in public schools is one that has raged on for decades, and still hasn’t come to a conclusion. School uniforms are increasingly being enforced in public schools throughout the country, amidst a slew of opposition. Some people believe that school uniforms do not help our schools and their students, but hurt the schools and smother the student’s freedom. More specifically, some schools in the Greeley/Evans School District 6 have adopted school uniforms to try and improve the respective schools problems while some schools haven’t adopted uniforms. This leads people to question, should the Greeley-Evans School District adopt a school uniform policy?
In America, “The World’s Melting Pot”, we are all unique and should be seen as individuals. Wearing a uniform does not allow for students to demonstrate their individuality; they have to dress conforming to the school’s uniform policy. According to Akerlof and Kranton, “...with attempting to establish a sense of community might be the loss of student’s sense of identification with the school, which could in turn yield lowered outcomes in effort and skills”. These policies leave the students questioning themselves and wondering, “Who am I?”. A survey, of 100 random students, conducted at Zapata High School showed that 72% of students reviewed felt that wearing a uniform suppresses their ability to express themselves as individuals. Forcing students to wear a uniform is also going against the first amendment, which clearly prohibits Congress from making laws that violate freedom of speech; it includes freed...
High school is typically a time when kids begin to distinguish themselves from one another. Students begin to develop their own sense of personal style, desperately trying to both fit in and stand out simultaneously. Being self-conscious and often lacking the confidence needed to assert themselves, teens are forced to use clothing and outward appearance as the means to manifest this individuality. Thus, students should not be forced to wear uniforms to school. Standard uniforms are unproven deterrents to student violence; are a "Band-Aid" to cover up the real problems faced by children and teens; and they violate students' right of self-expression, depriving them of their search for identity.
"School Uniforms? Yes and No?" How We. TypePad, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.(School)
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.
School Uniforms eliminate freedom of expression among children and teens in school whilst also supporting conformity over individuality. The First
Despite all the positive attributes a school uniform policy may bring to a public school, there are also those who believe that these policies take away from a child’s self-expression which is vital to a child’s development. Those that are opposed to school uniforms also believe that uniforms are a “band-aid” (Kizis, 2000) for all the problems a school may be faced with. Nonetheless, in order to better public schools, fixing the problems they are faced with, should be the goals of administration, teachers, parents, and students alike.
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.
Wharton, Claudene. “School Uniform Study.” UNR.edu. University of Nevada, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
All individuals struggle with discovering who they are and who they may want to be in the future. School environment, either negatively or positively, impacts the result of this greatly. Uniforms in the learning environment have become a highly debated subject all across the country. Although some individuals believe school uniforms have a positive affect, those people should understand the negatives because uniforms promote appearance over character, lower student’s self-esteem, and conflict with the right of expression.
An article in the Wall Street Journal reports that students are still being ridiculed for wearing the wrong clothes, and in fact, fashion-related bullying appears to be on the rise, according to Dorothy Espelage, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois. This evidence contradicts the opposing team's argument. Additionally, the opposing team claimed that they have never seen bullying based on brands in our school, but this assertion is easily refuted since we wear school uniforms at SIS. Therefore, it is evident that bullying based on clothing, including brands and inexpensive clothing, is still prevalent and increasing in frequency. As bullying is detrimental to a student's well-being, it is crucial to prevent it and promote healthy development by implementing school uniforms globally, particularly in Hong Kong.