Do Uniforms Make School Better free essay sample

Do uniforms make schools better? For the past decade, schools, parents and students have clashed over the issue of regulating student attire. Over the last few years, cases involving an anti-Bush T-shirt in Vermont made their way through the courts, causing many to wonder whether this debate will ever be resolved. Most researchers’ state that uniforms do not help with academic performance however, improvements in attendance rates and graduation rates have been observed. School districts across the country are battling over this issue with the help of parents. While private and parochial schools have long required students to follow a dress code or wear uniforms, public schools  have usually allowed students to wear what they (and their parents) like. Pro-uniform parents say that only worked because schools used to be safer. Now that kids are getting mugged for their designer clothes and expensive sneakers, school uniforms seem a safer alternative to many. We will write a custom essay sample on Do Uniforms Make School Better? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Furthermore, uniforms prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia to school, and make it easier for security guards to spot intruders. Others also state that school uniforms encourage discipline, help students resist peer pressure to buy trendy clothes, improve attendance, and most importantly diminish economic and social barriers between students. Those on the other side are not so thrilled to hear that uniforms might have a chance of ending up in public schools. They argue that school uniforms violate a student’s right to freedom of expression, make students a target for bullies from other schools, are a financial burden for poor families, are an unfair additional expense for parents who pay taxes for a free public education, and are difficult to enforce in public schools. Some opponents believe uniforms squash creativity and free expression and worry that they could prevent students from expressing their religious or political beliefs. Now you can choose what side you want to support. Both sides have been arguing and most likely will continue to argue for the following decades. There are students who love uniforms and there are students who don’t. Many schools have an â€Å"opt-out† clause for students who choose not to wear the uniform, and most provide free uniforms to those who cannot afford them. Whether there are uniforms or not will not change the fact that there will be popular kids who will pick or bully the not-so-popular kids. In my personal opinion, I do favor uniforms in school for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are school uniforms would save time for both parents and their children. Children would not have to think about what to wear in the morning, children who come from a less fortunate economic background would not appear to be lacking or made fun of because their parents could not afford to buy them the newest trendy clothes, any sort of gang related identity or markings would not be an issue, uniforms make identification of children who belong to the school and those that dont easy, children will be that much less focused on appearance and more on learning. Appearance can be very distracting for pre-teens and teens, and at the end of the day school is primarily a place of learning. The clothes worn should be reflective of that. Clothing should be respectful and conservative falling in the lines of the schools dress code. I hope you too can make up your mind on this controversial topic and see you again in next week’s edition.