10 School Uniform Advantages and Disadvantages
The debate about the impact that school uniforms can have in our public schools has been stuck on a mary go round for many years. Supporters of school uniforms believe implementing them will improve safety and performance in schools. Critics, however, believe that the issues that school uniforms will bring will outweigh any perceived benefit that would be enjoyed. School uniforms are set outfits that children are forced to wear to school each and every day. What would be the actual effects of this if it were to become a wide spread rule in our public schools?
The Advantages of School Uniforms
1. Helps Prevent Violence and Gang Activity
Gangs typically use different symbols and colors to represent their members. This becomes a very large problem in schools that are in areas that have problems with high amounts of gang activity. By regulating what clothes the students can wear, you are also regulating what they can openly affiliate with in school. This includes gangs, which helps to prevent a large amount of crime and violence.
2. Puts The Focus Back on Education
In today’s society there is a large focus on appearance, and this is especially true in the youth of today. In middle and high schools, a great deal of importance is placed on clothes. Whether or not you have the most current and trendy clothes and shoes, how you look in them, and so on. School uniforms stop this intense focus on appearance and help it shift back to education.
3. School Uniforms = School Spirit
If everyone is wearing the same clothing, which represents their school, a feeling of unity and spirit begins to form. Just like a football team that wears the same jerseys, a school that wears the same uniforms begin to function and think like a team.
4. Mornings Are a Breeze
A big challenge for many students is the struggle in the morning. Getting up early, getting ready for school and choosing what to wear can take a lot of time and put a lot of stress on the students as well as parents. School uniforms help the mornings run much more smoothly, because there is no question about what the student is going to wear. This fact helps to improve punctuality and attendance in students.
5. Reduces Bullying
Kids can be cruel, especially to ones who are not perceived as “cool” or “trendy”. Clothes make children who come from low income families a large target for bullying because they cannot afford to buy the newest and trendiest clothes. School uniforms puts everyone on an even playing field when it comes to this.
6. Easily Identify Students
The kids from each school have designated uniforms. This serves many purposes, including the ability to easily identify which school a student is from. If a student is missing, skipping schools, or if someone is on the property that doesn’t belong there, it is very simple to know because they are not int he correct uniform.
The Disadvantages of School Uniforms
1. Freedom of Expression is Important
The biggest argument against school uniforms is the fact that young people need to be able to express themselves in a healthy way, which they can do through their clothing. School is the most social interaction that many of the students have in their day to day life, which makes it the prime time for them to put their own personal style on display. School uniforms don’t let them do this and force them to conform to the way everyone else looks.
2. Widely Opposed By The Students
Another large issue with school uniforms is the fact that they are widely hated by the majority of the student body. A recent poll showed that 92 percent of high school students are highly opposed to the idea of school uniforms. This amount of distaste for the policy could cause a major problem in morale of the school.
3. An Unhealthy Comparison
Putting everyone in the same clothes causes the students to begin comparing the way that they look to others. The comparison is made easy because everyone is in the exact same clothes. This is especially true for young girls. This is also a problem because some clothes are not suited for certain body types. School uniforms preventing students from choosing the most flattering clothes for them and make them even more self conscious or uncomfortable.
4. Free Public Education Should Be Free
If you require parents to purchase pricey sets of school uniforms, it goes completely against the idea of public education. Public school is supposed to be free, and supported by the taxes that are payed by parents. By forcing them to purchase these uniforms, it goes completely against this concept.
