Emma Hartz EDU 213 Introduction to Education

BUZZ in EDU #3 11/29/2017

Should Students Have to Wear Uniforms https://school-uniforms.procon.org/

One of the greatest debates in the education field today is school uniforms in public

schools. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? There have been lots of studies made to try to

gather as much data as possible about this debate to decide whether or not uniforms in public

schools are good or bad. There are a lot of pros and cons about having school uniforms in the

public schools. However, a lot of the views contradict each other.

There are a lot of pros of having uniforms at public schools. Uniforms help protect

students and keep them and the school safe. In Long Beach, CA, schools reported that assault

and battery rates decreased by 34% after enforcing a uniform policy in the schools. Specifically,

assault with deadly weapons dropped 50%. Fighting decreased between students by 51% and

sex offenses decreased 74%. Possession of drugs and weapons also decreased by 69 and

52%. Uniforms prevent students from hiding weapons and drugs under baggy clothes to sneak

them into the school. Uniforms also help keep students safe because it makes intruders more

visible. Being able to pick out an intruder quickly is the best way to keep as many students as

safe as possible.

Many argue that uniforms prevent bullying because competition between students over

clothing or teasing of students who arent dressed in pricey clothing can be eliminated because

every student is wearing the same thing. However, Tony Volk, the Associate Professor at Brock

University, states that there is no evidence that there is a decrease in bullying because of

uniforms. In some cases there may be a decline of bullying but no in all. In some school

buildings, bullying assaults improved by 14 each year with uniforms in place in the school.
 Another pro of school uniforms is that they keep students focused on their education

instead of their clothes. Students are less concerned about how they look and how they fit in

with their peers which helps students concentrate more on their school work. Elementary girls

language tests improved 3 percentile points after uniforms were introduced to the school.

Uniforms provide less distraction and more focus on learning. However, some people argue that

uniforms emphasize the socio economic divisions that they are supposed to eliminate. 47% of

high poverty public schools require school uniforms as compared to the 6% of low poverty

public schools that dont. Uniforms cannot conceal the differences between the lower poverty

students and higher poverty students because most parents of higher poverty students can only

afford one uniform per child leaving their uniforms tattered, torn, and faded, which makes it easy

to pick out a high poverty student. Also, schools with a minority student populations of 50% or

more are four times as likely to require uniforms as schools with 20-49% minority student

population and twenty-four times more likely than schools with 5-19% minority population.

Students also suffer from embarrassment at school because of their self-image in the uniforms.

Girls are forced to wear clothes that dont fit their body type making them feel uncomfortable

and uniforms create a lot of comparison between girls. This can be distracting for a lot of female

students in the classroom taking away from their learning.

One con of school uniforms is that they restrict students freedom of expression. Clothing

is a choice and is a crucial form of self-expression. Clothing helps show support for various

social causes and opinions of students. Clothing is one of the ways students can share their

ideas and views on the world. Clothing also helps students to feel more confident about

themselves. Many people argue that students freedom is still intact with uniforms because

students can accessorize with things that match their personality but students really arent

getting true freedom of expression wearing uniforms. Students hate wearing uniforms not only

because it limits their freedom of expression but also because it can make them uncomfortable

and also because there wasnt a change in the schools environment. Since the school uniform
policy began in 2006 at Washington High School in South Bend, IN, enrollment rates have

declined 43%. 81% of 7th and 8th grade students reported that fighting was not reduced and

76% said they were not connected to the school community. A lot of transgendered students

feel uncomfortable in school uniforms because boys wear pants and girls wear skirts. Students

need to feel comfortable in class to be able to get their work done. Having specifically gendered

uniforms are not good for students. A way to give students more freedom of expression is to let

them wear either a skirt or pants to school.

Overall, school uniforms in public schools have their positives and negatives. Uniforms

affect students differently and in a variety of ways. It is important to remember differentiation

while enforcing school uniforms, or not having them at all, to make sure that every student is

comfortable and is getting the learning they deserve to.