The Importance of Wearing School Uniforms in US Schools - Essay Example

?Introduction School uniforms should be introduced in schools in the United s as they have the capa to enhance the running of school based activities. This debate has been going on for a long time, since early 1990s, later gaining momentum after President Clinton’s State of the Union Address in 1996, in which he openly supported the adoption of school uniforms policy in American schools as a measure to maintain discipline among students (Jill 23). There have been a lot of valid issues raised by both the proponents and opponents in this debate, a factor, which has contributed to a delay in enacting and enforcing this policy. However, it is observable that some schools, especially private institutions, have taken the issue on their hands by introducing mandatory wearing of school uniforms for their students (Brunsma 18). Despite this, it is important to explain to the stakeholders in the education sector, the benefits of such a policy, in order to change their perceptions thereby ensuring compliance. This paper is a critical evaluation of the importance of wearing school uniforms in US schools. School Uniforms All American schools should make the wearing of uniforms a mandatory requirement. To begin with, uniforms are important in that they enhance uniformity thereby relieving the students of distractions created by social and economic inequalities in the family context. The student society is rich with diversity; there are those who hail from wealthy families and others who come from poor families. In this context, it may be observed that without school uniforms, those students from wealthy families will come to school wearing expensive clothing items because they can afford whereas, those from poor families will come to school wearing cheap clothing thereby making it possible to identify them among the crowds. This creates distractions as the poor students will always feel as if they are inferior regardless of their intellectual abilities. In such an environment, noting that birds of the same feather flock together, the student society would be highly disintegrated such that rich students will tend to seclude the poor ones, for example while socializing and conducting extracurricular activities. This has the capacity to affect such students psychologically thereby reducing their ability to excel academically (Brunsma 46). However, school uniforms create a feeling of equality, which is important in promoting teamwork important for academic excellence. Similarly, it is observable that without school uniforms, students tend to put much of their attention on the type of clothing they will wear to school. The need to look beautiful is understandable, but trends in fashion keep on changing and this creates an unnecessary problem for parents, who are constantly required to update their children’s wardrobes so as to fulfill their desires. With the current economic hardships being experienced in every part of the globe, these parents ought to support the wearing of uniforms as a measure to cut down expenses. This is possible because children will have no alternative but to wear uniforms, which are identical therefore, eliminating the need to incur such unnecessary expenditure (Jill 33). In addition, school uniforms enhance class attendance among students, which in turn promotes academic excellence. In this context, students wearing civilian clothing are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior outside the school compound during class hours (Jill 52). This is due to the fact that it makes it difficult for anyone to distinguish them among the multitudes of people in the streets. A parent may think that his son is in school but on the contrary, the son may be on the streets engaging in activities such as drug peddling, drug and substance abuse or even gang related violence. On the other hand, such a student may be easy to notice if he is wearing a uniform and even if no immediate action would be taken, the school can be notified so as to take necessary measures to identify the students and probably punish them or engage them in counseling. Furthermore, wearing of school uniforms enhances the sense of belonging among the students, which encourages them to maintain discipline whenever they are in uniform in an effort to preserve the integrity of their institution. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that any student would want to go against expectations by engaging in antisocial behavior while in a uniform. Just as students should be made to wear uniforms, it would not also hurt to compel teachers to wear uniforms while they are within school boundaries. This would help a lot in promoting discipline in the workforce, similar to that which is present in other uniformed professionals such as doctors, police, military and pilots among others. It would also make it easier to identify strangers within the school compounds noting the fact that American schools are prone to violence orchestrated by outsiders such as gang members and other criminals, who gain entry into the schools without easily being noted (Brunsma 77). It would also serve as an example to the students, which would motivate them to following rules and regulations regarding school uniforms. In addition, it would eliminate the possibility of teachers coming to class wearing provocative clothing items, which may hamper student’s concentration during lessons. Strict guidelines should be put in place to ensure that the objectives of introducing this policy are met and that no one goes against what is expected. In this context, there should be rules and regulations, which would attract punishment, in both students and teachers, if they are broken. Such guidelines should include a dress code to ensure that the students look decent in their uniforms. For example, they would all be required to: tuck in their shirts, clean their uniforms regularly, wear sufficiently loose clothing and avoid sagging of pants. Consequences for indecent wear should be for example fining those who are found to go against the guidelines. Each student or teacher would be required to pay a certain amount of fine on his or her behalf in order to make him/her feel the pain and be motivated to follow the rules. Fines for underage students could be paid by their parents or guardians, who are responsible for their wellbeing and upbringing. This would motivate parents to compel their children to wear uniforms at all times while they are in school. Casual wear should be set aside for evenings only and during weekends or holidays (Brunsma 86). Adopting such a policy would not only be advantageous to American schools, but also to the society in general. This is due to the fact that it would contribute to the creation of jobs as it could lead to the emergence and growth of textile industries due to the availability of ready market. Every institution would definitely desire to have unique fashions for their uniforms and in order to maintain uniformity, then, they would have to enter the long-term contracts with suppliers thus, creating guaranteed income for them, which would in turn facilitate job security. Producers of raw materials, such as cotton and silk, also stand to benefit as they would be able to produce more to sustain the demand. Conclusion School uniforms should be introduced to all public, private and trade schools in the US. They are beneficial in that they enhance student concentration in class. This is because uniforms enhance the sense of equality among students as they are made from the same material and fashion thereby making it difficult to distinguish between rich and poor students. They also relieve parents of the financial burden as they do not have to bow to their children’s pressure to keep up with fashion. Uniforms also reduce cases of absence and general indiscipline as they make it to identify students outside school boundaries. Teachers, as with other professionals such as doctors, pilots and police, should also wear uniforms during working hours. This would make it possible to identify strangers within institutions and also enhance proper conduct among teachers. The American society also stands to benefit from such a policy as it would create demand for uniforms thereby motivating more people to venture into the business thereby creating jobs. Works Cited Brunsma, David. The School Uniform Movement and What It Tells Us about American Education: A Symbolic Crusade. R&L Education, 2004 Jill, Hamilton. Dress Codes in Schools. Greenhaven, 2008 Read More