School Uniform

Imagine being able to wake up every morning, roll out of bed, put on the same thing you
wore the day before, and head off to school. Not only would you be able to do such a
thing, but all of your friends were doing it, too! Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s
becoming more common in our society as school uniforms have gone beyond private
schools to public schools. Uniforms have a positive effect on students’ self-esteem,
attendance, discipline, and test scores. They have also been proven to decrease the rate
of crime and violence in public schools.

The clothes that people wear, or can afford to wear, often define the group by which they
are accepted. As a result, many teens are outcast due to the fact that they cannot afford
the top-of-the-line, name-brand clothing. This rejection can lead to several problems for
the outcast teen: depression, inability to concentrate on schoolwork, or just a general
feeling of inferiority. School uniforms put everyone on the same level because no outfit
is more stylish or expensive than another. Linda Moore, principal at Will Rogers Middle
School in Long Beach, California, states, “Uniforms reduce the differences between the
haves and have-nots” (Ritter, 1). Uniforms allow students to interact with one another
without experiencing the socioeconomic barrier that non-uniform schools create. More
importantly, children are not judged on how much they spent on clothes or how stylish
they look, but rather for their talents and personalities.

School uniforms not only break down socioeconomic barriers, but they also increase the
safety of the students. In 1996, President Bill Clinton encouraged the use of school
uniforms as part of an education program that sought to improve safety and discipline
(Hoffman, 1). If students are all wearing the same type of outfit, it becomes much easier
to spot outsiders who may wander onto the campus. In addition, uniforms decrease the
number of incidences of students being attacked or beaten for items of clothing such as
shoes and jackets. Also, members of gangs frequently have a color or style of clothing
used to identify themselves. Unsuspecting students who wear gang colors or gang-
related attire might be threatened or intimidated by members of opposing gangs,
students wearing expensive or fashionable clothes might become victims of theft, or
certain fashion accessories or attire may be used as a means of concealing weapons, or
even as weapons (Paliokas, 1). At a school in Long Beach, California, after only the first
year that uniforms were implemented, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights
decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased
50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased
18 percent (Manual, 3).

Schools with uniform-clad students are also proven to have fewer disciplinary problems
and increased attendance than non-uniform schools. Dr. John German, principal of South
Shore, located in Seattle, Washington, reports, “This year the demeanor in the school has
improved 98 percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one reported
incident of theft” (Manual,4). Ruffner Middle School, located in Norfolk, Virginia, reports
a 47 percent decrease in students leaving class without permission (Manual,5). With the
implementation of uniforms, students no longer spend hours deciding what they are
going to wear to school. This fear of looking “uncool” will often cause kids to decide that
they do not feel well enough to go to school because they can’t find anything to wear.
Uniforms allow students to focus more on their academics, and less on what everyone
else is wearing. According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, “Students
concentrate more on education, not on who’s wearing $100 shoes or gang attire”
(Manual, 3). Elementary Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter of Memphis, Tennessee
states, “The tone of the school is different. There’s not the competitiveness… about who’s
wearing what” (Manual, 5).

Most students and even parents will argue that school uniforms stifle individualism. The
teenage years are a time when adolescents try out different personas, often
experimenting with different styles of clothing during this phase. Opponents argue that
uniforms take away an individual’s freedom of expression. In addition, they complain
that they do not have enough money to buy uniforms as they are quite expensive.
However, teenagers can always wear different styles of outfits when they are outside
their schools; and the way of dressing is not the only way or even not the best way to
express oneself or convey a message in a place such as a school or a classroom. In
addition to that, if parents worry about the cost, there are community and business
leaders who can provide or contribute financial support for uniforms, and students who
have graduated often donate their used uniforms to incoming students (Manual, 3). Due
to the fact that no child can be denied an education because of economic disadvantage,
all schools requiring uniforms must include provisions to assist low-income families. For
example, the Long Beach School District solved this problem by setting up a boutique
shop, funded by private donors, where needy students can shop (Paliokas, 5). However,
uniforms are considerably cheaper to buy than non-uniform clothes, and the students
can wear them every day and it isn’t considered unusual. Parents can buy a few pairs of
pants, shirts, or other variations of a uniform for under $100, while parents of non-
uniform-wearing students can spend from several hundreds up to $1,000 a year on
clothing. Parents know that buying two or three uniforms is ultimately cheaper than
buying clothes to follow the fads, and it stops arguments at home in the mornings about
what to wear (Oland, 1).

To sum up, while research on the effectiveness of uniforms is still ongoing, they have
been proven to raise test scores, boost self-esteem, reduce violence and crime, and
create a sense of newfound pride in students. They help children to focus on learning
and schoolwork, not on what everyone else is wearing or whether or not they fit in.
Uniforms are not the solution to all of the problems that teens, teachers, and schools face
today, but research and statistics suggest that they may be a step in the right direction.

Answer the following questions about the essay:

1) What is the thesis statement?
2) In which paragraphs does the writer give his arguments?

3) What is the role of paragraph 5?

4) Give below the outline of this essay.