Debate on School Uniform Essay

Today we atomic number 18 seeing that the younger generations argon becoming more(prenominal) preoccupied with fitting into the latest formulate trends. aim administrations generate noticed that find code violations could be an attri just nowe to the lack of performance in the classrooms. semipublic naturalizes across America be searching for answers to enhance a better learning environment for the students. Taking wholly this into consideration, condition consistents would be a great idea to alleviate some of the negativity kids face due to societies apparel obsessions.In addition to what has been menti peer littled, studies have buildn positive results with the use of prevalent initiate uniforms. If it means that the railrooms testament be more orderly, more cogitationd, Mr. Clinton state, and that our young people go forth learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inner instead of what theyre foundering on the outside, then our overt tames should be able to require their students to wear instruct uniforms (Mitchell, 1996). I believe a requirement of school uniforms should be implemented in all public simple-minded and middle schools.Read more Should uniforms be mandatory essayIn the give away of putting discipline and learning back in our schools President Clinton instructed the Federal Education Department straightaway to distri neverthelesse manuals to the nations sixteen thousand school partitions advising them how they send away legally enforce a school uniform indemnity. If it means that the schoolrooms will be more orderly, more disciplined, Mr. Clinton said, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside instead of what theyre wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms (Mitchell, 1996).Its a fashion trend thats spreading from Los Angeles to Louisiana, from Maryland to Miami, public schools are disc ussing, and in m each cases adopting, the old tete-a-tete school idea. teach uniforms are designed to help kids focus on algebra instead of high-tops to make students make out for grades rather than jackets (www. pbs. org). In 1987, the first public school Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, MD instituted a school uniform polity.Later in 1994, the Long brim Unified instill territory in California adopted a mandatory uniform indemnity in some of its schools, make it the first urban district to do so. Before long there was a considerable outgrowth in the use of uniform. For example, ninety-five percentage of New Orleans public schools require uniforms, eighty-five percent of Cleveland, eighty percent of Chicago, sixty-five percent of Boston, sixty percent of Miami, and fifty percent of Cincinnatis public School changed to uniforms (www. education. org).New York City, which is the largest school district in the US, has adopted the school uniform policy. The largest school district in the U. S. has adopted school uniforms. Over a half-million uncomplicated-school students in New York City will have to adhere to a dress code by the fire up of 1999. The president of the school board said the policy is important to diminish peer pressure and promote school pride, but that its not an act of magic to transform schools overnight It isnt going to replace a upright teaching, good principals, and small classrooms.(www. pbs. org). The internal Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) conducted a phone survey of seven light speed and fifty five principals in 2000, which revealed that twenty one percent of all public schools had a uniform policy (www. education. org). Another reason that schools have decided to conform to uniform policy is because some students gravel at school in T-shirts that bear slogans or graphics promoting drugs and alcohol, or that display a compartmentalization of messages that conflict with values the schools are trying to promote.Others may swagger around the halls in gang-related garb. Also, others may show up in sexually provocative clothing. These issues, as well as a desire to diminish socioeconomic tensions between the haves and have nots, have spurred some schools to adopt more blotto dress codes or to require students to wear uniforms. As the Department of Educations Manual on School Uniform notes, Uniforms by themselves cannot solve all of the problems of school discipline, but they can be one positive contributing factor to discipline and safety (Lumsden, Miller, 2002).Some authors contend that uniforms lessen emphasis on fashion, reduce the financial burden of low-income families, and promote peer acceptance, school pride, and learning. In a ten-state survey of elementary and middle school principals conducted two course of studys ago by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the clothing company Lands End, eleven percent of respondents said that their schools m andate uniforms, and another fifteen percent were considering such a policy. Others recent survey indicated that support for uniforms are growing among parents as well.In one survey, 56 percent of parents said they would support a school uniform policy (Lumsden, Miller, 2002). School uniforms also take up the pressure off students to pay top dollar for attire, according to Reginald Wilson, a senior scholar at the American Council on Education in Washington, D. C. I think it does lower the cost of clothes, and kids fagt emphasize clothes as much when theyre all wearing the same thing, Wilson said. Certainly the contestation to wear the best shoes or the best sweaters and so forth has been prevalent in school ever since I was in school, and the poor kids felt inferior (www.pbs. org). Deborah L. Elder wrote about an evaluation of school uniform policy at John Adams and Truman middle Schools for Albuquerque public schools. In the beginning in the fall of 1998 under a policy start ed by parents students at John Adams and Truman Middle Schools in Albuquerque were required to wear tuck-in polo shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Elder reports on an evaluation of this policy that employ interviews, focus groups, and surveys, along with data on discipline referrals and numbers of students achieving honor-roll status.During the first semester of the 1998-1999 school year, both schools undergo a clear improvement in student conduct from the previous year. At John Adams Middle School, discipline referrals fell from one thousand five hundred and sixty-five during the first semester of the previous year to four hundred and five. At Truman, referrals dropped from one thousand one hundred and thirty-nine to eight hundred and fifty. Students, teachers, and parents utter in interviews uniforms place all students on an equal level, Elder writes, Students who may be without delay labeled by peers and staff no longer stand out. Survey data showed that seventy-five percent of parents and eighty-nine percent of staff back up uniforms and believed they decreased violence, theft, and gang activity, Although only fifteen percent of students supported uniforms, fifty-nine percent agreed that school uniforms help school officials identify trespassers on campus. Concerns about school violence have led to change magnitude interest in and acceptance of uniform policies. In the slipstream of school shootings, communities and schools are much more willing to embrace uniforms as well as a number of other strategies to enhance student safety.Curbing gang-related violence was the primary goal of the Long Beach (CA) Unified School District when, in 1994, it began requiring students in all its elementary and middle schools to wear uniforms, In the Dysart Unified School District outside Phoenix, Arizona, eliminating some of the stigma associated with clothes was the main motivation potty the adoption of uniforms. Even before the recent series of school shootings, a survey of principals conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals found strong support for uniforms.In addition to having a guts that uniform may aid in violence prevention, many administrators believe that uniforms will reduce discipline referrals, while improving attendance, achievement, self-esteem, and school climate. A study of middle school students in the Charleston (SC) School District fount that school uniforms did appear to alter students perceptions of school climate. Students attending district schools that required uniforms viewed their school climates more positively than did students enrolled in schools where uniforms were not mandatory.Additional benefits credited to school uniforms include improved discipline, increased respect for teachers, increased school attendance, fewer distractions, improved academic performance, increased self-esteem and confidence, lower overall clothing costs, promotion of group spirit, reduction in social stra tification and fashion statements, improved classroom behavior, lower rates of school crime and violence, and easy identification of nonstudents (Lumsden, 2001). Many opponents believe that dictating what students wear to school violates their constitutional right to emancipation of expression (Lumsden,Miller, 2002).People oppose uniforms point to unnecessary violations of students First Amendment rights, lordly regimentation, extraordinary expenditures on special clothing, an environmental tone that is harmful to education and learning, and cosmetic solution to deeper societal problems. Students First Amendment right to freedom of expression, and whether it is being abridged, is one of the fundamental issues raised, Several legal challenges have maintain that students freedom to select what to wear to school is a form of self-expression that schools are not entitled to interject with (Lumsden, 2001).In a recent case, Littlefield v. Forney, parents challenged a school uniform po licy adopted by the Forney, Texas school board. The policy required students to wear polo shirts, oxford shirts, or blouses in any of four specified solid colors, with soft or khaki pants, shorts, skirts, or jumpers. Denim, leather, suede, vinyl, and spandex were off-limits, as were baggy clothes and specific types of shoes. The parents claimed that the districts policy break the right of parents to control the upbringing and education of their own children. The plaintiff also argued that the policy interfered with students freedom of expression and forced them to express ideas with which they might disagree. In addition, they also declared that the procedures for opting out of the policy violated their religious freedom by allowing school officials to assess the sincerity of peoples religious belief. The federal district hook dismissed the suit without a trial, but the plaintiffs then appealed to the 5th locomote Court, where the popular opinion of the lower court was upheld. In its decision, the 5th Circuit Court indicated that students free-speech right to select their own clothes is not absolute, and that this right mustiness be balanced against a school boards stated interests in adopting a dress code or uniform policy. To decide whether a specific uniform or dress code policy is permissible under the Constitutions free-speech clause, the court utilise a four-pronged test it had previously applied in another school uniform case, Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board.The court looked at four criteria the school board must have the power to make a policy, the policy must promote a substantial interest of the board, the adoption of the policy must not be an attempt to censor student expression, and the policys incidental restrictions on student expression must not be greater than necessary to promote the boards interest. In this case, the 5th Circuit found that all four criteria were satisfied and that the districts school uniform policy hence did no t violate students right to free expression.The court also ruled that parents rights to control their childrens upbringing, including their education, cannot vacate school rules that are considered reasonable to maintain an appropriate educational environment. In this case, the court concluded that the uniform policy was rationally related to the interests of the school board in promoting education, improving student safety, increasing attendance, fall dropout rates, and reducing socioeconomic tensions among students. The parents argument that the opt-out procedure violated religious freedom because if gave school officials the authority to try on the sincerity and content of families religious beliefs was also rejected by the court. Their decision was based on the policy not containing any religious goals they did not have the effect of advancing or hindering any particular faith over any other and did not excessively entangle school officials in religious beliefs (Lumsden, and Miller, 2002). Public schools that have already put uniform into place have seen improvement.Kids are less focus on what they are wearing, and more focus on schoolwork. Kids are not focused on what they should wear the next day for school and you wont have kids up early flavour for clothes to wear to school. Elementary and Middle Schools will see significant change once uniforms are put into place. School uniforms are a great way to preserve the level of social equation amongst the students. The thought of knowing the social background is prevented. It makes kids treat each other equally not adjudicate by what clothes they wear.Students will learn to respect each other on the foundation of how they spring up along and not how sexy they look. Humiliating or bullying other kids will decrease or stop altogether. The level of distraction is considerably reduced. Since students will be dressing in similar clothing, which will be distinctive to the school, the students will build up a sense of belonging and loyalty to the school. School uniforms will help avoid incidents of complicated situations (inferiority and superiority). Students will not be known by what they wear, but by how they perform. Kids can build team spirit.When you wear specific colors, a sense of unity can be developed. Similar clothing promotes team spirit. School uniforms encourage a sense of ownership and discipline. Therefore, I strongly believe school uniforms should be a requirement for public school students in the elementary and middle schools. Overall, implementing school uniform in elementary and middle public school will be beneficial, as I have mentioned above. Kids may not be happy about it at first, but they will eventually catch on. I personally work with middle school kids who go to public school and wear uniforms.They did not like it at first, but what they all agree on is how they dont have to decide on what to wear. References Lumsden, Linda and Gabriel Miller. Dress Codes and Uniforms. 2002. National Association of Elementary School Principals, Alexandria, VA. 19 6 2012 . Lumsden, Linda. Uniforms and Dress-Code Policies. Eugene, May 2001. Mitchell, Alison. New York Times Clinton Will Advise Schools on Uniforms. 25 February 1996. 23 June 2012 . Public School Uniform Statistics. 2012. 19 6 2012 . School Uniforms. 21 6 2012 .