5. From a “Uniformed” School “They [the students] don’t usually complain. We give students some options regarding pant/shirt color and style, and we give latitude regarding shoe styles. They don’t think we are too restrictive.” -Steve Shelton
Dress codes are harder than uniforms to enforce. With dress codes each person can take the rules, and bend them to make them the way they want. With uniforms there is a set outfit or outfits that the students have to wear. If a parent is not able to pay for a uniform they should strongly consider a school that has a dress code, rather than no dress code.
The main question that I will be focusing on is Do uniforms lead students to success or failure? Will uniforms get students to focus and appreciate school more, or will uniforms just drive students away from school, and making a better future for themselves. Will uniforms get rid of enough peer pressure that the kids are able to pay attention in school, or is it the other way around. Will the uniforms be too much for the kids to handle, that they start not to care about school, and just get into more trouble. Maybe part of the reason that students do not do so well in school is because they feel that no one pays attention to them, so no one will care about how well they do. Maybe all the students need is for someone to actually be watching them, and that the students know there really is someone out there who cares.
As most everything in life, uniforms have two sides to them, they have flaws and they have benefits. With uniforms a school’s staff will see a decrease in the amount of bullying that happens in school. The bullying decreases because with everyone wearing the same thing some of the walls, of peer pressure built up my money, become non-existent and it becomes harder for people to form groups around money. Not only will the bullying go down, but so will the crime rate. Here is a given statistic about a crime rate with uniforms. “In Long Beach, CA where uniforms were made a mandatory law for schools the crime rate dropped by 91%.” With uniforms students will pay attention and actually start caring about their grades more. Teachers will find it easier to teach because they will not have to spend as much time controlling the students. Having uniforms is not only a benefit for the school, but also a huge benefit for the students when getting dressed in the morning.
Steve Shelton is the middle school principal at Mt. Paran Christian School where they have uniforms. What he is saying here is, even though most people would think that students hate uniforms, they don’t. Most students find that uniforms are easier because they do not have to worry about getting dressed in the morning, and finding the right outfit. At Mt. Paran they give a lot of option regarding what shirt color students can wear. They also give different options for shoes, so that not everyone is wearing the same thing. When giving options regarding color and shoe styles it makes the students feel like they have some input in what they wear. It also gives the students the option to put their own style into the uniform to make it their own, while still looking similar to everyone else.
The flaw side to uniforms looks a lot like the opposites of the benefits with some extras, but here are some flaws. Uniforms may be a great option for students in education, but the problem is that some parents cannot pay for them. Trying to put uniforms into the public school system would be even more of a challenge because most of the students already go there with money issues. If advisors put in a uniform they are risking a lot of students not being able to afford the uniform, and having to go to other schools. Uniforms cannot only drive people away, but they are violating the student’s right to freedom of expression. Parents and adults have been teaching us ever since we could walk that the way we dress is one of our ways to show our personality. When a school puts in a uniform policy, they are taking away a part of the student because now the student cannot dress the way that fits them, or is true to them. Although this may seem like all the issues, they are not.
Marian Wilde is a member of the great schools staff, and has been writing articles on the issues of schools for quite some while now. As we already know school violence is a big issue. Some schools may think that putting in a uniform policy will help them fix school violence, but that is not always the case. When a school firsts puts in the uniform policy they will notice that the crime rate decreases, but only for a short while. Once the students realize that the teachers aren’t really paying attention to the violence, and are hoping the uniforms will do it, the school will be back to their ways trying to fix the issue. When thinking about instituting a uniform policy schools need to seriously look at the reasons why, and question them hard, on whether or not uniforms are really the answer.
Yes, uniforms are going to make a student become more successful. If a school is considering putting in a uniform policy, and are worried about students not liking the uniform policy, the school should consider what Mt. Paran did. The school should give option regarding shirt color, and shoe style so that the students feel like they have some input on what they wear. Also with the options students can feel free to put their own twist on the outfit they wear. If a uniform is not the answer for a school, as it likely may not be, the school should consider options like a dress code. With a dress code the students can be able to express themselves, and the clothes do not have to cost a ton of money. Schools should also have their teachers interact with the students more in the hallway because part of the reason students act badly is to get attention. All in all uniforms are the best way to go for students and their success.
