What is a school uniform? Describe.

         -A school uniform is a required, by the school administration, attire worn by the students attending a school or educationally-led facility. It is often used interchangeability with “dress code”, but the two can be very different. A school uniform is often a nice shirt paired with either slacks or a skirt that the parents can either purchase from the school or a designated store.  A “dress code” is guidelines of what clothing of their own a student can wear. This often consists of: pants, shorts, or skirts no shorter that a certain length, appropriateness of shirt coverage, and language on said clothing.

 

What are the potential benefits of having school uniforms?

         -A school with uniforms can be subject to many positive outcomes. First, uniforms can increase the safety of students. With all school parties wearing the same clothing or even the same colors, it is easy to spot someone who may not belong on campus. In bigger schools, it is very possible for a kid who looks the age to show up to a campus and freely walk the halls; this can become dangerous very fast! Second, many believe that adding uniforms may result in the decrease of violence and theft caused by expensive clothing and accessories. Middle school and High school can be very intimidating places. Uniforms could possibly bring an end to the separation and animosity towards different Social Economic Classes. Third, attendance can be a huge positive result of the addition of uniforms. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I know I spent a lot of time picking out clothes for school which caused a few tardies or an occasional absence of my first class. Having a uniform would have saved me so much time, but this does not guarantee I would have necessary spent it on school work.

 

What are the potential problems with having school uniforms?

         -Although there can be many benefits from school uniforms, problems can also be caused by the plaid. First, the main problem many have with uniforms is they completely “step on” the students’ freedom of expression. Being that uniforms are primarily wanted in middle and high school, this can interrupt a student’s process of finding out who they are and what they like; this suppression of experimentation can cause students to act out, raising the violence in schools or even lowering the attendance rates. Second, there is a fear among educators, administrators, and parents that uniforms may cause the students to be comfortable with conformability. This is more of a long-term problem. Many believe that having so many people dress the same everyday will stunt the critical and creative thinking. Third, uniforms in public schools can undermine the assurance of a free education. All of the state’s young people are able to obtain at least a high school diploma because of taxes. If we impose another cost to families struggling financially, this may result in more students dropping out because they simply cannot afford to go to a “free” school.

 

How can you get parents and students to buy-in to the idea of school uniforms?

         -The main way to get parents on board for school uniforms is that less of their money is spent on clothes. If a child is wearing the same uniforms every week, a parent does not have to worry about buying extreme amounts of “impressive” clothing seeing that it will only be needed for two days out of the week. As a female student, it would be easy to convince me to wear a uniform to school so I could save all of my nicer clothes for events outside of school or the weekend.

 

What does the Supreme Court have to say on this issue?

         -The Supreme Court is well aware of this issue, but I believe it is not as much as an issue as it was fifteen years ago. Being fully aware of the first amendment, which prohibits the making of any law not respecting freedom of religion, speech, and press, it would be very hard for them to decide either way without running into our rights as citizens of the United States of America. 

 

Are school uniforms truly effective?

         - Uniforms are often debated as a distraction from the holes in our educational system. So much thought and study is put into whether uniforms increase or decrease attendance, grades, and behavior of the students. Many tests and observations have been completed to secure these answers, but they are different every time. I think that uniforms can be positive or negative to the students and learning environment. I would also like to propose that uniforms cannot collectively work everywhere, but can only bring about positive effects in certain areas of the United States and this can only be determined through trial and error.

 

Summary

         -This discussion really got me thinking about how so much can affect how students learn. I find it very interesting that a simple piece of clothing can have so many pros and cons, or even cause long-term problems for many of the students. After reading all the material, I would have to go with wearing uniforms in the school system, although I did have an issue with the thoughts of the cost to financially-unstable families. I really like the idea of putting everyone on an equal playing field.