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The Uniform Trouble

 Are school uniforms a false cure for dramatic issues in public schools? Are uniforms really helping children do better in schools because they are not thinking about how they look? Are we trying to go back to the past, by making everyone look exactly the same? Or do kids not care that everyone wears the same thing?  This is an incredibly controversial issue.

A safe and disciplined learning environment is the first requirement of a good school. In response to growing levels of violence in our schools, many parents, teachers, and school officials have come to see school uniforms as one positive and creative way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety.  It is found that school uniforms:

• decrease in violence and theft -- even life-threatening situations -- among students over designer clothing or expensive sneakers;
• help prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school;
• helps parents and students resist peer pressure;
• helping students concentrate on their school work; and
• helps school officials recognize intruders who come to the school.

As a result, many local communities have decided to adopt school uniform policies as part of an overall program to improve school safety and discipline. Uniforms are mostly found in elementary and middle schools. Some schools, have dress codes that plainly prohibit clothes with certain language or gang colors.

Olivia Lafrenz who is currently attending Morris Knolls High School in New Jersey agrees by saying, “I think schools should have restrictions on certain clothing. Students should be dressed properly for school. The clothing cannot be party clothing or sweatpants. Also, clothes with improper language should be not allowed in schools. I think that having uniforms in school though is too harsh on kids, because when kids wear uniforms they do not express themselves.”

Even though district officials found that in the year following implementation of the school uniform policy, 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, kids don’t think that uniforms was the solution to this.

“I don’t think that uniforms make students have fewer fights in school because clothing is not a huge issue.  It does not matter if kids wear colored clothing or uniforms. The kids and their personalities inside the uniforms is what counts,” replied Olivia Lafrenz.

The first real uniform was formed in 1987 in the Cherry Hill Elementary in Maryland. Shortly following in 1994, Long Beach Unified School District was the first entire district to implement uniforms. President Clinton thought that uniforms were good for schools because he thought that kids were overreacting about clothes. 

 He stated, “And if it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms”.  Now, kids that go to a non-uniformed school hope that their schools will never have uniforms.   

“What I wear makes me unique from the other students in my school. I enjoy choosing out different outfits. If I wear an outfit that I like, I feel more confident,” said Aria Vitale from the North Shore Middle School.  

Even though choosing clothes is time consuming, it does not interfere with studies. Kids do not stay up until one o’clock in the morning looking for a new outfit to wear. The maximum time that picking out clothes takes for a kid is ten minutes. How can ten minutes interfere with studies? 

“I try to look my best every day, but if I have a test, I do not care what I am going to wear to school. I get up and study. Even though my friends can make up jokes about my outfit, I will never let my academics drop because of clothes,” replies Maggie Horowiz that attends the Center School in Manhattan. 

Kids can also express their emotions through clothes. If something is wrong at home, kids will not wear bright clothes, they will wear something dark. This can help teachers see if a child needs help of any sort.  

When asked if she gets up every day and thinks what she is going to wear, Lili McFarlare from the Center School replied, “Yes, I put a lot of thought into how feel that day and what I want to wear to fit that mood.” 

Some principals and teachers see kids getting criticism for what they wear from other kids. This can happen in uniformed and non- uniformed school. Some kids will always dress poorer than others, so there will be criticism, but this does not happen often.  

“I can always tell when my friends approve of what I wear. They might tease me, but they don’t taunt me the whole entire day over it, but this is just jokes between friends,” said Marielle Newman that is in the Anderson Middle School. Kids that go to a uniformed school have the same opinions on clothes.

“Clothes are an important factor in a girl’s life. Even though our uniform is not colored, you can always argue who has the prettier white shirt. And this happens every single day with my best friend, but this is all for fun!!!” replied Marielle Newman.

In synopsis, there is no simple yes or no to uniforms. All people have extremely different opinions. Some might say that there are simply to many fights with clothes, and that clothes distracts kids from school, but others think that uniforms actually express kids and their emotions. These are two completely different thoughts. What do you think about uniforms?