Why Do Students Wear Uniforms Essay

There is much debate between students, parents, and educators as to whether or not public school students should be required to wear uniforms. Many feel that uniforms save time and money, as well as promoting equality among students. However, others doubt the cost-effectiveness of uniforms, and postulate that uniforms strip students of vital individuality and freedom. Practicality, safety, and freedom are three of the most commonly debated aspects of the requirement of uniforms.

There are many manners in which uniforms are more pragmatic. 4Having a predetermined uniform, students spend less time getting ready in the morning, because they are not required to decide for themselves what to wear, as it has already been decided. 6This improves punctuality

Firstly, there tend to be fewer dress-code infractions to begin with when all students wear uniforms. Secondly, uniforms make it easier to enforce dress codes, because they create a single, set standard for all students. Many also argue the economic practicality of uniforms, as parents spend less money on trendy clothes. However, it must also be noted that uniforms themselves can be quite pricy, causing Americans spend an average of one billion dollars on school uniforms every year (Joe Mathews, L.A. Times,), and are paid for by either the students ' parents, or by taxpayers. Overall, uniforms may very well be more practical, but they come with a few of their own inconveniences as well.

Many advocate uniforms as a method in decreasing school violence, and increasing school safety. Uniform advovates cite a plethera of reasons for this. 5As uniforms prevent the display of gang colors, and make outsiders more easily identifiable, uniforms are believed to increase school safety (John A. Gavin, "Schools Find Stricter Rules, Uniforms Can Lessen Bullying,"). In

3Unsurprisingly, many of the arguements against uniforms are based on the restriction of the freedom the United States were founded upon. 4Insisting that students still retain their freedom of expression, uniform advocates point out that students possess the ability to accessorize their uniforms. A peer-reviewed study in 2012 found that fifty-four percent of eighth grade students stated that they could still express their individuality while wearing school uniforms (Andrea Dashiell, parentmap.com). Conversely, a peer-reviewed study by researchers at the University of Nevada, which took place the same year as the aforementioned study, showed that ninety percent of seventh and eighth grade students disliked being required to wear a uniform (Claudene Wharton, "College of Education Researchers Conduct Study on Impacts of School Uniforms"). 3Additionally, a study of Harford County, MD public school students in 2007 depicted that almost eighty-eight percent of students opposed uniforms (Madison Park, baltimoresun.com). "They decide to teach us about people like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony and Booker T. Washington... We learn about how these people expressed themselves and conquered, and we can 't even express ourselves in the hallways," Kyler Sumter, a junior high student in Chicago, wrote in the Huffington Post (Kyler Sumter, Huffinton Post). Using clothing to show their support for various