School Uniforms May Be Harming Your Children

Imagine being back in middle and high school and waking up everyday to get ready for school. Depending on how you are feeling that day, you put on an outfit that makes you feel your best. You go to school and are surrounded by other students who have many diverse styles and looks. Now imagine waking up to go to school and having to wear exactly what everyone else in your school is wearing -- the dreaded school uniform. That image will make most young people, who thrive on individuality and creativity, cringe at just the thought.

When I came to college, I was told by many adults that over half of the things that I will learn will come from outside of the classroom mainly because I will be living away from home. In high school and middle school, however, most of the learning comes from inside the classroom. Adolescents often find out a lot about who they are in their school environments. Ten states currently allow states to mandate school uniforms. The advocates of school uniforms believe that they will reduce violence in schools and promote a better learning environment for students. They believe that students will be able to concentrate on their work more instead of being insecure with how they look and stop comparing themselves to others. It is true that young students, primarily in middle and high school, often are not mature enough to know what is appropriate attire as far as things being too revealing, too short, or very offensive . Thus, I do agree that school dress codes are a must as long as they are not too particular and the enforcement policy not ridiculously strict. However, wearing school uniforms takes away from adolescents' growing and learning experiences that they go through in school. Students often develop a sense of who they are while in school and develop their own creativity. Mandating uniforms for students would take away from their right to freedom of expression under the First Amendment. Also, it would send a negative message to young people; one that says it is not alright to be yourself and that society does not trust or respect you enough to be able to dress yourselves appropriately. Suppressing a child's individuality is not productive to his or her's learning experience. When a child grows older and enters the "real world" they will be confused when they discover that it is actually good to be an individual. The work force seeks out creative, well-rounded people. Though there may be many other ways in which young people express themselves, dressing is one of the primary ways they do so. By implicating school uniforms, students will become submissive like soldiers in an army who are subordinate in rank, not having enough power to express their true selves.

School uniforms are thought by many to be a way of reducing the amount of violence that goes on in many public schools today. This claim is justified by those who believe that by saying that uniforms will prohibit those individuals who wear baggy pants and big jackets to conceal weapons in their clothes. Also, they think that gang violence will decrease because there are only certain colors people will be able to wear. It is very important for children to be safe at school and recent tragic shootings such as the Columbine High incident makes the issue of addressing school safety imperative. However, students will see each other out of school and gang members will already know who is in a rival gang. Gang members want to project a tough image to society and do so by their typical "gang" clothes such as baggy pants and their gang colors. Since school uniforms will take that unspoken hard image away, gang members may feel the need to prove they are tough and gain respect from others (which is really fear) in ways like causing trouble in their schools. In other words, violence may actually increase in schools that require their students to wear uniforms. Having school uniforms is just a way of evading the issue. Having everyone appear to be identical would only make the teachers have a false sense of security and not feel threatened when that innocent young boy with the Marilyn Manson shirt walks into class. The reality is people still retain their personalities and beliefs no matter if they wear a uniform or not. Also, school uniforms would just make it harder for the administration and students to detect that "problem child" because everyone will appear to be the same.

In middle and high school, adolescents have to deal with a multitude of social issues such as peer pressure, jealousy, and low self-esteem. Students often want to fit into certain peer groups, and mimicking the way they dress is one way they try to fit in with those groups. It is true that young people are often ridiculously critical of how others dress, and school uniforms will indeed take that pressure of wearing the "right" clothes off of young people. However, the desire to fit in that many young people possess may still be very prevalent in those schools that go to uniforms. Students will undoubtedly find ways to alter their appearance and maybe even their uniforms so they will stand out. Physical appearance such as one's hair and facial features will become exceedingly looked at by everyone. Young people typically dress to make themselves feel good and dress in what they are comfortable in. If they are made to be indistinguishable by uniforms, they could actually compare themselves more to their peers. For example, a young teenage girl might look at another girl and think, "She looks better in our uniforms than me." The insecurity of adolescents could therefore actually increase.

School uniforms are a simpleminded way of dealing with all the larger issues that plague schools today. Adults are thinking back to the times when they were in school. Morality was high and dress codes and uniforms were more strictly enforced. Going back to those standards on attire are not going to magically solve all the bigger social issues that are out there today. More reasonable and realistic measures need to be considered in order for learning to improve and violence to decrease. Wearing uniforms will only increase tension between students and administrators. People who advocate school uniforms obviously feel powerless in the fight for better schools and think that if schools have a well-maintained appearance then all the other factors will just fall into place.