The Reasons Why School Uniforms Should Be Mandatory

School uniforms are becoming a popular topic among the community. Many students and parents do not agree with the rule that keeps kids enrolled in a school from choosing what they would like to wear each day, stating that uniforms take away the right of self-expression. Though this may be partly true but it does not limit them from learning, which is the only reason they are going to school. Students treat school as if they are in fashion show, therefore if uniforms were to be enforced, it would put many of the students full focus on schoolwork and their grades. Although requiring students to wear school uniforms may violate their self-expression in some ways, a uniform is a positive thing, and some of the many proofs of this is that they eliminate bullying, combine social classes and gives the school a professional look.

The most common argument against school uniforms is that they take away the students right to self-expression. While school uniforms may limit what the students have to wear, they do not take away the kid is ways of self-expression. Students can still express their style by the way they style their hair and what accessories they wear such as necklaces and bracelets, just as long as it is not extreme. Students can make the uniforms their own style without breaking the dress code and just because they can not wear their favorite pair of leggings or trendiest shoes to school does not mean that their rights are taken away. School is a place to learn and outside of school, the kids can wear whatever they want and express themselves in any way they would like.

Enforcing mandatory school uniforms also eliminates the chances of bullying. Bullies usually pick on kids based on what they wear. Although, if everyone is dressed the same, it leaves much less room and reasons to get picked on. Bullies wouldn’t have the need to pick on someone for their what they wear to school if they didn’t have uniforms because they would all be in the same clothes, including the bullies. That is why having uniforms would provide a much more bully-free and safe environment for the students.

Having uniforms in schools also eliminate social classes. This is because the so called popular kids who are usually in the higher social classes always wear luxury and expensive clothes. At the same time, the lower social classes which consist of the poorer kids would always have on cheep and baggy clothes. Although, this problem would easily be gone if schools had uniforms because bring the social classes together and keep everyone equal. Everyone would be wearing the same brand of clothes from the same few stores that sell school uniforms so that nobody would be able to determine what social class a person is in just by looking at what the other person is wearing.

Schools require uniforms to look more formal, mature, and put together. Many schools that don’t have this requirement always have those students who don’t care about their looks, and dress sloppy or inappropriate. There are always those kids in schools without uniforms walking around with pants sagging to the ground and underwear showing. The sad part is that those kids make up most of the school. Many pupils even have inappropriate logos on their clothing, some even involving gangs, which gives the school a bad look and reputation. If this changed and all schools would have uniforms, the students would look much more mature and the school ends up looking well put together and maintained. Yet another plus would be that kids wouldn’t have to focus on what to wear to school and what they look like everyday so they would focus much more on academics, which leads to improved grades. Not to mention how much the schools academic and presentation level will go up

School uniforms are an exceptional thing to have in every school. Even though the ongoing war between whether or not school uniforms stand in the way of students right to self expression will never end, nobody can disprove the fact that the positive reasons of this argument outway the negative. Enforcing a school uniform in schools all around the globe gets rid of the bullies who pick on other students based on what they are wearing, eliminates the separation of social classes, and makes the school look far more presentable.  

Works Cited

1. Brunsma, D. L. (2004). The school uniform movement and what it tells us about American education: A symbolic crusade. Rowman & Littlefield.
2. Chen, G. (2018). The effects of school uniforms on student achievement, attendance, and behavior. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26(5), 1-22. doi:10.14507/epaa.26.3739
3. DaCosta, K., & Schulz, J. (2007). What we know about school uniforms. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 1-39. doi:10.3102/003465430298487
4. Faulkner, J. E., & Louden, A. (2018). School uniform: A policy and practice snapshot in Australian government schools. Australian Journal of Education, 62(2), 123-137. doi:10.1177/0004944117751799
5. Gray, J. L., & Pipitone, A. C. (2017). School uniforms: A qualitative analysis of aims and concerns expressed in the media. Journal of School Violence, 16(4), 432-446. doi:10.1080/15388220.2016.1200810
6. Jones, R. (2015). The impact of school uniforms on school climate. Journal of School Violence, 14(3), 275-295. doi:10.1080/15388220.2014.971366
7. Knechtle, P., & Mitchell, N. (2003). A comparison of teacher and student opinions about school uniforms. Education and Urban Society, 35(4), 399-420. doi:10.1177/0013124503254002
8. Lumsden, L. S., & Pommer, M. (2000). School uniforms in urban public high schools. The Journal of Educational Research, 94(5), 259-267. doi:10.1080/00220670009598760
9. Sanabria, E. C., & Penaloza, R. V. (2014). School uniforms and the suppression of student expression. Education and Urban Society, 46(4), 455-476. doi:10.1177/0013124512470005
10. Yeung, R. (2000). School uniforms, academic achievement, and uses of research. The Journal of Educational Research, 94(5), 245-253. doi:10.1080/00220670009598758