The Use of Uniforms- Good or Bad?
We have all felt the stress of dealing with what to wear on
a free dress day at school. The
night before you go through your entire closet, picking out the perfect things
to wear. What if you had to live
like this everyday? Wouldn’t you
get tired of it? Uniforms have
been present in religious and private schools, particularly in the United
States, for generations and have even begun being used in public schools. This subject is controversial; there
are parents and their children who are strongly for it, as well as others who
are strongly against it. As of the
2007-2008 school year, 16.5% of all public schools in the United States used
uniforms and 54% used a strict dress code. My opinion is that the pros for the use of uniforms in
public schools outweigh the cons.
Those who are against uniforms will insist that they can’t
express themselves if they aren’t wearing their own choice of clothes. There is a bit of a lack of individuality because
you are wearing the same clothes as your peers, but this can also be seen as a
good thing. As it turns out,
however, there are other ways to express yourself than through your clothes. My brother works in an underprivileged
school in San Antonio, Texas where, due to the use of uniforms, the students
use their hair to express themselves and show their individuality. Hair is just one of the many ways to be
unique and show who you are and what you believe in- without doing it through
your own clothing. These people
who do not believe in uniforms also say that there is less personal freedom and
that this is an undemocratic way of running a school. These statements are indeed correct, but the pros defending
the use of uniforms overpower these.
Uniforms are an egalitarian way of running a school and are not a
distraction. They also reduce
stress, not only on the students who must decide on what to wear each day, but
also to their parents who have to worry about the cost of buying the latest
fashions for their children to wear to school. The school also does not have to worry about a strict dress
code, because everyone will be wearing school-approved clothing.
There are social, economic, and emotional benefits to the
use of uniforms in public schools.
Socially, uniforms create a more equal environment where the wealthier
students don’t make those less affluent feel inferior. There is less stress on students,
parents, teachers, and school administration with the use of uniforms as
well. To all teachers and faculty
members at public schools which don’t require uniforms, wouldn’t it be so much
easier than having to continuously tell kids that they are not dressed
appropriately? And to all those
public school students, not having to worry so much about how you look everyday
would make your life so much easier!
As well as not having to worry as much, people could judge you by your
personality and how you are as a human being rather than how you dress and how
much you spend on clothing. Who
wouldn’t rather be judged by what they believe in and what they like and
dislike, rather than how much they spent at the mall this weekend? Emotionally they would be less
self-conscious at school if they wore the same clothes as everyone else. Feeling more equal to their peers,
students would have more confidence in themselves, allowing them to have an
overall better self-esteem, which is already very low for teenagers. Finally, the economic benefits are
appealing to both parents and their children. Not having to buy as many clothes results in happier
parents, and for those students who must pay for their own clothing, happier
kids! Saving money, improving
one’s self-esteem, and being equal with one’s peers are just a few of the major
benefits of being in a uniform school.
I think that if more public schools enacted this policy, everyone would
be happier.
To me, uniforms are a benefit to everyone in society. So, would you rather attend a school
that is more egalitarian, or go back to feeling self-conscious about your
clothes and hoping that no one will know that your mother bought them for you
at K-Mart? The choice is yours.