Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
A debate on school uniforms
The effects of using school uniforms
Debates why we should or not have school uniforms
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: A debate on school uniforms
One of the most controversial topics revolving around schooling is the weather students should or should not wear uniforms to improve academic and social behavior. Many sources say that school uniforms improve discipline, attendance, lower criminal activity, and increase academic achievement in students; Furthermore, this is due to less distraction and conforming to the idea that uniforms makes you smarter. This false ideology that is expected from school uniforms has not been proven in any way to work and is more of a waste of the tax-payers money than an improvement. There are more outlying factors that contribute to success or failure than just uniforms and pro-advocates do not get this big picture. The most outspoken reasons why to use …show more content…
This is another real world problem that has been around since the earliest of civilizations and will need more than just school uniforms to change that. “If students are to be prepared for the outside world, they need to be prepared for a world riddled with inequalities, injustices, and inflexible social divisions.”(Wilkins p.5-6) says Julia Wilkins in her article “School Uniforms: The Answer to Violence in American Schools or a Cheap Educational Reform?” which she supports school uniforms, but disagrees with the fact that this will eliminate economic classes between the students. Further explaining, it would be a disservice to students throwing them into a world of differences if they grew up with equality in schools. Even if the schools went through with the idea of this, many problems would arise that they cannot control. As said by Dennis Evans in his article “would uniforms propose to ban high school students from driving cars to school, from wearing jewelry, or from carrying money?” (Evans par.4), which dead on means this is more of a societal problem. Moreover, Dennis Evans explains that the schools then would have to eliminate or make free some of the activities that are held. Not only will the tax payers pay for the school uniforms, but also they will have to pay for the extracurricular activities that schools have such as sporting clubs. To summarize, school uniforms will have little to no effect of changing financial barriers between students and won’t help them in life after school, which also would include what they will get from this
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.
School uniforms have always been a topic of interest for me since fifth grade when my school merged with another and I had the possibility of adopting their uniform policies. Up until researching this topic I have always thought uniforms were a terrible idea because they were just ugly and looked uncomfortable. So with my argument paper of course I wrote about how uniforms are a bad idea. After reviewing all of my research I did in order to write this paper I came to the conclusion that uniforms actually make so much sense to me now. This could be because I am lazy and like that I wouldn’t have to make any decisions. I have also encountered many peers who do wear uniforms and after hearing their opinions and tolerance for them I began to wish I was exposed to that growing up. So I have done full research into both sides, while switching sides a few times as I created a solid outline. Currently I feel that uniforms offer a safe and united community that encourages the individual and self growth.
“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.
It is a great idea for schools to implement a policy on school uniforms because statistics show that students who wear uniforms make better grades. Additionally, male students are not distracted by what female students are (or aren't) wearing. Moreover, students feel a sense of fairness with one another as they are all wearing the same things. When students are at one with one another, their confidence soars, which leads to better academic performance. Student uniforms help reduce the amount of bullying, and students who would normally be bullied now have a much better disposition while at school.
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.
Children tend to break off into "cliques," and uniforms could possibly help unite students. Finding creative ways to express their individuality through other outlets other than fashion can help children forge friendships based on their common interests. In conclusion, I feel that school uniforms are something all schools should consider implementing in their policy. All of these points show that they could be budget-friendly, help children focus, and lower the barriers children can build up because of merely what they are wearing.
Worrying more about others, rather than themselves, students pay more attention to the appearance of their peers instead of their academics. To begin, if school uniforms became apart of the school policy, students’ academics would improve phenomenally. Hanley noted that “The reason for the policy [was] to further improve ascending test scores and provide a safe, comfortable learning environment” (A1+). Clearly, school administrators wanted to improve test scores, and they figured if students dressed the same, then they would have no other choice but to focus on their school work. If the students can concentrate on their school work, then they will have high self- esteem. Furthermore, Valdez believes that school uniforms, positively, will change student academics: “… [they] decrease self consciousness and increase self esteem...” (14). Reasonable and realistic, students who feel better about themselves will succeed in school rather than those who have poor self-esteem. Not only do school uniforms encourage students to have a better attitude about themselves, but they also change the environment in which students learn....
By requiring school uniforms in public schools, education will be improved. A dress code will enforce discipline toward learning. Uniforms improve a person’s outlook toward success. Students generally act the way they are dressed. With fewer distractions, students see the school as a workplace for teaching and learning. Students also have less stress in their lives because they are not in a fashion competition. Dress codes also lead to a change in grades. Mainly this happens because the student’s attendance comes up. There is also a change in grades because it is easier to focus when everyone looks alike.
There are many distractions that can affect what children learn and for many, they believe that uniforms can take away many of these distractions. For an example, an inappropriate shirt, such as the one that promotes drugs and alcohol could disrupt an entire class due to a teacher having to stop their lecture to deal with the problem. In fact, in a study conducted on the effects of implementing school uniforms, six elementary teachers from Cincinnati Ohio stated that after their school implemented a uniform policy there were “fewer classroom disruptions” as well as “fewer incidences of quarreling” (Huss,
School uniforms lack effectiveness. They don’t help fix any problems. Many believe that school uniforms take away the students distraction towards clothes and appearance and enhance academic performance. However, it does not take a genius to realize that wearing a uniform does not automatically make a student more attentive or hard-working. There may be several other reasons as to why a student lacks focus or is distracted. Those reasons may include problems at home, with other students or even with teachers. Schools should do everything they can to help students with those proble...
n our public schools today - they may seem like a good suggestion, but when looked at closer, all uniforms do is disguise the center of attention of the real concern that need to be successfully worked out. If security is a worry, we shouldn't be looking to a uniform to rectify the issue - if the concern is students not concentrating on school work, or getting meager grades, again, uniforms should not be seen as a way out. We have a duty to teach our children as much as we can in safe surroundings, and those are grave concerns that cannot be resolved by putting all children in the same attire. If all the children are wearing the same clothes, you still have a question with security and poor instruction - and now you have a student body that is being taught not to express their individuality. Uniforms in some cases, add to a school's concern, they do not answer them.
School uniforms are a huge debate among public schools around the globe. They have impacted society in that they have caused debates over the real pros and cons of them, and have even caused other schools to change their perspectives about enforcing them. School uniforms have had both positive and negative effects on students everywhere. Students may feel as if they cannot be themselves, or they may feel as if they fit in more. The controversy is huge and there is no correct argument over if school uniforms are actually helping or
A study performed on 64 Ohio high schools by the assistant professor at Youngstown State University, Virginia Draa, yielded surprisingly positive results. Draa studied schools that implemented schools uniforms as opposed to those who didn’t. She compared various statistics. She concluded that “those schools with uniform policies improved in attendance, graduation, and suspension rates” (Wildes). However, there is no clear explanation of exactly why this is true.
Should school uniforms be required? Some say that uniforms help students focus on academics instead of fashion. Others believe that students should have the freedom to choose what they wear to school in order to express their differences and their uniqueness. After considering both sides of the issue, I strongly believe that uniforms should be introduced in primary public and private schools. Wearing school uniforms does not promote unfair comparisons between student’s incomes in terms of clothing; they aid students in developing their inner qualities instead of focusing on the outer aspects of themselves in the crucial earlier years of their lives, and provides a platform for practicing discipline.
In fact, one in five public schools throughout the US are required to wear them. It has been said that on average, high-poverty areas with public schools are more common to have school uniforms mandatory. The first school district in the US to acquire the school uniforms was in Long Beach, California roughly a decade and a half ago. As of 2008, 22 states have enforced the utilization of school uniforms. Studies show that US schools with a minority student population of 50% are four times as likely to require uniforms than schools with a minority population of 20-49%, and 24 times more likely than schools with minority populations of 5%-19%. 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. That is one less item that parents have to worry about. Just having to buy school uniforms instead of a whole new wardrobe after every new yea could help several families save money. It is said that having uniforms could potentially help families concentrate on where it matters most, which is the quality of the education that their child