School Uniforms Persuasive

Do you think that a student should have to be afraid to walk home from school because he might wear the wrong gang color? Or even be afraid in school. Do the clothes on a student’s back tell whom that person really is? These are only a few of the questions that need to be asked when considering school uniforms. School uniforms are a good idea because they restrict distractions in the classroom , reduce socioeconomic status , promote less violence , help ensure safety , instill discipline, and eliminate unnecessary choices.

Why should students wear school uniforms? There are many reasons that a student should wear a school uniform. One reason is that “Teachers and students believe uniformed students are better behaved and more academically successful than students who do not wear uniforms.” (1) Distractions In The Classroom With fewer distractions in the classroom the students will pay more attention to the academic aspect of school. Students will not be looking to see who is wearing Tommy Hilfiger or Polo. They will not see who is wearing the same outfit for many days in a row. With the older students , the females will not be able to wear tight pants , short skirts , or revealing blouses. These types of clothing could distract the other students in the class. If the students focus is on the girl with a short skirt , then there is no way they can be paying attention to the teacher.

School uniforms will also keep students from trying to persuade teachers sexually , and will hopefully help to eliminate the sexual distraction from the classroom. “Research now shows that school uniforms do significantly affect students perceptions of school climate,” says Richard Murray , a principal in South Carolina. (5) Reducing Socioeconomic Status School uniforms will also help to reduce socioeconomic status between students. There will be less grouping of students due to how rich or how poor their parents are. A school uniform will enable each student to be judged based upon their personality and whom they are rather than what kind of clothes they wear. Uniforms would also help to reduce the bias or sympathy that a teacher might unintentionally give to a student who seems to be poor.

Although , teachers do their best not to show bias towards a student , it sometimes happens. When everyone is wearing the same uniform it makes it more difficult to tell who is rich and who is poor , thus creating an even academic environment. When a teacher sees that a student is poor they might tend to let the student slack off with their academics , thus only hurting the student instead of helping him. Khrista Kahl a former middle school teacher says “uniforms give teachers another chance to see the potential in every student. Instead of limiting the individuality of students , uniforms help them stand out.” (1) It is important that a student realize how vital it is to stand out with their intelligence and personality instead of with their clothes. It is the hope that school uniforms will help to reduce the amount of teasing and bullying because of a students social class.

If the students can’t see that “Tom” is wearing the same old , dirty clothes that he wore all week , it lessens the chance that “Tom” will be teased because of his socioeconomic class. When a student is teased about his clothes he or she doesn’t leave the teasing behind. The student has to carry that humiliation around school all day and when he or she gets home. If they are thinking about getting teased they begin to get angry and upset. If this is what the student is thinking about , then when are they going to think about their academics. Therefore , their schoolwork is going to take a turn for the worse , and the frustration of poor grades will create a negative attitude towards school.

Students Individuality Uniforms will not eliminate the student’s ability to show their individuality. A student will still be able to show their individuality in many other ways. They will be able to show their individuality through many types of fashion accessories. One accessory is the kind of shoes they choose to wear. Students will be able to wear boots , sport shoes , or dress shoes to express their individual persona. They can also wear the type of jewelry they enjoy. The students may also wear their hair in the style and color of their choice. Another type of fashion accessory a student could choose to wear could be a coat. Even though they won’t be wearing their coats all day , they can show their individuality or their support for an athletic team through what coat they decided to wear to school. It is very important that the students realize that clothes don’t make the person , personality makes the person. They should learn to choose their friends by their personality , not by what label is in the collar of their shirt.

Eliminating Unnecessary Choices School uniforms also eliminate unnecessary choices a student is asked to make during school and allows a student more time to focus on their academics. One vital place where students lose “time on task” is in the bathroom. When the student doesn’t have to go to the bathroom to make sure their clothes look all right they have more time to focus on schoolwork. When a student leaves a classroom unnecessarily it would irritate the teacher , and if the teacher is not focused on teaching the students then the whole class hurts.

Student Safety The most important reason for school uniforms is definitely the safety of the students. One aspect where safety is an issue is the baggy pants , which is the style that teenagers are wearing these days. Wearing baggy pants can cause a student to trip on the stairs , or even just walking down the hallway. Sandals and other heavy clothes can make a student trip during a fire alarm. If this person trips while students are trying to escape the building it could cause a pile up. This may make it impossible for students to get out of the building and they may perish in a fire.

Promoting Less Violence The reason that most people encourage school uniforms is the hope that there will be less violence. The hope is that students will not have to worry about being assaulted for their clothes. If a student is more worried about getting beat up for their clothes then this will leave the student less time to think about their schoolwork. School uniforms will also reduce or eliminate the wearing of gang colors. Students will not be able to show any affiliation with a gang by what clothes they are wearing. The only affiliation shown by a student will be that of an affiliation to their school. When students cannot show their gang colors it is less likely that there will be violence due to students gang affiliation because it will be harder for them to tell who is in what gang.

Also , the students will not be able to wear loose fitting clothing or pants containing excess pockets , making it harder for someone to smuggle a weapon of some sort into the school. This will hopefully reduce the number of school shootings in America. We all hope to avoid the same circumstance that happened in Littleton, Colorado. If students are wearing school uniforms , then an intruder may be more easily spotted. Then the proper actions may be taken to escort the intruder off of the schools property. School violence is not just a big city problem; it can even happen in small rural communities.

Earlier this year in Ritchie County , West Virginia , a gang of kids attacked a student because he wore nice clothing. They had continuously teased him throughout the year calling him a homosexual because he dressed nice. Then one day he was attacked by the gang and ended up in the hospital with a concussion. The repercusions of this harmful act, resulted in one gang member getting expelled, and the other gang member was suspended. The vicitim was also suspended from the school for fighting. The suspensions resulted in missed school time, thus hindering their academics. If the students had been wearing school uniforms, the attack could have possibly been prevented.

Improving Students Self-esteem One hope is that school uniforms will improve the student’s self-esteem. A student who is poor will not feel like he or she is less of a person because they don’t wear the same clothes as a rich student. When a student has high self-esteem they feel like they can accomplish more. Hopefully , this would lead to better academics and a better person. Others say that teenagers need to express individuality and uniforms only restrict the child when their personal identity is very important. They say that the child and would resort to body piercing and tattoos to express themselves.(2) When students are all wearing the same uniform it is the hope that this will increase a sense of belonging. This theory is already in practice in every school in America. School athletic teams wear uniforms not only to show what team they are on , but also to give the children a sense of team spirit or a belonging to a team.

Implementing School Uniforms It seems that the hardest part of school uniforms is actually getting them implemented in the schools. However , in Los Angeles , Chicago , Miami , Boston , Houston , Cleveland , and Washington D.C. have put most of their students in uniforms , and this cannot be a coincidence. Educators must believe that uniforms will help solve problems in our schools. All students do not hate school uniforms. In a survey of over 300 sixth to eighth graders , uniformed students gave their schools higher scores compared to un-uniformed students.(5) In Arizona a student said, “my friends sometimes say “˜I hate it’ but people don’t really talk about it that much. So I don’t think they care anymore.” (1)

After the students are used to wearing the uniforms it doesn’t seem that they mind or even consciously think about wearing them. Kira a student in New York likes her new uniform because “their pretty” and her mother likes them because “its much easier to find clothes in the morning.” (5) But not all parents feel this way. One serious problem dealing with school uniforms is the parents. There seems to be more problems with the parents of students claiming that school uniforms violate their children’s First Amendment rights. The freedom of speech is not in the clothes we wear but in our words and in our actions.

School uniforms won’t solve every problem that occurs , but hopefully will help to reduce the amount of distractions. Having fewer distractions will ensure a greater chance of academic achievement for each student. Therefore , implementing school uniforms will give each student an equal chance to succeed.